Courtesy David Lee at The Daily Californian

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UC Berkeley study links cognitive longevity to higher education (The Daily Californian):

“A study led by campus researchers found that higher levels of education are linked to later ages of peak cognitive performance…The team was able to use anonymous data gathered from almost 200,000 subscribers to Lumosity, an online cognitive training program, whose users consented that their results could be used for scientific research. Read the rest of this entry »

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Time for SharpBrains’ May e-newsletter, highlighting what’s new in brain health and mental performance, and featuring a very relevant MIT initiative and a thought-provoking study on the “Cognitive Divide.”

New thinking

• MIT Solve launches Brain Health Challenge: How can every person improve their brain health and mental resilience?
• Mental Health Innovation and Dr. Tom Insel: from the NIMH to Google/ Verily Life Sciences to Startup Mindstrong
• Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright (related slides here)
• Eight research teams working with DARPA to discover best ways to activate neuroplasticity and accelerate learning
• Researchers propose four “neurorights” to harness neurotechnology for good: cognitive liberty, mental privacy, mental integrity, and psychological continuity

New research

• Is modernity leading to a growing Cognitive Divide?
• Physically-active video games (‘exergames’) boost cognition more than physical activity alone
• Common medication treatments for PTSD can increase the risk of developing dementia
• Study identifies brain circuits enabling four-year-olds to “put themselves in other people’s shoes”

New tools

• Want a music system that lifts you up when you’re feeling down? Meet this audio headset with bio-signal sensors (NeuroSky patent)
• Evaluating neural responses via EEG brain data in virtual reality environments (Nielsen patent)
• Connecting cardiological and neurological health (Medtronic patent)
• Start-up Aira raises $12M, showing the way for cognitive science and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the lives of blind and low vision individuals

Have a great month of June and, for those based in the US, a great Memorial Day weekend,

The SharpBrains Team

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Time for SharpBrains’ April e-newsletter, featuring what’s new in brain health and cognitive performance. Quite stimulating reading 🙂

New thinking

• Why Untrained Brains Are A Bit Like Puppies, And How To Put Together the Building Blocks of a Smarter, Happier Mind
• Making Stress Work for You, Instead of Against You
• 5 Facts You Need To Know To Understand, Navigate And Enjoy The Digital Brain Health Revolution
• Special Offer: Learn from 100+ Brain Experts, Watch 40+ Hours at the Leading Edge (10%-off discount code: sharp2017)

New research

• Dance training: The ultimate way to delay brain decline by combining physical, cognitive, and social engagement
• Helping bridge neuroscience and education: 30+ experts debunk the theory of fixed, rigid “learning styles”
• Parents’ educational and income levels (not breastfeeding per se) account for the brain development gains in breastfed children
• Brain stimulation can work–if properly timed
• The US Navy tests neuro-priming and other non-pharmacological aids to boost cognition and performance

New tools

• Fully concentrated on task at hand? Then your computer won’t distract you
• Augmenting physiotherapy via neurofeedback and neurostimulation: Key neurotechnology patent #43
• Elon Musk to pioneer new Inner Space Frontier via Neuralink “neural lace” technology
• In the field of neurostimulation, what comes first, Published Research or Patents?
• Enhancing cognition via brain training with a visual emphasis: Key neurotechnology patent #38

Upcoming event

• May 6th, New York City: Anticipating and Shaping the Neuropsychology of the Future

Finally, here you have 5 quick brain teasers to sharpen two key cognitive skills: attention and working memory.

Have a great month of May,

The SharpBrains Team

— Drs. Dan Krawczyk and Kihwan Han review MRI scans. Credit: Center for BrainHealth, Randy Anderson

Scientist Gets Grant for Study of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries (UT Dallas release):

A researcher from the Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the Department of Defense (DoD) under the Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program.

The grant, awarded to Dr. Daniel Krawczyk, deputy director of the Center for BrainHealth, will fund research, via a virtual technology platform, to improve cognitive and functional deficits for Read the rest of this entry »

Brain Training – Can We Really Enhance Our Cognitive Skills? (BrainBlogger):

“Under what conditions does brain training work?” was the question posed at one of the sessions of the SharpBrains Virtual Summit, Monitoring and Enhancing Brain Health in the Pervasive Neurotechnology, an event that brought together over 30 of the world’s top experts on brain health enhancement through emerging neurotechnological interventions…

As Alvaro Fernandez, CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains, highlighted, one thing needs to be cleared before entering this discussion: how do we define that a brain training intervention is “working”? Read the rest of this entry »