MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'brain science'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:10:52 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181899&cid=t_129108_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F31%2F3-fascinating-facts-about-our-brilliant-brains%2F Our brains do a lot of work behind the scenes to help us function and thrive. But we largely know this already. What might surprise you are the details of this work. For instance, as neuroscientist David Eagleman writes in his book Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain: Your brain is built of cells called neurons and glia—hundreds of billions of them. Each one of these cells is as complicated as a city. And each one contains the entire human genome and traffics billions of molecules in intricate economies. Each cell sends electrical pulses to other cells, up to hundred of times per second. If you represented each of these trillions and trillions of pulses in your brain by a single photon of light, the combined output would be blinding. The cells are connected to one another in a netw... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181899 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:57:59 +0100 5181899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125896&cid=t_129108_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F6LuBfLqR9WU%2F Many of us have known women (and men) who seem addicted to tanning—no matter how glaring the health risks, you’ll still find them hitting the tanning beds. Is it just a desire for that bronze (or orange) glow that gets ‘em? Or is there something about the process of tanning itself that keeps folks coming back? New research leans toward the latter, showing that tanning bed users exhibit brain changes during a tanning session that mirror those seen in drug addicts. “Using tanning beds has rewarding effects in the brain so people may feel compelled to persist … even though it’s bad for them,” said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, a psychiatry professor and author of the tanning study, published in the journal Addiction Biology. Tanning bed usage has continued to grow in recent years, desp... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125896 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:01:29 +0100 5125896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050752&cid=t_129108_109_f&fid=38953&url=http%3A%2F%2Frileyjennifer.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Ffear-stem-cells-and-emotional-memory.html This summary is from Science Daily which also has the link to the actual article.Fear Boosts Activation of Immature Brain Cells: Adult Neural Stem Cells Play Role in Creating Emotional Context of MemoryScientists have long known that fear and other highly emotional experiences lead to incredibly strong memories. In a study appearing online in advance of publication in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, UC Berkeley's Daniela Kaufer and colleagues report a new way for emotions to affect memory: The brain's emotional center, the amygdala, induces the hippocampus, a relay hub for memory, to generate new neurons.In a fearful situation, these newborn neurons get activated by the amygdala and may provide a "blank slate" to strongly imprint the new fearful memory, she said. In evolutionary terms, i... Psych Scamp blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050752 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:17:00 +0100 5050752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4853233&cid=t_129108_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2F5hQbXU2Pg08%2Fassortment-of-drug-related-articles.html Misc. Stuff Etc. In this post, I offer up an assortment of links to articles, mostly by me, and other related material, so that I can put checkmarks after a few items on the official Addiction Inbox to-do list, here on the official Addiction Inbox plexiglass clipboard. So let’s see…. * Here’s an article I wrote awhile ago for Brain Blogger, called "Why Do Schizophrenics Smoke Cigarettes?" The comments alone are worth a look. Spoiler: Schizophrenics smoke cigarettes because nicotine helps quell both audio and visual hallucinations. * One of the very early posts here at Addiction Inbox, called "Marijuana Withdrawal," transformed itself into a self-help support board over time, with lengthy and enlightening comments appended to a short original post about the symptoms of marijuana depe... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4853233 Sun, 22 May 2011 17:04:22 +0100 4853233 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4848024&cid=t_129108_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2011%2F05%2F20%2Fbook-review-reading-in-the-brain%2F Although not my usual focus, this book is a fascinating look on how the brain enables us to read. Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read by Stanislas Dehaene, is a detailed study taking the latest of brain science to understand how the brain processes letters into words, phonemes, sentences and meaning. Much of the book centers around the letterbox area of the brain which decodes letters into meaning. The author cites hundreds of experiments and as many brain studies using PET and MRI to dissect the detailed mechanisms of how letters are processed. He goes from anthropological studies of different cultures and languages pointing out the differences in similarities of language acquisition between different European languages and those based on characters, like Chinese. He note... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4848024 Sat, 21 May 2011 02:27:37 +0100 4848024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676941&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D255 I had the great pleasure of visiting a wonderful research team studying the neurological origins and treatment of tinnitus at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis last week.  About 30 million U.S. citizens have tinnitus.  For about 4 million of them, the tinnitus is identified as “severe” – which means [...] (Source: On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D.) On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676941 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:46:40 +0100 4676941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610895&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FWmRE0YNJTlA%2F Conferences have long been a staple of the professional calendar. Now, after a recession that has slashed travel expenditure, the landscape for events is changing. Sophisticated digital platforms are enabling virtual environments that simulate the benefits of real events, and attendees are beginning to shift to accessing subject matter experts and industry networking online. But can the digital environment really displace brick and mortar events, where eye to eye meetings and chance connections can justify the often costly registration fees and travel costs? In organizations where hundreds of executives and professionals attend several conferences a year at $1,000 or more each in total cost, a virtual conference at $500 can be attractive. Making virtual connections at an online conference ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610895 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:49:41 +0100 4610895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281402&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2FajmQBglk-Js%2F70-brainscience-Lilienfeld.pdf The latest  Brain Science Podcast (BSP 70) is an interview with Dr. Scott Lilienfeld, co-author of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior. This episode was recorded live at Dragon*Con 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. We focused our conversation on the fact scientific reasoning and critical thinking do NOT come naturally. Instead, we all tend to make similar errors, such as mistaking correlation for causation. Dr. Lilienfeld shared his experiences and a extensive question and answer session with the live audience allowed him to explore additional examples. Listen to Episode 70 Episode Transcript (Download PDF) Subscribe to the Brain Science Podcast:  Detailed Show Notes: This episode includes an extensive Q and A between Dr. Lilie... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281402 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:16:28 +0100 4281402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885389&cid=t_129108_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F08%2F19%2Fhow-many-scientists-does-it-take-to-rediscover-thoreau%2F If you haven’t heard of Henry David Thoreau, you might be forgiven for thinking he has nothing to teach us from his time on this planet 150 years ago. I think that perhaps the 5 scientists who thought they might learn something about the brain and attention by taking a little camping trip could have figured this out by revisiting Thoreau’s writings: I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful. I have told many that I walk every day about half the daylight, but I think they do not believe it. I wish to get the Concord, the Massachusetts, the America, out of my head and be sane a part of every day. - Henry David Thoreau, Journal Even 150 years ago, Thoreau was writing about the... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885389 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:15:39 +0100 3885389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603705&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D251 I had the great pleasure of attending a symposium held in the College of Education at my alma mater, the University of Portland, focused on this interesting subject, and the implications that it bears for effective learning and teaching. My co-participants were distinguished professors in linguistics and education science (Ellyn Arwood and Richard Christen), and [...] (Source: On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D.) On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603705 Wed, 26 May 2010 20:27:55 +0100 3603705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023179&cid=t_129108_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F11%2F24%2Fwhats-it-going-to-take-to-make-you-happy%2F Happiness. Ahh, what an enticing word that is. Psychologists call it “subjective well-being” (and even abbreviate it as SWB in their research), but it boils down to the same thing — what makes us more happy? And how can we do more of that special stuff that will lead to greater happiness in our lives? This Emotional Life, a new PBS documentary hopes to help answer that question in three 2-hour shows from January 4 through the 6th, 2010. “Each episode weaves together the compelling personal stories of ordinary people and the latest in brain science research, along with revealing comments from celebrities such as Chevy Chase, Larry David, Elizabeth Gilbert, Alanis Morissette, Katie Couric and Richard Gere.” Sounds like good stuff and we’re happy to help pr... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023179 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:44:22 +0100 3023179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611053&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D250 Today, Posit Science announced the release of a new Web-based visual training tool, DriveSharp, specifically designed to improve the performance abilities of adult automobile drivers to a degree that can be expected to very substantially impact their driving safety. This training employs two very important brain plasticity-based strategies to improve your visual assets that support safe driving. The first is the “Useful Field of View Training” developed and patented by Drs. Karlene Ball (University of Alabama at Birmingham) and Daniel Roenker (University of Western Kentucky). Their training tool addresses a key problem that arises in older individuals: the progressive contraction of their “useful field of view” (UFOV). As you get older, you progressively lose the ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2611053 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:01:42 +0100 2611053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602203&cid=t_129108_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alz.org%2Ficad%2Fdocuments%2Fabstracts%2Fabstracts_biomarkers_ICAD09.pdf Changes in the brain measured with MRI and PET scans, combined with memory tests and detection of risk proteins in body fluids, may lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.For more Insight into Alzheimer's DiseaseSubscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading RoomNew Results from ADNI Data Bring Us Closer to Earlier Detection of Alzheimer's Vienna, July 14, 2009 – Changes in the brain measured with MRI and PET scans, combined with memory tests and detection of risk proteins in body fluids, may lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 Inter... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602203 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:24:42 +0100 2602203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2576714&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D249 I delivered a lecture at the University of Konstanz in Germany two weeks ago, as a part of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Akademie. This is one of 7 scientific academies in Germany. Because Germany was created as an amalgamation of powerful states in the 19th Century, its scientific academies originate with and are still identified with those entities — in the case of the Heidelberg Academy, with the state of Baden-Wuerttemburg. Because I was appealing to a wider scientific audience than usual, my subject was a consideration of the societal consequences of ‘the brain plasticity revolution’. Contemporary neuroscience is revealing, for the first time in our history, our true human natures. It is defining the true rules of human behavior, as brai... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2576714 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:08:33 +0100 2576714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570897&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D248 I received a wonderful comment about the hypothesis that early umbilical cord clamping might contribute to the risk of origin of autism from a wonderful former colleague, Dr. David Blake, a researcher in the Department of Neurology at the Medical College of Georgia. His observations: Fraternal twins typically have different placentas, whereas identical twins share a placenta but have different cords. The blood supply, and pre-clamping susceptibility to anoxia, would surely be different. There are plenty of reviews associating prenatal or perinatal anoxia with autism already (as well as advanced maternal and/or paternal age). Given that early cord clamping clearly impacts perinatal anoxia, and has been recommended against, it would seem prudent to just change practice and see where that lea... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570897 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:42:51 +0100 2570897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570898&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D246 I delivered a lecture sponsored by the Danish Neuroscience Society and the Helene Elsass Center (a wonderful new research institution in the suburbs of Copenhagen) that has developed a state-of-the-art research and treatment center focusing on cerebral palsy. I was delighted to sit down with the Center’s Director, Peder Esben Bilde, to review new training software developed by therapists and University of Copenhagen scientists affiliated with the Center, and implemented with the help of a local computer game company. The software uses a conventional computer camera to dynamically record the location of colored bands strapped around a few fingers or hand or wrist or elbow or neck or ankle. The software tracks the motion of these bands in relation to stationary or moving computer-screen-lo... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570898 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:05:29 +0100 2570898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570899&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D239 Millions of individuals (2% of humankind) are plagued by continuous sounds generated in their skulls, not coming from the real world. Because these ringing or roaring sounds are inescapable and because they strongly influence emotional-control processes in the brain, they can literally drive an individual who hears them incessantly just a little bit crazy. No one dies from tinnitus (although its sufferers have a substantially elevated suicide rate). But it represents one of a long list of brain plasticity-generated problems that can substantially degrade – and in the extreme, destroy – a sufferer’s quality of life. I am writing this blog from a scientific meeting in Italy at which 20 top neuroscientists (about half of who some level of direct understanding of tinnitus; the other half... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570899 Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:27:01 +0100 2570899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570900&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D241 I had the pleasure of spending a day last week talking with a world authority on brain plasticity issues, Harvard professor Alvaro Pascual-Leone. Dr. Pascual-Leone has employed a special tool in many of his studies, both to document brain change, and to induce it for the benefit of patients. That tool is direct magnetic stimulation of the brain. A very powerful magnetic pulse applied externally over the scalp can be localized to excite a limited brain area. Alvaro and his colleagues showed, historically, that they could actually reconstruct the orderly representations of body movements in the brain by systematically moving the site of stimulation across the surfaces of your skull. Moving from the top of the head down toward the ears, they evoke fine movements from the feet then legs then t... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570900 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:28:26 +0100 2570900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570902&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D181 In a July 9th, 2008 post, I added oxygen deprivation incurred at childbirth as another factor potentially contributing to an increased incidence in autism. As I noted in that blog: “We have published compelling evidence that peri-natal anoxia meets all of the other criteria for adding to “noisy” brain processing. It can have strong, selective impacts on cortical inhibitory processes, and degrades the ability of the cortex to develop normally-selective characteristics of response (see Strata, Merzenich et al, PNAS, 2005). At the same time, we had dismissed perinatal anoxia as a likely factor contributing to autism’s apparent rise because we could not see how ITS incidence could be growing over the past several decades. However, it has recently been argued that the... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570902 Sat, 30 May 2009 22:13:15 +0100 2570902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570903&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D217 The several-month-old report by the Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on the “Omnibus Autism Proceeding” is old news, but I thought I’d put an oar in, by saying that this is something that the courts got right. There is a large body of evidence that demonstrates, to a level of near-certainty, that the mercury compound used as a preservative for a baby’s immunization injections does NOT cause autism. Perhaps in part because the onset of autism commonly occurs over the time window in which these shots are administered, the popular myth that may be the source of an increase in autism incidence has grown, even in the face of a very large body of evidence to the contrary. I have earlier argued that the ‘red herring’ of mercury has distracted scient... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570903 Thu, 28 May 2009 21:26:06 +0100 2570903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570904&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D230 If you have just discovered this topic, go back to Part 1 (April 3), Part 2 (April 5), Part 3 (April 7) and Part 4 (April 24); whereupon you shall be fully qualified to advance to Part 5. Before I begin to talk about commonly applied strategies of prevention and rehabilitation designed to reduce the numbers of criminal offenders and recidivists amongst us, let’s begin with a note about statistics. In all of my earlier blogs, I talk about the “average” offender and their neurological and personal history. In reality, there are many classes of offenders. While the majority fit the wide bounds that I described, there are innumerable exceptions among the 7+ million individuals operating under the jurisdiction of an American court — including a significant minority who d... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570904 Tue, 26 May 2009 19:56:02 +0100 2570904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570905&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D228 I strongly encourage our readers to check out the newly published book “Move Into Life”, authored by a highly distinguished therapist (and personal friend) Anat Baniel. Anat was originally trained by Moshe Feldenkrais, who developed a novel empirical perspective about physical/cognitive/perceptual rehabilitation that is broadly consistent with the principles of brain plasticity neuroscience. She has very significantly elaborated those practices, and has gradually encorporated a richer scientific perspective into them. Anat summarizes this deeper understanding in this important book — which is full of good information and advice, both for the therapist, and the patient. At the core of her approach is the understanding that awareness, cognition and movement are really insep... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570905 Wed, 06 May 2009 15:46:17 +0100 2570905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570906&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F%3Fp%3D226 We all know a few older-aged paragons, individuals who are still storming through life in their 9th or 10th or 11th decade. I was delighted to read two articles in the New York Times last week that featured two such individuals who have crossed my own path in life. David Perlman is a 90-year-old science writer for the San Francisco Chronicle who is refusing to take a buyout offer from his struggling employer. I know from meeting with him in the past that he’s an all-business, no-nonsense, straightforward, well-informed PROFESSIONAL, in every sense of the word. Why SHOULD he quit, when he gets so much enjoyment about his work? In any event, as he joked in the Times article, he’d “..bankrupt the paper.” if he took a buyout package based on the number of years of emplo... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570906 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:39:23 +0100 2570906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2259393&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.rawvoice.com%2Fpmn_brainsciencepodcast%2Fmedia.libsyn.com%2Fmedia%2Fbrainsciencepodcast%2F54-brainscience-Merzenich.mp3 "Whatever you struggle with in a sense as it stems from your neurology, the inherent plasticity of the brain gives you a basis for improvement. This is a way underutilized and under-appreciated resource that well all have." Dr. Michael Merzenich on the Brain Science Podcast #54, 2/13/09. Recently there has been growing controversy about the effectiveness of computer-based cognitive training programs. As a co-founder of Posit Science, Inc. Dr. Michael Merzenich is a staunch defender of the methods his company uses to validate the programs that they have developed. But for the purposes of this essay, I want to share some of the key ideas we discussed during his recent interview on the Brain Science Podcast. First of all, I asked him to discuss some of the highlights of his long car... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2259393 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:28:44 +0100 2259393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2079023&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F501446374%2F Here you have The 10 Most Popular Brain Fitness & Cognitive Health Books, based on book purchases by SharpBrains' readers during 2008. Enjoy! 1. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Pear Press, March 2008) - Dr. John Medina, Director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University, writes an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the many daily implications of recent brain research. He wrote the article Brain Rules: science and practice for SharpBrains readers. 2. The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person (Oxmoor House, March 2007) - Dr. Judith Beck, Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, connects the world of research-based cognitive therap... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2079023 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:59:43 +0100 2079023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955843&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F451083984%2F I first discovered Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself, in a May, 2007 review in the New York Times. Intrigued, but caught up in myriad end-of-school-year responsibilities, the book was put out of my mind until later that summer, when our school’s learning specialist emailed to say she had just finished a fascinating book. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stores of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, is a compelling collection of tales about the amazing abilities of the brain to rewire, readjust and relearn after having a slice of itself rendered dysfunctional. The first seven chapters captivated me for their personal stories; the final four chapters for the science and philosophy. Part of what makes Doidge’s writing so accessible is he tells stories, ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955843 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:13:46 +0100 1955843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1799248&cid=t_129108_115_f&fid=37661&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnottotallyrad.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fgiant-animal-smasher-may-discover.html As I reported here recently, scientists at CERN are now using the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva to probe atomic structure. Their quarry includes the elusive Higgs boson.Physicians and other members of the soft sciences will be delighted to learn of progress on the Giant Animal Smasher, now under construction near Dallas, TX. As one CERN scientist stated:Biologists are just jealous of all the attention the LHC has been getting. Since they aren't real scientists, they had to come up with this atrocity.Much of the early work in animal smashing is anecdotal, and has largely been carried out informally by pickup and semi-trailer trucks on the roadways of the world. However, this important work has been greatly limited by local highway speed limits.The GAS, however, can theoretically collide a... Not Totally Rad blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1799248 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:06:00 +0100 1799248 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1733857&cid=t_129108_115_f&fid=34680&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoolmristuff.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Faugust-7-2008-researchers-have-long.html August 7, 2008Researchers have long sought a factor that can trigger the brain's ability to learn - and perhaps recapture the "sponge-like" quality of childhood. In the August 8 issue of the journal Cell, neuroscientists at Children's Hospital Boston report that they've identified such a factor, a protein called Otx 2.Otx2 helps a key type of cell in the cortex to mature, initiating a critical period--a window of heightened brain plasticity, when the brain can readily make new connections.Takao Hensch, PhD, of the Neurobiology Program and Department of Neurology at Children's, the study's senior investigator, speculates that there may be similar factors from the auditory, olfactory and other sensory systems that help time critical periods. Timing is important, because the brain needs to re... MRI LINKS AND OTHER COOL THINGS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1733857 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:34:00 +0100 1733857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1717977&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F368402470%2F Where does our “Feeling of Knowing” come from? Have you ever felt certain that you knew an answer even though you couldn’t think of it right off? Where does that “feeling of knowing” come from? The answer to this question is the focus of neurologist Robert Burton’s new book On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not. I recently reviewed Dr. Burton’s book on the Brain Science Podcast and last week I had the opportunity to interview him for the show. He explained that one of the origins for his book was his experience with patients with conditions like Cotard’s syndrome (where the patient thinks he is dead or does not exist). What Dr. Burton calls the “feeling of knowing” is so strong that people consistently trust it even when their beliefs contradict... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1717977 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:26:55 +0100 1717977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1631979&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F336912992%2F Here you are have the twice-a-month newsletter with our most popular blog posts. Please remember that you can subscribe to receive this Newsletter by email, simply by submitting your email at the top of this page. News and Analysis Computerized Cognitive Assessments: opportunities and concerns: health companies and the military are starting to use new tools to assess brain functions in contexts that neither neuroimaging nor traditional neuropsychological testing can reach. This is a critical piece of the brain fitness puzzle that is worth keeping track of, full of opportunities, but also privacy concerns. Cognitive Health News Roundup: recent news covering studies on mental training and DNA, on nutrition and the brain, and more. Science Improve Memory with Sleep, Practice, and Testing: ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1631979 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:48:02 +0100 1631979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1564699&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F325439001%2F We are fans of the Brain Science Podcast series hosted by Ginger Campbell, so are pleased to announce that Dr. Campbell will start offering to SharpBrains readers, periodically, the highlights of her most interesting podcasts. Below, her first post. Enjoy! -----------  In a recent interview on the Brain Science Podcast, Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School shared some of the practical implications of recent neuroscience research. We talked about the importance of exercise and sleep and we discussed why appreciating how our memory and attention systems really work could change how we run schools, businesses, and even our daily lives. For example, while adequate sleep is generally acknowledged to be essential to optimal... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1564699 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:54:10 +0100 1564699 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1517046&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F311226376%2F39-brainscience-Arbib.mp3 Discussion Forum Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1517046 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:35:30 +0100 1517046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1481146&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F301607877%2F In conclusion, it looks like one can use training to boost one’s fluid intelligence," says Dr. Pascale Michelon, based on a recent study. Education and Training Try Thinking and Learning Without Working Memory: Quick! Can you recite backwards the 7 digits of your phone number? Bill Klemm answers some key questions on thinking and working memory, in one of the most insightful articles on the subject we have seen. Health and Wellness Manage Stress for Your Brain Health: Insightful essay on stress management and brain health written by Landon, as part of one of our student essay contests. Study: Meditation Against ADHD: In order to fight attention deficits...does it make sense to develop the "mental muscles" to pay attention? Take a quick look at the topic, posted at th... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1481146 Sat, 31 May 2008 02:01:22 +0100 1481146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1481072&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F301304031%2F38-brainscience-Hawkins.mp3 Discussion Forum Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1481072 Fri, 30 May 2008 14:47:11 +0100 1481072 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1449764&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F291963944%2F37-brainscience-Medina.mp3 Discussion Forum Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1449764 Fri, 16 May 2008 23:26:18 +0100 1449764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1416673&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F282183434%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1416673 Fri, 02 May 2008 15:41:23 +0100 1416673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1403089&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F279033427%2F Episode 31 of the Brain Science Podcast was a challenging interview with György Buzsáki about his book Rhythms of the Brain. Thanks to listener Diane Jacobs we now have a transcript available for Episode 31. Click here for the transcript. Be sure to visit Diane’s Blog at http://humanantigravitysuit.blogspot.com/. When it comes to reading books about neuroscience, Diane makes me feel like a slacker. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1403089 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:55:56 +0100 1403089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1389520&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F275134691%2F Great article in the UK's Sunday Times yesterday: Pump up those little grey cells, listing a variety of free or inexpensive brain health-related resources. We are honored (even honoured, I'd dare say) that they started the list with our complimentary Brain Fitness 101 e-Guide: - "The science behind some of the more outlandish claims for computer games that are supposed to improve your cognitive powers, is a matter of debate. However, you don’t need to pay £20 to give a game a try. The internet features a host of websites that can stretch your imagination and improve your mental prowess in a range of skills. Some are expensive rip-offs, but many are free, as our guide to the best of them shows." - "Begin by downloading the Brain Fitness 101 e-guide by Sharp Brains, availa... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1389520 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:19:05 +0100 1389520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1384109&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F273164765%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1384109 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:30:00 +0100 1384109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1374042&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F270917874%2F Today HDNet™ is reshowing an episode of Dan Rather Reports called “Mind Science.” It is an excellent review of neuroplasticity. It includes interviews with several leading scientists in the field. I especially enjoyed seeing Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel talk about his work with memory. (I talked about Kandel’s work on the Brain Science Podcast in Episode 3 and Episode 12.) “Mind Science” also features the Dalai Llama and scientist Richard Davidson talking about the evidence that meditation can change the brain. Rather interviews Sharon Begely about her book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves (which I discussed in detail in Episode 10 of the Brain Science Podcast). Other scientists fe... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1374042 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:02:20 +0100 1374042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1367098&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F268599841%2F I am not very good at keeping up with all the great blogs about neuroscience, but I did happen to find two that I thought you might enjoy. Both Developing Intelligence and Conscious Entities explore both the meaning of consciousness and the relationship between the human brain and computers. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1367098 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:44:58 +0100 1367098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1356583&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F266048860%2F In Episode 33 of the Brain Science Podcast, Harvard’s Dr. John Ratey introduced us to brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which he described as “Miracle Grow for the Brain” because it actually stimulates the grow of new neurons in the brain. The emphasis in our discussion was on the importance of exercise in stimulating the release of BDNF. If you are interested in checking out some further references on BDNF you may want to check out Charles Daney’s Science and Reason Blog. Daney also does a good job of explaining exactly what a neurotropic factor is and does. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1356583 Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:50:37 +0100 1356583 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1353151&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F264800434%2F Jamie Davis of Mediccast sent me a link to an interesting article from the CNN website. It describes how mirror box therapy is being used to help veterans who have suffered amputations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those of you who heard Sandra Blakeslee’s interview about body maps back in Episode 23 will remember that she described how her son built the first mirror box for VS Ramachandran several years ago while working as a graduate student. It is good to see that military physicians are beginning to apply some of the recent findings of neuroscience to helping injured vets, but you may also recall that when we talked with Dr. Edward Taub about stroke rehab, he reported the difficulty of getting new methods of head injury treatment into the VA clinics. link to article about mirrors: htt... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1353151 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:24:55 +0100 1353151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1350054&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F263689517%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions are appreciated   (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1350054 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:46:29 +0100 1350054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1337120&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F260815254%2F Discussion Forum. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1337120 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:06:51 +0100 1337120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1335526&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F260271415%2F This post is a little over due! Sex Differences in the Brain: From Genes to Behavior (2007) by Jill Becker, Karen Berkley, Nori Geary, James Herman, and Elizabeth Young, is a book from Oxford University Press that is attracting quite a bit of attention. It was reviewed in the March 21st issue of Science, but before that my friend Nancy Yanes-Hoffman sent me her review to share with you. Evan Balaban writing is Science concluded: All readers will learn something of value from this book, even if they don’t agree with the views of particular authors. Information content is high, references are ample, and the continuity between different chapters has been skillfully coordinated. Science 21 March 2008:Vol. 319. no. 5870, pp. 1619 - 1620 Nancy Yanes-Hoffman offers a detailed review on he... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1335526 Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:24:00 +0100 1335526 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1318014&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F255228708%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1318014 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:34:39 +0100 1318014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1318015&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F255215747%2F With the help of Rob Walch at Wizzard™ Media,  the enhanced version of Episode 32 (Brain Anatomy) is now  available in the regular feed. If you don’t use iTunes™ or Quicktime™ you will probably want to stick with the illustrations posted on this website. Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1318015 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:59:29 +0100 1318015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1311659&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F253742733%2F32-AAC-brainscience-anatomy.m4a I want to apologize to anyone who got the “enhanced version” of episode 32 in their feed, but found that it had no graphics. The Brain Science Podcast is currently part of an ad campaign on Wizzard Media (Libsyn). They failed to tell us that the technology they use to insert ads will not work with enhanced files, so they just converted it back to a stripped down mp3. Since I can’t put the episode into the normal feed, but you can get it here. It should play in Quicktime™ on your computer. To save the file on to your computer, right click on the link and choose “save as.” All iPods can handle this format, but many other players, such as the Zune™ will not. Sorry about the inconvenience. (Note: If you are using Windows make sure you have the latest version o... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1311659 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:55:05 +0100 1311659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1309193&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F253280942%2F32-AAC-brainscience-anatomy.m4a I have posted the illustrations I promised last week when I released episode 32 of the Brain Science Podcast. Except for the colored diagram of the lobes of the brain these illustrations come from Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A Fantastic Journey Through Your Brain and have been used with the permission of the author, David Bainbridge. Click here to see thumbnails of all the illustrations along with the approximate time they were discussed during the episode. (Note: because of the automatic ad insertion process the times may be off by up to 67 seconds.) http://brainsciencpodcast.wordpress.com/episodes/figures-for-episode-32-a-whirlwind-tour-of-brain-anatomy/ Here is a link to the enhanced version of the podcast, which includes the illustrations but not the captions. (Source: the Brain Scie... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1309193 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:49:56 +0100 1309193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1303643&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F251515924%2F Discussion Forum. In a recent blog post Jacobs explains why this subject has captured her interest. Jacobs is currently working on a transcript of the episode (31), which I will post when it is available. I want to publicly thank her for her efforts. You can read her blog post at http://humanantigravitysuit.blogspot.com/2008/03/oscillatory-matters.html. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1303643 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:27:33 +0100 1303643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1288708&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F248006264%2F Discussion Forum about whether the importance of embodiment is an essential obstacle to trying to simulate human cognition with computers. Meanwhile, the role of embodiment in cognition continues to be a growing area of research. I enjoyed a recent post on the Scientific American Community website entitled Thinking with the Body by Art Glenberg from Arizona State University. He reviews recent research by Holt and Bellock. The bottom line is that even when people are involved in verbal tasks, like reading sentences, their comprehension is influenced by their body knowledge of what is being described. You can read more at Mind Matters: Neuroscience, Psychology, Psychiatry, and More. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1288708 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:52:07 +0100 1288708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1284951&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F247275807%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1284951 Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:21:16 +0100 1284951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1259003&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F241615678%2F This article was written by Pascale Michelon, Ph. D., for SharpBrains.com. Dr. Michelon has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology and has worked as a Research Scientist at Washington University in Saint Louis, in the Psychology Department. She conducted several research projects to understand how the brain makes use of visual information and memorizes facts. She is now an Adjunct Faculty at Washington University, and teaches Memory Workshops in numerous retirement communities in the St Louis area.   --------------- If you are interested in learning more: - Recommended Books on Brain and Mind - Build Your Cognitive Reserve, an Interview with Yaakov Stern - The Art of Changing the Brain, an Interview with James Zull abstract information, bilingual brain, brain exercise, Brain exercises, brain hea... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1259003 Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:25:35 +0100 1259003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1251259&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F239838765%2F In a recent blog post I objected to Richard Lewontin’s claim that we know nothing about the evolution of the human brain. Apparently my reaction was shared by quite a few researchers in the field. Michael Butler describes their reaction at an interdisciplinary panel that was also held at this year’s AAAS annual meeting. One thing that seems to drive some of these discussions is a difference of opinion about whether their is an insurmountable gap between human intelligence and what other animals can do. This connects with the ongoing debate about the importance of genetic factors. But there seems to be no doubt that this is an extremely fruitful area of research. “How Human Intelligence Evolved–Is It Science or ‘Paleofantasy’?” by Michael Balter. Sc... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1251259 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:10:44 +0100 1251259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1249060&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F239251818%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1249060 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:00:21 +0100 1249060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1249061&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F239116736%2F Episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast was devoted to the subject of language evolution. In that episode I mentioned Steven Jay Gould’s claim that language was a spandrel, an incidental by-product of evolution. Gould’s co-author on his famous 1970’s paper about spandrels was Richard Lewontin, who is well-known for disagreeing with prevailing opinions in evolution. At the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science he reportedly gave a talk that discounted all the current theories about brain evolution. I have not read the transcript of his lecture, but I just finished reading Georg Striedter’s comprehensive textbook, Principles of Brain Evolution (2005). This text is highly regarded by leaders in neuroscience research like Micha... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1249061 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:09:06 +0100 1249061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1240330&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F237366969%2F The Science magazine podcast is providing highlights from this year’s AAAS meeting in Boston. So far, I found the discussion of the evolution of morality with Marc Hauser and several other scientists to very interesting. One issue that was raised was whether the utility of a theory depends on its ability to generate testable hypotheses. Listen and let me know what you think. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1240330 Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:21:03 +0100 1240330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1238295&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F236853788%2F There is lots of interesting stuff coming out of this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. I hope to attend the meeting in person next year. This year’s meeting is  over but I hope to bring you a few brain-related highlights in the next few days. Since episode 30 I have been on the look out for linguistics related news, which is why the following item in ScienceDaily.com caught my eye: Linguistics professor Jackson T. Gandour presented information from several of his pitch processing studies entitled “Brain Basis of Speech.” “Everyone has a brainstem, but it’s tuned differently depending on what sounds are behaviorally relevant to a person, for example, the sounds of his or her mother tongue,” Gandour s... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1238295 Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:56:36 +0100 1238295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1237806&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F236457035%2F Nancy Yanes-Hoffman sent me this review of an article just published in the Journal of Neuroscience: That was good!” “Do it again.” This is what the brain says when people use tobacco, as well as ‘hard drugs’ such as heroin. New research published in the February 13 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience indicates that the effects of nicotine and opiates on the brain’s reward system are equally strong in a key pleasure-sensing areas of the brain – the nucleus accumbens. “Testing rat brain tissue, we found remarkable overlap between the effects of nicotine and opiates on dopamine signaling within the brain’s reward centers,” says Daniel McGehee, Associate Professor in Anesthesia & Critical Care at the University of Chicago Medical Center. McGehe... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1237806 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:00:43 +0100 1237806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1226904&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F234043005%2F The Brain Science (Podcast) is featured in an article entitled, “Wizzard Media Closes Second Podcast Ad Deal with U.S. Navy” (FoxBusiness.com 2/12/08), but they got the name wrong! Hopefully, Brain Science is close enough to help people find the Brain Science Podcast. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1226904 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:11:41 +0100 1226904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1225928&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F233978854%2F I get a monthly newsletter from, which is an educational website managed by Scientific Learning the people who market Dr. Michael Merzenich’s FastForward™ method for helping dyslexic children learn to read. This month they have several language-related articles that might be of interest, including part 1 of a series about how children learn to talk and an article about the evolution of language. The latter article includes a discussion in favor of Chomsky’s universal grammar, which many linquists still find to be quite fundamental to their work. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1225928 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:49:13 +0100 1225928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1223853&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F233459242%2F From the Blackwell Publishing website: “On April 2nd Wiley-Blackwell celebrated the premiere issue of Mind, Brain, and Education with a reception at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the celebration Kurt Fischer (Harvard University), Howard Gardner (Harvard University), Maryanne Wolf (Tufts University), and Stanislas Dehaene (Collège de France) discussed their recent findings regarding how brain science informs educational practice.” You can here what Fischer, Wolf, and Dehaene had to say here. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1223853 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:09:49 +0100 1223853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1220903&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F232624819%2F The February 9th episode of All in the Mind is an excellent interview of author Jonah Lehrer about his book Proust was a Neuroscientist. In the interview Lehrer reflects on the danger of viewing science as the sole source of discovery, but he also talks a little about several of the people explored in his book. His basic premise is that artists from various fields often intuitively grasped truths that are now being revealed by neuroscience. One example is the insights that Proust had about memory. Proust was a Neuroscientist is a valuable contribution to the current exploration of the relevance of neuroscience to everyday life. It can be easily read in a few sittings or savored one artist at a time. Natasha Mitchell is an excellent interviewer because she always asks interesting and probin... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1220903 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:54:27 +0100 1220903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1218468&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F231609334%2F Discussion of The First Idea Brain Science Podcast #7: Interview about bonobos Steven Jay Gould Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom Philip Leiberman *References: Pinker, Steven, and Paul Bloom, “Natural Language and Natural Selection,” Behavioral and Brains Sciences 13 (1990): 707-84. Marc D. Hauser, Noam Chomsky, and W. Tecumseh Fitch (2002). “The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?” Science 298:1569-1579. Christine Kenneally, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language (2007). Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker, The First Idea: How Symbols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved from our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans (2004). *Additional references can be found in Kenneally’s book and at the websites of the scie... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1218468 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:09:24 +0100 1218468 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1216642&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F230498836%2F I just listened to the February 6, episode of Science Talk, the podcast from Scientific American. Steve Mirsky talks with linguist Alice Gaby, from the University of California-Berkeley, about the relationship between language, culture, cognition and perception. This is very relevant to episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast (due out on February 8), which is about the evolution of language. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1216642 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:16:40 +0100 1216642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1212457&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F230498836%2F I just listened to the February 6, episode of Science Talk, the podcast from Scientific American. Steve Mirsky talks with linguist Alice Gaby, from the University of California-Berkeley, about the relationship between language, culture, cognition and perception.  This is very relevant to episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast (due out on February 8), which is about the evolution of language. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1212457 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:09:02 +0100 1212457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1205021&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F229303619%2F I often emphasize the fact that our brains our different from computers. If you would like to read an article that comes at the subject from the opposite direction (computers are not brains) read this summary of a recent talk given by Jeff Hawkins about “why computers can’t be more like a brain on Dean Takahashi’s Tech Talk Blog. Jeff Hawkins was the co-founder of Palm, Inc. and he is author of On Intelligence, which was discussed in the Brain Science Podcast Episode 2. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1205021 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:07:25 +0100 1205021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1200211&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2008%2F02%2F04%2Fdrink-eat-and-be-merry%2F You may have read (about a month ago) that a Cambridge University group tracked the life-spans of 20,000 Brits, as it was affected by a number of factors that plausibly relate to it. Those included: 1) Eating your fruits and veggies every day; 2) drinking a little wine and whiskey—but not TOO much, every day; 3) NOT smoking; and 4) getting a little regular exercise (you got no points for having a sedentary job and life; and 1 point for having a job that required physical activity, or for compensating for the lack of exercise on the job by significant daily activity or exercise). It turns out that if you got a high score (a “1″) on all 4 of these factors, you were destined to live about 14 years longer than if were flunking at life, i..e., you got a “0″ (nada,... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1200211 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:18:46 +0100 1200211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1195124&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F227374108%2F In a recent interview with Dr. Edward Taub (Brain Science Podcast #28) we learned that Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy has been shown to help people with traumatic brain injuries, but that the Veteran’s Administration has been slow to acknowledge the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and  Afghanistan. Fortunately, the problem seems to be receiving increasing attention. The January 25th episode of the Science Magazine podcast discusses an article exploring the possible mechanisms of brain injury ocurring in near-blast conditions, where often the effects may be delayed and subtle. Also, Easter Seals has just announced that it is funding a program that will provide access to Michael Merzenich’s highly regarded Posit Science Program, an on-line program originally developed... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1195124 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:01:39 +0100 1195124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1184805&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F224816126%2F29-brainscience-Wolf.mp3 Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1184805 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:52:20 +0100 1184805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1154133&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F217297452%2F The Philosopher’s Zone is one of the excellent Australian podcasts that I listen to regularly. The episode of January 12, 2007 is especially relevant to our recent discussion of embodied intelligence. Host Alan Saunders interviews Matt Carter, author of Minds and Computers: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Their conversation is a good brief introduction to some of the issues of philosophy of mind, the relevance of the computational theory of the mind (introduced in Brain Science Podcast #15), and the importance of embodiment to the field of artificial intelligence. If anyone has already read this book, I would love to hear your feedback and impressions. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1154133 Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:03:46 +0100 1154133 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1147503&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F216061731%2F There is lots of interesting stuff on the internet about the brain and neuroscience, and obviously no one can keep up with it all. I have decided to follow Leo Laporte’s example by creating a del.icio.us tag that we can all use to facilitate sharing what we find with each other. The tag will be brainscience, spelled as one word. Obviously someone who doesn’t listen to the Brain Science Podcast could choose the same tag, but it would like bring our attention to something relevant. In addition, since del.icio.ous automatically creates an RSS feed for each tag, I have created a special feed that you can subscribe to if you want to keep track of what is being added by others. Notice that the last 3 items added will always appear in the left side bar of this website. Subscribe to d... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1147503 Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:44:44 +0100 1147503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1143534&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F214724839%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Donations and Subscriptions Links and References: Dr. Taub recommends that interested listeners do their own Google search under “constraint-induced movement therapy” or CI Therapy, but I have included a few links below: About Dr. Taub: Announcement of his recent article in JAMA link to JAMA article mentioned in the podcast William James Fellow Award 1997 Dr. Taub’s faculty page at UAB (includes contact information) Other Links: Information about the Taub Clinic Training program for therapists References: Effect of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy on Upper Extremity Function 3 to 9 Months Afte... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1143534 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:00:24 +0100 1143534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1119423&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F207311532%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email   (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1119423 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 02:00:07 +0100 1119423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1096369&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F200356487%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1096369 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:13:47 +0100 1096369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1072441&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F12%2F05%2Fmisconception-about-the-neurology-of-aging-2%2F Memory (cognitive ability, executive control, motor control, whatever) resides in a place(s). If we fix that (those) place(s), we fix memory (our failing faculties). For MEMORY, as an example, most scientists focus on one of three places: 1) the hippocampus, for ‘episodic’ or ‘long-term memory’; 2) the inferior/medial temporal or lateral frontal cortex, for ‘immediate’ or ‘working memory’; or 3) the frontal cortex, for ‘executive control’ It has been easy to show that your memory or your ‘executive control’ suffers – in fact, can be almost obliterated – by damage to, or the temporary, magnetic-stimulation-achieved shut-down of these key brain regions. It has been easy to show the machinery in the hippocampus or temporal/frontal cortex doesn’t work v... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1072441 Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:36:54 +0100 1072441 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1063142&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F193044796%2F Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1063142 Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:35:45 +0100 1063142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1024491&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F184305049%2F24-brainscience-reading.mp3 Discussion Forum Audience Survey Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email   (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1024491 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:29:09 +0100 1024491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1001065&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F11%2F02%2Fa-top-ten-list-misconceptions-by-scientists-and-the-public-about-the-neurological-bases-of-memorycognitive-losses-in-aging%2F In early October, I attended a meeting sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the McKnight Foundation considering the general subject of cognitive decline in aging populations. I found the meeting to be useful, and distressing. Useful, because this subject is now on the front burner for the NIA, just as it is for the general public. Distressing, because progress in this area is still being frustrated by widespread misconceptions in the scientific community about what neurological aging is all about, and this meeting vividly showed that those misconceptions still abound in ‘the best’ government-supported reseaarch. Over the next week or two, I am going to discuss some of the misconceptions (there are more) that still limit our understanding of the neurological bases o... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1001065 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:43:36 +0100 1001065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=962819&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F171854646%2F23lev-brainscience-Blakeslee.mp3 Discussion Forum Audience Survey Click Below to Listen to Podcasts   Interview of Sandra Blakeslee (episode 23) Discussion of her latest book (episode 21) Brief Review of On Intelligence (episode 2) Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=962819 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:14:42 +0100 962819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=954608&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F170676082%2F The audio files for both of my podcasts are hosted on Libsyn and they have recently changed the addresses for people’s podcast audio files. Unfortunately this means that I probably have a lot of bad links floating around not just on this site, but in numerous other locations around the internet. I intend to try to fix the ones I remember posting, but that may take a while, so if you find a bad link please let me know. Thanks to SpiritSeeker for originally bringing the problem to my attention. If you are in a hurry to find an old episode you can go directly to my Libsyn sites: Books and Ideas is at http://booksandideas.libsyn.com Brain Science Podcast is at http://brainsciencepodcast.libsyn.com (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=954608 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:49:26 +0100 954608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=948999&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F168665298%2F Discussion Forum. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=948999 Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:13:40 +0100 948999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949000&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F165871322%2F22-brainscience-koch.mp3 Discussion Forum Audience Survey   (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949000 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:35:36 +0100 949000 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=925412&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F10%2F03%2Fptsd-as-a-modern-invention%2F Like many of you, I have spent quite a few hours over the past 10 days watching the Ken Burns PBS program personalizing World War II. I thought that it brought this war home for me, more informatively and more poignantly than all but a few of the great War movies (All’s Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, Saving Private Ryan). I learned three things about PTSD from these programs that I had not fully appreciated. First, the graphic depiction of battle in World War II dramatically verified the amazingly rich food for growing PTSD in a young man’s brain in this conflict. Shocking, disturbing to the max, terrifying, exhausting, degrading, hyper-stimulating, you REALLY wouldn’t want to have been there. Second, 25% of the soldiers sent home from the War had no physica... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=925412 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:04:44 +0100 925412 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=921845&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F10%2F02%2Fis-bipolar-disorder-in-childhood-an-emergent-plague%2F About a month ago, results from a NIMH-sponsored statistical study that determined the rate at which children were being labelled, and treated for bipolar disorder, were published, and reported widely in the popular press (I initially read about it on September 4th in the Sunday New York Times). Twenty years ago, bipolar disorder was a relatively uncommon diagnosis for individuals below 20 years of age. The incidence of the diagnosis was obviously increasing over the subsequent decade (it had risen to 20,000 in the U.S. by 1984). A suspected increase in incidence or diagnosis in children inspired the NIMH to ask for proposals from epidemiologists to MEASURE its rate of occurence or diagnosis between 1984 and 2003. You have probably already heard about these results, but they are worth rep... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=921845 Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:14:42 +0100 921845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949002&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F159558525%2F21-brainscience-bodymaps.mp3 Featured in this episode: The Body has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better (2007), by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee. (Also available on from Audible.com) Listen to the podcast now SHOW NOTES Topics: Body Maps and the role of embodiment Basic ideas about the body maps in the brain Mapping the world around us How Body maps differ between species Body Schema and Body image The role of body maps in disease The role of belief in health and illness How body maps explain non-traditional healing methods and unusual experiences The role of motor imagery in improving motor skills Mirror Neurons Place and grid neurons in the hippocampus (see more on Scholarpedia) How sensation and emotions come together (the role of the insula) Scientists... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949002 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:53:46 +0100 949002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949003&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F153205010%2F20-brainscience-Brizendine.mp3 Listen to this episode Episode #20 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Louann Brizendine of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California at San Francisco. Her book, The Female Brain was just released in paperback and it is on the New York Times Bestseller list. We explore how hormones and neurotransmitters effect our brains and how these effects are different in men and women. This episode has interesting stuff for listeners of both sexes. If you would like to learn more visit Dr. Brizendine’s website at http://louannbrizendine.com. Please participate in my audience survey at http://wizzard.tv/survey/brainsciencepodcast. Listen to Episode #20 Now Subscribe via iTunes™ Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by ... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949003 Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:59:28 +0100 949003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=840678&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F09%2F04%2Feating-crow%2F Some months ago, after my grand-daughter Leila’s school in Oakland, California burned down and its rebuilding seems to be drowning in a bureaucratic swamp, I predicted that it would NEVER be rebuilt in time to begin the 2007-8 school year on time. I was wrong. The Oakland Unified School District and the contractors that they hired came through. Parents, students, teachers and friends of the school worked furiously for a week or so before school started — and up to almost midnight on the night before the first day of school — to have a new, better, cleaned-up Peralta School ready for action, right on time!! I underestimated what good will and great good spirits from administrators. teachers and parents can accomplish, when it involves the welfare of the children that they ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=840678 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:30:12 +0100 840678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=823089&cid=t_129108_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F148481097%2Fmind_over_matter_gets_techie_l.html We’ve all worked with people who defy the odds with more than human strength, willpower or determination. Especially when the chips fall  … these people tend to inspire an entire workplace with superhuman strengths. How do they do it?Dr. Christopher deCharms, the chief executive of Omneuron, a start-up in Menlo Park, Calif., believes that mere thinking increases brainpower. Do you agree?Omneuron produced a machine that scans brain activity to find which areas are busiest under certain stimuli. His firm teaches people to think away pain, addictions, depression and other negative mental conditions. Omneuron promotes a brain-scanning technology called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. Scanners measure blood flow to different parts of the brain, t... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=823089 Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:27:31 +0100 823089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949004&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F147379385%2Fbrainscience-19-lev.mp3 Discussion Forum. References Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious (2007) by Gerd Gigerenzer Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005) by Malcolm Gladwell See also Brain Science Podcast #13: Unconscious Decision Making   Links of Interest Gerd Gigerenzer-wikipedia Gerd Gigerenzer-home page at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development Jonathan Haidt-social psychologist mentioned in this episode Listen to Brain Science Podcast #19: Gut Feelings Subscribe via iTunes™ The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here. Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email Visit the new Brain Science Podcast Forum   (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949004 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:41:36 +0100 949004 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=806014&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F17%2Fa-connected-kid%2F I know a 16-year-old boy who is addicted to video games. By ‘addiction’, I mean that he is compelled to play them for several to many hours each day, even while he knows that it is in his own best interests to limit his play time, even while his parents continually (ineffectively) try to curtail the time he spends at this activity, and because, more than a little ashamed of himself, he often attempts to conceal his level of game play. Does this matter, for this boy? There is a book titled “Everything Bad is Good for You” by Steven Johnson that is all about the benefits of video game play (and other media) for children. It describes video games as a rich, positive basis for learning and reasoning. And so they are. A person can acquire a magnificent body of knowledge ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=806014 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:33:01 +0100 806014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=803731&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F16%2Fexercising-action-loops-a-followup-on-thoughts-about-baby-einstein%2F Dr. X (another commentor who is reluctant to use a name) made an important point in responding to my August 14 entry considering a recent study in which Baby Einstein was found not to improve, and to possibly modestly delay normal language development — a claim that I argued was simplistic. In Dr. X’s words: Aside from the possibility that these videos strengthen alternate [to language] …. capacities, I wonder if a non-responsive environment alone could have a negative impact on developing vocabulary and expressive fluency? I also wonder if there is anything about the relational dynamics of families who choose to use these videos that might account for any of the differences in verbal abilities seen in this research? See but don’t talk as a habit, from a very young ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=803731 Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:07:24 +0100 803731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=801458&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F15%2Fis-being-mentally-active-sufficient-for-sustaining-brain-health%2F There was an interesting exchange of comments following a July 7th entry (”What’s it all about”) that begins with the argument (by CCb at anom@anom.com) that “brain fitness training” is unnecessary, for someone who is still engaged in reading and scholarship. [CCb, might I suggest that you and other commentors at least identify yourself with a first or last name? It doesn’t even have to be real. I just prefer imagining that I’m communicating with an actual human being.] Dave Blake, a scientist at the Medical College of Georgia who qualifies as an expert on these matters, disagreed. He noted that the neurological losses that contributed to age-related decline require SPECIFIC forms of learning-driven exercises to drive corrective neurological change... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=801458 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:29:46 +0100 801458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=799302&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F14%2Fwhat-you-do-matters-also-applies-of-course-if-youre-a-youngun%2F The extent of confusion about the relationships between what infants and young children spend their time doing, the development of their behavioral abilities, and the genesis of their ‘interests’ and ‘personality’ is massive, both in the lay and scientific communities. l was reminded of this once again when I read the comments of scientists (the use of this label is giving these individuals a considerable benefit of doubt) at the University of Washington, who had demonstrated that exposure of infants to ‘Baby Einstein’ didn’t help their language development, and probably set it back a tad. To which I say, “Well, duh.” Let’s say that a child is engaged in largely passive, speechless activity (ala Baby Einstein) for one hour/day LES... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=799302 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 21:49:37 +0100 799302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949006&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F145020234%2FBS-Episode3.mp3 The lastest episode of Futures in Biotech (FiB 20) is an interview with Dr. Eric Kandel, who won a Nobel Prize in 2000 for his discoveries about how memory works. I think you will enjoy listening to Dr. Kandel’s interview. I discussed Dr. Kandel’s book In Search of Memory in episode 3 of the Brain Science Podcast. I also discussed his textbook, Memory: From Mind to Molecules in episode 12. For anyone who would like to go back and listen to these episodes, I have provided direct links to the audio files below: #3: In Search of Memory #12: Memory: From Mind to Molecules Note: This is a duplicate post from my new unified blog. If you are subscribed to this blog, please subscribe to the new blog so that you won’t miss anything when I phase this blog out. (Source: the Brain ... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949006 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:19:58 +0100 949006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949007&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F142775927%2Fsa_podcast_070808.mp3 Science writer Sharon Begley was interviewed about neuroplasticity. on the August 7 episode of Science Talk, the podcast from Scientific American. I discussed her book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves on episode 10 of the Brain Science Podcast. Listen to Science Talk interview of Sharon Begley Listen to the Brain Science Podcast #10: Neuroplasticity You can also find more on neuroplasticity, including links to some of the scientists she mentions in her interview here. Note: This is a duplicate post from my new unified blog. If you are subscribed to this blog, please subscribe to the new blog so that you won’t miss anything when I phase this blog out. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. G... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949007 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:22:27 +0100 949007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=790628&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F09%2Fold-but-good%2F My wife Diane and I spent a weekend several weeks ago at the National Academy of Sciences center at Woods Hole, in a beautiful coastal location near the southern base of Cape Cod. The National Academies hold several meetings each year for a group of special senior advisor’s (their ‘President’s Club’), and in part because I had good reasons to meet with scientists and friends in Boston on Friday and Saturday, I agreed to participate. The subject of the meeting was “Smart Prostheses”, summarizing research organized to help injured and brain-damaged soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a new generation of therapeutic strategies and devices designed to help. I’m going to talk about some of this science that was inspired by this meeting, in... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=790628 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:28:36 +0100 790628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949008&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E5%2F142268326%2F18-brainscience-Elkhonon_Goldberg.mp3 Brain Science Podcast #18 is an interview with Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, PhD. Listen to Brain Science Podcast #18 Now Show Notes: I apologize for the uneven sound quality of this episode. If any one out there has any suggestions please drop me an email. Dr. Goldberg shared a little bit about the breadth of his work as a neuropsychologist. We talked about his rather unique perspective on the difference between the right and left brain hemispheres. He explained why he feels that as we get older we move from reliance on the right hemisphere, which he feels is the novelty hemisphere, to a reliance on the left hemisphere, where our lifetime store of patterns enables us to use pattern recognition as a short cut in problem solving. We talked about the importance of constant mental challenge, and Dr... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949008 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 07:22:46 +0100 949008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=788250&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F08%2Fabby-has-her-ups-and-downs%2F I thought that I’d give you a brief update on how little Abby is doing. As you may remember, my daughter’s 4-year-old niece suffered from several minutes of asphyxiation in a playground accident. She emerged from a week-long coma with clear physical and behavioral signs of subcortical brain damage. Abby is now a month out, and is still in the rehabilitation hospital. She’ll probably be there for another 2 months (or longer). Abby is still stiff, and is still being treated with anti-spasticity medication (although she is on a low dose). The hospital was organized to provide 3 days of physical therapy/ week — but with Nancy Byl’s help (Nancy is a long-time friend and collaborator, a good soul, for many years the Chairman of the PT Department at UCSF), the paren... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=788250 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:07:19 +0100 788250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=781449&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F05%2Freactive-attachment-disorder-part-2%2F If you did not read yesterday’s entry, do that first, before reading today’s followup. The situation in a nutshell: An adopted Chinese girl, now 3.5 years of age, has a “reactive attachment disorder” that is commonly expressed by night terrors, parental rejection and an overlay of other cognitive problems. Every standard therapy has been tried, without much success. What can we say about the neurology of this situation as it applies to the child and to her primary caregivers that might be helpful for them? 1) The parents should be hopeful. Their positive good spirits, and the consistent signals that arise from them, are going to be a key to overcoming this estrangement. The brain of this little girl is massively plastic. It CAN change positively, to slowly replace ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=781449 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:19:38 +0100 781449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=777797&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F03%2Fa-note-on-reactive-attachment-disorder%2F About two weeks ago, I received the email letter posted below. I promised the correspondent that I would respond to this heartfelt plea on this blog. As I sit down writing this response, I rue making that promise. The origins of “Reactive Attachment Disorder” are difficult to explain, and strategies to ameliorate it are equally difficult to wrestle with. Let’s begin talking about it after you read the first part of the email message that induced my response. “Our adopted granddaughter (3 1/2 years old) has been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment disorder. Our daughter and husband have been doing therapeutic parenting, Nancy Thomas, Dr. Buenning, Dr. Hughes, amino acids, auditory programs, neural developmental programs etc. with little progress in her relationship to... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=777797 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:56:38 +0100 777797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=777798&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F03%2Fpoor-high-school-age-readers-break-out%2F We often receive feedback from school administrators, teachers, and therapists like that expressed in the note below. Because they are anecdotal, they usually die in my email Inbox. I thought that I’d post one, just so you get the flavor of what has been a common message: “I have been in the public and private education business for over 30 years and have worked as a teacher, coach, principal, teacher trainer and assistant superintendent. I have served in high schools with (a) majority of disadvantaged students as well as in high schools with many affluent students. Over the years I have tried many different programs to improve reading comprehension, decoding and processing speed of my students. FastForword clearly has produced the most significant gains in a shorter time than ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=777798 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:08:49 +0100 777798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=764383&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F28%2Fa-cognitive-reserve-is-a-good-thing-to-work-on%2F Dave B and Alvaro have had an interesting (albeit, brief) discussion in their comments about the subject of the hypothetical “cognitive reserve” that stands between each one of us, and the timing of the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). First, Dave B said that while he saw ample evidence that most cognitively capable (”highly educated”) individuals that were in his studies at Medical College of Georgia seemed to be far removed from any danger of AD in their immediate future (in strong contrast to individuals in his studies who were poorly educated, and/or were less cognitively active), he saw no clear evidence in the literature that convincingly demonstrated that the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease could be delayed by cognitive training or enrichment. Al... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=764383 Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:00:00 +0100 764383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=747236&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F20%2Fthe-wider-face-of-ptsd%2F PTSD in Iraq spreads well beyond the boundaries of our armed services. For example: a) Several times as many Iraqi police and military personnel as Coalition personnel have died in the conflict. Proportionally larger numbers have been wounded. And they are out there, as are our own troops, on the front lines of violence and mayhem. PTSD must be a substantial problem in their ranks. b) Blackwater (one of 9 or 10 major civilian contractors in Iraq) has recently reported that their rates of PTSD incidence approximately match those incurred by our troops. c) PTSD has to be a major problem for Iraqi civilians. If its rates of incidence parallels that recorded in our soldiers, about 5 MILLION individuals are affected. We’ve noted earlier that the probability of onset of PTSD is a function... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=747236 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:51:36 +0100 747236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=744888&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F19%2Fjust-about-any-old-bad-thing-increases-the-risk-of-onset-of-alzheimers-disease%2F About 2 weeks ago, I read a Wall Street Journal article that documented a growing body of evidence that shows that major depression occurring in late middle age doubles the probability that an individual shall have significant cognitive impairments after the age of 65, and that it very significantly increases the probability that life shall end badly, i.e., in the clutches of Alzheimer’s Disease. A history of depression is one of a very long list of factors contributing to increased AD risk. Exposure to a little mercury or to other heavy metals, exposure to PCBs and a host of other biotoxins, traumatic brain injury, a little stroke or two or three, a childhood history of learning impairments, limited mobility, a little ongoing oxygen deprivation, or a history of mental disability are... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=744888 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:49:47 +0100 744888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=744889&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F19%2Fplanes-trains-and-automobiles-and-motorcycles%2F It has been amusing to read the repeated claims, from individuals who have completed Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Program, that with their renewed mental competence and confidence, they have been inspired to very adventurous new hobbies and activities. I related the story of one such individual several weeks ago who, with her brain awakened by intensive brain fitness training, had been inspired to take a “race car driving course”, and was contemplating taking flying lessons. Actually, several individuals HAVE written to us telling us that they felt so much more ‘with it’ upon completing the program that they HAD been inspired to take a seat in an airplane cockpit. Here’s another version of the same basic story from a BFP graduate that came across my des... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=744889 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:20:43 +0100 744889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=742662&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F18%2Fred-red-wine-2%2F One of the most interesting efforts targeting the development of anti-aging drugs stems from research conducted at Harvard that led to the identication of the compound in red wine (resveratrol) that accounts for its anti-aging properties. This compound is believed to activate a gene called SIRT-1, which appears to have a role in regulating lifespan in mammals. No one knows exactly what this gene does, or how its anti-aging effects are achieved. One hypothesis that has gained some experimental support is that this gene is also activated by caloric restriction, which is known to increase longevity. Alas, we don’t really understand the mechanisms of origins of THAT effect, either. The answer shall be of high importance, for bringing these potentially powerful therapeutic approaches into... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=742662 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:20 +0100 742662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=740528&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F17%2Fhow-long-lived-was-your-dad%2F A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences led by a UCSF scientist Wen-Chi Hsueh has very interestingly revisited the subject of the genetics of human longevity. As you may know, a prominent UCSF colleague, Elizabeth Blackburn, has been in the forefront of a beatiful series of studies that have shown that the DNA structures that cap the ends of chromosomes (”telomeres”) play an important role in cell division, and in the aging process. Dr. Blackburn has analogized the telomere to the plastic tips of shoelaces that, by their presence, prevent the laces (the DNA) from unraveling. Telomeres lose sub-units each time a cell divides; as it dis-assembles, an enzyme that Blackburn and her colleagues discovered called “telomerase” actively ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=740528 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:07:01 +0100 740528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=737613&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F16%2Fwhen-brain-injury-hits-home%2F Because my research has focused on the neuroscience of rehabilitation for several decades, I have received hundreds of email messages, letters and telephone calls from parents and grand-parents desperately seeking help for their brain-damaged or developmentally-impaired child or grand-child. Because the losses suffered from brain injury and developmental disabilities expressed in this correspondence is usually daunting, and because it is so difficult to understand their nature and their true neurological and experiential origins at a distance, it is usually impossible to provide significant help. Because I am remote from the child’s and their familys’ struggles, I also know that I generally do not really fully appreciate the anxieties and distresses and frustrations that they m... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=737613 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 01:11:15 +0100 737613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=716704&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F05%2Fspecial-challenges-of-adolescence%2F We haven’t spent much time at this site discussing the neurological parallels of human adolescence. Let’s begin by reflecting on some basis aspects of its neurology and sociology. Think of life in the beaver lodge as the kids are growing up. They have it pretty good there, being taken care of by mom and dad. Life is stable and loving and predictable, and dinner is generally right on schedule. But as time passes, and Junior and Sis get bigger, sassier and just a little more interested in S….. E…..X, things get to be pretty difficult up there in River City. There’s a limit to how many really grown-up beavers can live in the lodge, and that limit is two! There comes a day when mom and dad literally throw the kids out, not just out of the Lodge, but up the creek. Life had been prett... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=716704 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:31:10 +0100 716704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=711794&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F03%2Fmarsupials-and-beavers-and-gliders-oh-my%2F I’m in Evans Head, a beautiful small town on the north coast of New South Wales in Australia this morning, visiting an old friend Lindsay Aitkin, a retired research comrade. Professor Aitkin is still THE world’s authority on the hearing brains of marsupials – among his many other considerable accomplishments. Up to this very moment, I’ll bet that you had not imagined that such an authority even existed. Shame on you! You probably didn’t know that the hearing brain of the spiny anteater, a primitive egg-laying, egg-sucking mammal if there ever was one, is remarkably complex and developed, at least superficially superior to that of most eutherian mammals (which is OUR tribe), or that the representation of the duck bill (which is actually an incredibly sophisticated organ that can d... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=711794 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:13:21 +0100 711794 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676161&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fpaying-attention-vs-needing-to-pay.html Here's a interesting paper that distinguishes the brain pathways that involve attending to a task vs. salience detection. Executive control of attention is a volitional direction of attention, whereas salience detection is more reactive or "passive".It's helpful to think about these different pathways necessary for attention because the weaker executives at various stages of their schooling may bewilder their parents by fluctuating grades depending on the teacher and subjects. But differences in the salience of educational stimuli may be responsible for some of the pattern. If the subject interests them, if they find the teacher engaging or clever, or if it seems important for what they want to do or they think is important, then the executive pathways may fire up. The figure above reminde... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676161 Mon, 11 Jun 2007 07:02:00 +0100 676161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620204&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fvisual-processing-problems-when-its.html Most people don't understand how primitive our understanding of vision is. Medical science does pretty well with refractive errors of the eye, but it often drops the ball when it comes to recognizing brain-based disorders of visual perception or processing.The problem is, we don't really know what other people see - and because it is subjective, it is also hard to study "higher order vision" in animal models. Too often we see children with brain-based visual processing problems who have been unrecognized or misdiagnosed for years because no one knew that an eye chart was a poor way to identify problems with brain-based or central visual impairment.In studies of young adults with a perinatal injury to the corpus callosum, researchers (see right) found that these individuals had to work much... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620204 Tue, 15 May 2007 07:02:00 +0100 620204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=568307&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fbenefits-of-mixed-dominancelefties.html If you are frustrated by what's not easier to do with mixed-dominance, then read on- In a recent study by Australian researchers, lefties and dyslexic subjects were found to be faster at interhemispheric transfer than more conventional right-handed controls. Although it seems to be a right-handed world (90%), people with quicker interhemispheric connections are over-represented among the mathematically gifted and they tend to perform more quickly and accurately in demanding and complex tasks. In the figure at right, BDA corresponds to "Bilateral Distribution Advantage". So the idea is that although "L-brain" folks may be better at simpler visual or motor response activities, when visually demanding tasks are given (challenging both hemispheres simultaneously), the mixed-dominance folks win... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=568307 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:01:00 +0100 568307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=550007&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fcuriosity-and-mind.html "Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last." - Samuel JohnsonWe are not all equally curious, what research there is, suggests that while curiosity can be inherited as a stable personality trait, it can also be manipulated by external means.Daniel Berlyne was one of the earliest researchers in the science of curiosity, and he divided exploratory behavior into two types: one that sought relief from boredom and another that was more goal-directed or epistemic - "the brand of arousal that motivates the quest for knowledge and is relieved when knowledge is procured." It this type of curiosity that can be particularly valuable to awaken for creative achievement.The biology of curiosity is still in its infant stages, but from curious researchers at Cal Tech, we hav... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=550007 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:02:00 +0100 550007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=500880&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fremembering-past-may-influence-how-we.html Our autobiographical (or episodic) memory is sometimes to referred to as "constructive" rather than "reproductive," because it's prone to errors and illusions so that we aren't remembering really what we experienced, but rather what we synthesized, based on what happened to us. Here researchers found that a very similar brain network reconstructing the past is activated when test subjects were asked to visualize the future. This may explain why some hippocampal amnesiacs have trouble imagining the future. It may also explain why severely depressed individuals problems accurately recalling the past and being able to specifically imagine events that could happen to them in a future (a particularly dangerous situation in the case of individuals with suicidal thoughts).A study such as this rem... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=500880 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:04:00 +0100 500880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487390&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fattention-better-with-practice.html Grandma was right, attention gets better with practice...Using a challenging task of working memory, researchers found that "...general task practice ha(d)the effect of modulating activations so that they become more similar to activations demonstrated by superior performers." Not only did working memory areas need to work less for a given level of performance (more efficient), inhibitory control seemed to get more stronger. So did we need fMRI to tell us this? Maybe...Practice Strengthens Attention fMRI pdfTechnorati tags: attention, ADD, training, brain, science, brain, fMRIEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487390 Thu, 15 Mar 2007 07:02:00 +0100 487390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487406&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fmind-of-masters-intelligence-and.html In a recent study of tournament chess players, scientists found that high intelligence and expertise (ELO ranking) had different contributions to brain activation, although both increased speed and performance on chess-related reasoning tasks. High IQ also seemed to confer an additional advantage...the higher the IQ, the more brain efficient, so EEG event-related desynchronisations suggested they also didn't have to work as hard to get correct answers.Superior performance and neural efficiency: impact of intelligence and expertise pdfTechnorati tags: intelligence, IQ, psychology, brain, science, gifted, education, chess, expertiseEide Neurolearning Blog (Source: Eide Neurolearning Blog) Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487406 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:07:00 +0100 487406 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487407&cid=t_129108_122_f&fid=35065&url=http%3A%2F%2Feideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fvivid-imaginations.html People who say they have vivid personal imagery, really can fire up their visual cortices when they imagine. In an interesting study from Texas, researchers showed that people who said they could make vivid images really could activate their early visual brain centers better those who said they couldn't. This matches with our informal surveys of children and adults who tell us that they have vivid images ("I don't go to movies because the pictures in my head are better than what I see on the screen") or don't ("I don't know what people mean when they tell me to make a picture in my head"). The study also adds an fascinating tidbit about individual differences in visual imagery and common cognitive tests like the Stroop. The Stroop is often used as an index of attentional dysfunction. It's ... Eide Neurolearning Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487407 Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:08:00 +0100 487407