By: Cell Press

Figure 3. Weight Loss at Month 1 Correlated with Changes in BOLD in Regions Associated with Cognitive Control. Credit: Selin Neseliler et al
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New research suggests that higher-level brain functions have a major role in losing weight. In a study among 24 participants at a weight-loss clinic, those who achieved greatest success in terms of weight loss demonstrated more activity in the brain regions of the lateral prefrontal cortex associated with self-control. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Greater Good Magazine
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Social-emotional learning (SEL) teaches the key attitudes and skills necessary for understanding and managing emotions, listening, feeling and showing empathy for others, and making thoughtful, responsible decisions. For five years, I was an educator in the field teaching mindfulness and emotional skills to teenagers at six different high schools.
Over and over, I saw the power of mindfulness to transform the inner lives of students. Students became less stressed, more self-regulated, and more thoughtful toward their classmates. But I also saw that Read the rest of this entry »
By: Dr. Pascale Michelon
Here is a fun and interactive version of the famous Stroop test, often used in neuropsychological evaluations to measure response inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Performing well on the test requires strong concentration and self-regulation. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Greater Good Magazine

–Richard Davidson at the Mindfulness & Well-Being at Work conference on November 13–14, 2015, in Berkeley, California. Photo: Auey Santos
There’s a backlash brewing against mindfulness at work.
“Corporations have jumped on the mindfulness bandwagon because it conveniently shifts the burden onto the individual employee,” write Ron Purser and David Loy in the Huffington Post. “Stress is framed as a personal problem, and mindfulness is offered as just the right medicine to help employees work more efficiently and calmly within toxic environments.” Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez

My colleague Dr. Murali Doraiswamy just wrote an excellent opinion piece for The New York Times: With Age Comes Wisdom, and Some Concerns For Candidates.
He ends it up saying that, “As Henry Ford noted, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” We should shift the debate away from worrying about the age of our candidates and focus instead on their cognitive skill set and practical wisdom.”
I couldn’t agree more with those wise words.
But, I do disagree with the words just preceding them: “Warren Buffett, at the age of 85, would still be a highly viable candidate, should he choose to run.”
To see why I disagree–and why it matters–let me synthesize some recent research on brain health, cognition and aging. Read the rest of this entry »