I was exposed to a fun brain exercise on Monday: attend my first-ever live TV program, be ready for 3 very precise questions…and then be asked others.

The anchors were fun. It was fascinating to observe, behind the scenes, the making of a news program: constant last-minute apparent chaos, the lawyer in the “ask the lawyer” segment nowhere to be found…but everyone seem to had a fun time. And good mental stimulation-as long as they manage stress well.

Here you have the 3-minute clip from the local CBS’ Good Day Sacramento program, with a brief Q&A and a couple of brain teasers (Count the Fs and Stroop Test).

The 3 questions I was expecting were:

– What is Brain Awareness Week? see Dana’s and partners’ outreach events worldwide.

– What is SharpBrains? see Our Vision for Brain and Mind Fitness.

– What is the involvement of SharpBrains during Brain Awareness Week? check Brain Awareness Week.

Next time I will give more clear directions and maybe improve my English a bit too if I can…

If you want more teasers, here you have Top 10 Brain Teasers.

You probably have seen the news about Bob Woodruff’s own recovery and his articles now to raise awareness about the plight of Iraq veterans.

In the article “A Firsthand Report on the Wounds of War“, we learn how

• “Woodruff, 45, is launching a multimedia campaign that includes appearances Tuesday with Oprah Winfrey and on “Good Morning America,” and the release of a book (In an Instant) written with his wife, Lee, about their ordeal.”
• “Woodruff’s reporting packs an emotional punch because he is, quite simply, a man who cheated death. Never before had an anchor for an American broadcast network been injured in war. Woodruff instantly became a symbol of the dangers that journalists face in Iraq, and is trying to use his higher profile to illuminate the plight of soldiers who struggle with these injuries far from the spotlight.”

This is not an isolated example but part of a larger, and growing, problem. The Discover Magazine article Read the rest of this entry »

Alvaro and I had the good fortune to attend a great conference last week called Learning & The Brain: Enhancing Cognition and Emotions for Learning. It was a fascinating mix of neuroscientists and educators talking with and listening to each other. Some topics were meant to be applied today, but many were food for thought – insight on where science and education are headed and how they influence each other.

Using dramatic new imaging techniques, such as fMRIs, PET, and SPECT, neuroscientists are gaining valuable information about learning. This pioneering knowledge is leading not only to new pedagogies, but also to new medications, brain enhancement technologies, and therapies…. The Conference creates an interdisciplinary forum — a meeting place for neuroscientists, educators, psychologists, clinicians, and parents — to examine these new research findings with respect to their applicability in the classroom and clinical practice.

Take-aways

• Humans are a mixture of cognition and emotion, and both elements are essential to function and learn properly
• Educators and public policy makers need to learn more about the brain, how it grows, and how to cultivate it
• Students of all ages need to be both challenged and nurtured in order to succeed
• People learn differently – try to teach and learn through as many different modalities as possible (engage language, motor skills, artistic creation, social interaction, sensory input, etc.)
• While short-term stress can heighten your cognitive abilities, long term stress kills you — you need to find balance and release
• Test anxiety and subsequent poor test results can be improved with behavioral training with feedback based on heart rate variability
• Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a very very enlightening and fun speaker
• Allow time for rest and consolidation of learned material
• Emotional memories are easier to remember
• Conferences like these perform a real service in fostering dialogues between scientists and educators

Read the rest of this entry »

We are offering a limited-time deal for the rest of February 2007.

You will get Brain Fitness 101: Answers to Your Top 25 Questions included for free! (an $11.95 savings!)

Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg and Alvaro Fernandez answer in plain English the most common questions around why and how to exercise our brains.

…when you buy any of the following brain exercise programs:

Exercise Your Brain: New Brain Research and Implications DVD

This one-hour and 20 minute class introduces you to the science of brain fitness and includes many engaging brain exercises you can do on your own or in a group setting. You will learn about basic neuroanatomy and physiology, as well as hear about the groundbreaking publications that launched this field. Then, get you will practice how to exercise your own brain and flex all your mental muscles. Perfect introduction to Brain Fitness!
Read the rest of this entry »

Here is question 18 of 25 from Brain Fitness 101: Answers to Your Top 25 Questions.

Question:
Is physical fitness important to your brain fitness?

Key Points:

• Exercise improves learning through increased blood supply and growth hormones.
• Exercise is an anti-depressant by reducing stress and promoting neurogenesis.
• Exercise protects the brain from damage and disease, as well as speeding the recovery.
• Exercise benefits you the most when you start young.

Answer:
Read the rest of this entry »