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 'impairments'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:34:45 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2670949&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FrZYUDP-BGt4%2F Good article today in the NYT on "chemo brain" - some typical short-term and long-term cognitive consequences of chemotherapy. The Fog That Follows Chemotherapy (New York Times) One quote is critical - for chemo brain and also for a variety of clinical conditions that present associated cognitive impairments: "Controlling for brain function before cancer treatment begins can help determine cause and effect. In one study, cancer patients took a battery of neuropsychological tests before starting chemotherapy, three weeks after completing treatment, and again one year later. Although a third of the patients had signs of cognitive impairment before therapy began, the number jumped to 61 percent after treatment, and half remained impaired a year later." As we have discussed... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2670949 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:47:22 +0100 2670949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2611053&cid=t_234506_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=2576714&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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=2511285&cid=t_234506_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FPTPRub6oUKg%2F In conclusion, in order to avoid AMD, Glaucoma, and severe Myopia, you must decrease your intake of high sugar foods. Obesity and heart related diseases aside, a diet of extensive amounts of sugar can cause partial to complete vision loss. Anders Wedin, OD is the in-house optometrist at LensShopper.com, a consumer guide to buying contact lenses and general eye care information. ——————– 1 macular-degeneration.org 2 Chiu, CJ, Milton, R.C., Ferris III, F.L., Gensler, G, and Taylor A. Dietary carbohydrate and glycemic index in relation to Age-Related Macular Degeneration – The Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Am J Clin Nut. 2007;86:180-188. 3 Edwards MH. Do variations in normal nutrition play a role in the development of myopia? Optom Vis Sci 73(10):6... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511285 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:34:16 +0100 2511285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570898&cid=t_234506_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=2570902&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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=2441655&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F26%2Fcartfuls-of-spoons%2F They’re out.  Or, Out.  We have the exquisite “Privilege of Being Clouted By Cabbage” and are navigating the hazards of the supermarket.  When things are done the way they’re supposed to be, going to pick up a few groceries is just as boring, or as Dave discovered, lonely, for disabled people as much as it [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441655 Tue, 26 May 2009 05:06:21 +0100 2441655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2399079&cid=t_234506_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2FGVSi56eu6Ek%2Fwhat-is-sense-of-autism.html Yes, I know God or whoever created the world has made many different types of people. Still I wonder what the sense is of being autistic? I mean if you have an impairment you can not walk, your brain might work normally though. I mean the kind of impairment does not have to intend you can not communicate in a proper way with the world. What is the sense of being on a grey island of miscommunication, desperation and loneliness? Life is often happy for me, but can someone tell me what the sense of autism is? There are so many happy things that can happen between people if communication just works out fine. What did God intend to prove when he made autism?What was his aim to make us so vulnerable, so lost in our world and being totally mistunderstood by the rest of the world? I try to to soun... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2399079 Sat, 09 May 2009 07:29:00 +0100 2399079 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570905&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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=2324237&cid=t_234506_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2Fqz9QiPuxQhg%2Fautists-and-autism-awareness.html Thank you for all your comments on yesterday's blog. It's time the world realises how much people with autism generally are aware of their own shortcomings. But I think we should not be too hard in judging the outdoor world. Besides, speaking of diabilities there are few people who really know what it's like to have impairments. Most people live a generally quiet life. What people might not experience in fysical or mental impairments, they might have to live with other unpleasant things. We all carry our luggage throughout life. Be aware of autism but do not live live as an autist, because you are more than just that!While typing this the sun shines, as I sit outside I can hear the sound of singing birds (it is busy in the air! sounds like several songs sung by different birds LOL)and the ... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2324237 Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:55:00 +0100 2324237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2324241&cid=t_234506_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2FB9t5wboE5hs%2Fautism-and-work-social-hierarchy.html Social hierarchyA job not only provides daily routine, income, fun but creates the possibilities to get higher ranked at the society ladder which all of us affects, if we like it or not. The disability hierarchy is an very interesting thing. But what is it? About groups standards and autism. If we like it or not, we are all art it. What is the disability hierarchy? The placement of a person on the hierarchy depends entirely on the impairment or impairments. The list goes as follows: The blind or deaf are at the top of the list because they have no serious visually seen impairments. The most obviously disabled are next in "the list", such as people with spinal cord injuries rank higher than those with congenitally-caused conditions such as Spina Bifida. Those with intellectual or developmen... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2324241 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:06:00 +0100 2324241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2216672&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F25%2Fpiques-and-valleys%2F So, I’ve been rather absent from bloggery lately due to spending evenings sorting through vast boxes of paper archives, moving books, applying for jobs to keep a roof over our heads, or attempting to sleep off this virus. I now have removed a cubic meter of paperness from our house, and transferred a few hundred [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2216672 Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:35:26 +0100 2216672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074303&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F31%2Fpistol-packing-gimpy-gal%2F Last summer my daughter visited House on the Rock and took this photograph of a woman’s wooden leg (presumably stored in a cedar chest).  What I found intriguing was the storage compartment built above the knee to hide a Derringer pistol.  There’s gotta be a story behind that!        (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074303 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:36:42 +0100 2074303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1892042&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fexcuses-excuses%2F WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS CUSSING. If such righteous indignation will damage your precious shell-like ears, then ye’d best hie off somewhere else. “Who they hell are you to complain?” “Everyone else is thrilled to have such crap circumstances.” “But that’s the way we’ve always done it.” “We’re treating everyone ‘fairly’ by giving everyone the same crappy environment.” “Everyone else just [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1892042 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:57:51 +0100 1892042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1711950&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F367729370%2F The article Clumsy kids more likely to become obese adults: study (CBC)... - "The study was based on tests of about 11,000 people in Britain who were tested for hand control, co-ordination and clumsiness at age seven and 11, and were then followed until age 33." - "Prof. Scott Montgomery of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and his colleagues at Imperial College London in England said they purposely chose measurements of fine hand control such as picking up matches, rather than those likely to be influenced by participating in sports, such as catching balls." - "While it is often assumed that the cognitive impairments seen in adult obesity are a consequence of excess weight, that could be putting the chicken before the egg, the researchers say" ...remin... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1711950 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:17:08 +0100 1711950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1369708&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F14%2Fshucks-not-disabled%2F Of all the people in the world, my eldest would be the least likely to be dismayed by becoming a “wheelie”. Every time we visited the science museum in Denver, dad and I could always count on at least a solid hour of book-reading time as the kids played with the wheelchairs in the [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1369708 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:35:46 +0100 1369708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1344329&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F02%2F346%2F There are a lot of difficult things with getting used to a condition that causes regular pain or chronic fatigue. Part of it is just getting used to the idea that there is no quick fix, that this is the New Normal in our lives. Part of it is realising that medication and treatments will alleviate [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1344329 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:11:38 +0100 1344329 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1312408&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F03%2F19%2Fnatural-therapy%2F Last night I was digging through a giant box full of 35mm transparencies (slides) looking for specific pictures for a new class I’m teaching in a couple of weeks. Naturally, the effort took far longer than I anticipated, partly because I kept finding other interesting pictures, such as vacation photos. I finally did find [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1312408 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:24:58 +0100 1312408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1297814&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F03%2F12%2F22-things-that-give-crippled-trekkers-away-in-normal-company%2F This is a pass-along joke rather than something I’ve written — I don’t even use a wheelchair, but it’s too irresistibly geeky to not share!  Need I mention that our children grew up watching Star Trek: Next Generation? Or that one of our cats actually is named Spot? 22. You have tried to [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1297814 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:14:45 +0100 1297814 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1120785&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F12%2F29%2Fsuperstition-aint-the-way%2F Very superstitious, writing’s on the wall. Very superstitious, ladder’s ’bout to fall. Thirteen-month-old baby broke the looking glass. Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past. When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way. (Part of the lyrics to “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder) I recently heard on BBC Radio 4 news [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1120785 Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:41:47 +0100 1120785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1072441&cid=t_234506_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=1024363&cid=t_234506_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2F184234112%2F The brains of full-term infants with congenital heart disease appear more similar to those of premature newborns than to the brains of normal term infants, a study conducted by researchers at UCSF has found. The study suggests that the mental and physical impairments in children with congenital heart disease may also have their origins in utero in addition to injuries resulting from surgery. Up till now we have not fully understood the widespread deficits in cognition, including memory, attention, and higher-order language skills, as well as deficits in fine motor skills of these children. The suggestion is now that the deficits themselves can be attributed to abnormal fetal circulation and lower levels of oxygen-saturated blood reaching the brain in while in the womb… which makes a ... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1024363 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:16:01 +0100 1024363 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1001665&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F11%2F03%2Fstill-invisible%2F Bug Girl is citing a new report (pdf download link), “A National Analysis of Minorities in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities”, in which 100 departments representing 15 disciplines of engineering and science (including social science) were surveyed. As we might expect, the results suck. Actually, the results suck even worse [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1001665 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:13:31 +0100 1001665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1001065&cid=t_234506_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=962580&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F19%2Ftime-to-get-dressed%2F There I am, finally dressed and breakfasted and medicated and packed for work. A storm was coming in, so it was actually, finally cold enough to wear a jacket. I pulled my leather bomber jacket and wool fedora from the coat closet, then set my purse and lunch bag down to pull on [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=962580 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:21:34 +0100 962580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=961701&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F18%2Fcrazy-people%2F Back in another lifetime, I did clerical work downtown in the Big City. One day the gal at the desk next to me came back from her lunch break and she said, “There’s a crazy woman down on the corner just standing there picking at the air.” I thought this description to be odd, but [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=961701 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:06:39 +0100 961701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=952157&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F16%2Ffairy-dust%2F Or maybe it was called pixie dust. Whatever it was Tinkerbell sprinkled over the children in the Peter Pan story that magically allowed them to fly. That’s the ticket — that’s what we needed! Because you know, otherwise we couldn’t fly. (Not even if you wear a superhero cape and jump [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=952157 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:03:21 +0100 952157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=939820&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F10%2Fm-f-na%2F Wow. Here I was ready to comment on one piece of news, when several more caught my attention. They all revolve around social ideas of gender rôles, and marginalised or disabled people. This first one struck close to home: Khadijah Farmer was kicked out of women’s toilet of a Manhattan, NY, restaurant because [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=939820 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:59:15 +0100 939820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=936864&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F09%2Fsecond-hand-story%2F Well, this is a terribly second-hand review. Which really wouldn’t be fair, so I won’t even try to review the play, because I’m not going to be in town to see it. Instead, I’m reviewing the reviewer, or at least remarking upon the reviewer. Nonetheless, I was skimming through newspaper headlines this morning, and [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=936864 Tue, 09 Oct 2007 04:31:54 +0100 936864 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=932051&cid=t_234506_109_f&fid=35088&url=http%3A%2F%2Fqw88nb88.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F06%2Fprove-youre-not-a-robot%2F Several weeks ago hubby emailed me inquiring if I was familiar with accessibility issues related to a Web technology function, “[The bank’s] Internet Banking site prompts users to enter a security code using — I forget what it’s called. It changes every time you sign in. You have to type in what you [...] (Source: Andrea's Buzzing About:) Andrea's Buzzing About: blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=932051 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 05:31:19 +0100 932051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=927960&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F10%2F04%2Fa-traumatic-brain-injury-success-story%2F About two weeks ago, Posit Science was visited by a family who appeared to have greatly benefited from the use of our Brain Fitness Program. This family’s story began with a late-night boating accident involving a beloved young son, circa 20 years of age. The boat that Ryan was riding in was struck by a second speeding boat. He was thrown overboard in the accident, and his skull crushed between the two boats. Direct injury to his brain, and further damage from subsequent bleeding and from the shards of bone embedded within the flesh of the brain was extensive. In this live-or-die situation, significant sections of his damage frontal lobes were necessarily further compromised by the surgery that was required to remove multiple bone fragments from his brain. Ryan was stiff and spastic.... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=927960 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:13:03 +0100 927960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=925412&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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=840678&cid=t_234506_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=806014&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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=790628&cid=t_234506_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=788250&cid=t_234506_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=785948&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F07%2Fwhats-it-all-about%2F The objective over a 2-3 year period, is to continue to elaborate this blog content and to write a short series of such books (3 more are on my schedule), to provide a brain science perspective about normal brain development, function, aging, and disease, and about brain plasticity-based therapeutics designed to address a wide variety of problems that variously limit the achievements of children and adults in need of help. When this ‘backgrounder’ information about the book appears at this site, we’ll stow it at a place where you can easily avoid it! On the other hand, if the book captures your interests to the extent that you want to read or understand more about its stroll through the neuroscience of brain plasticity through a lifetime, if you’re up for it, I&#82... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=785948 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:20:48 +0100 785948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=783049&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F08%2F06%2Fa-communicator-gets-his-voice-back%2F Ed Steenerson began his career as a rehabilitation psychologist before moving to the high-tech industry as an engineer and manager. Ed was a leader and team builder — which was all the more remarkable in light of the fact that he had suffered serious head trauma in an accident as teenager. Through hard work and persistence, Ed’s educational and career success beautifully documented how he overcame the memory and other cognitive losses that stemmed from this childhood injury. But while working for a Fortune 500 company as a manager in his 40’s, things began to fall apart. Ed found that he could no longer remember things, stay focussed, or effectively work in group settings. His short-term memory and concentration deteriorated to the point where he could not function at me... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=783049 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:06:55 +0100 783049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=781449&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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=763080&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F07%2F27%2Fa-city-on-the-move-the-jacksonville-brain-summit%2F I’m in Jacksonville, Florida today, participating in what is a very unusual and special event –– “The Jacksonville Brain Summit”. In an earlier entry, I told you that Jacksonville has adopted a leadership position in their use of the most advanced brain-science-based strategies to improve the academic performance and the mature working skills and performance abilities of its citizenry. There efforts have been inspired by a combination of great leadership and vision from the administration and on the School Board of the Jacksonville public schools, combined with exceptionally strong support from informed leaders in the wider community. This school district (the 19th largest in the US, extending from dense urban through extensive suburban to rural areas across one of the largest te... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=763080 Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:45:26 +0100 763080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=747236&cid=t_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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_234506_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=706634&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F29%2Fimportant-update-on-risk-factors-contributing-to-ptsd-onset%2F In our last entry on this subject, we summarized risk factors for PTSD onset as follows: “You just DON’T want to be a) an ambidextrous b) Latino c) who has a history of cognitive or learning impairment and d) who suffers additional diffuse or localized brain trauma e) in parallel with an exposure to f) repeated disturbing experiences.” Today, we add another factor: You just don’t want to be FROM New Orleans, because citizens of The Big Easy are about 10 times more likely to suffer from PTSD than from your average, not-too-recently-horribly-traumatized Great American City. So if you’re an ambidextrous Crescent City Latino who has been knocked about on their head a few times, you might want to slow down a little on that stroll to the Recruiting Center! (Source: On ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=706634 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:41:51 +0100 706634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=703138&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F28%2Ftherapeutically-reliving-and-elaborating-your-traumatic-experiences-can-be-harmful%2F In the June 18th issue of Newsweek, Sharon Begley wrote an opinion column that must have raised a few hackles in the psychotherapy community. In her words, “…(for) patients seeking psychotherapy….talking can be dangerous … and therapists have not exactly rushed to tell them so.” One well-documented class of examples has come from “stress debriefing”, a standard procedure used to help individuals who have experienced a traumatic event — like the Virginia Tech ‘massacre’, for example. The goal in such therapies is to forcefully encourage individuals to discuss and seriously self-examine their feelings about the traumatic episode(s) — and to relive it in detail, through their own descriptions. It turns out that patients who ha... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=703138 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:54:39 +0100 703138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=703139&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F28%2Fon-the-brain-gets-a-new-url%2F Those of you who struggle to spell “Merzenich” might be happy to know that you can now (and forever after) access this blog at www.onthebrain.com. (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=703139 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:13:21 +0100 703139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=703140&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F28%2Fthe-computer-game-syndrome%2F You may have heard that the AMA recently decided that a child’s “addiction” to computer games should, in the extreme, be recognized as a medical disorder. You probably understand that the AMA has two reasons for elaborating the lists of maladies that are recognized as deserving treatment by its members. 1) They really do have a genuine interest in helping the mentally and physically impaired populations in our society. And 2) they really do want to be reimbursed for that help. It’s difficult to set up reimbursement from insurers or the government if you have to identify the malady that you’re treating as: “Loves to play video games WAY too much”!! So what do WE think about this issue? Is obsessive video-game playing pathological? Is it a “dis... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=703140 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:08:45 +0100 703140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=699367&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F26%2Fbrain-fitness-training-measuring-psycho-social-dimensions-of-brain-health%2F Dr. William Bailey’s June 22nd comments about a study that he and his colleague Jean Turner are conducting on the impacts of Brain Fitness Program training on symptoms of depression, self-efficacy and related psycho-social dimensions in older individuals is worth special mention. We welcome these two University of Arkansas scientists into our community, and look forward to their study results. BFP training specifically targets neurological processes that govern positive good spirits and self-awareness, and we believe that Drs. Bailey and Turner SHOULD measure positive outcomes resulting from this training — but as in all scientific investigations, time will tell! Dr. Bailey, as you and Dr. Turner gather and analyze your data, please let us ALL know about your experiences and ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=699367 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:04:15 +0100 699367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=697002&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F25%2Fbuilding-a-tree-house%2F I spent much of the last two weekends working with my two sons-in-law constructing a tree-house for their children (Diane and my grandchildren). It’s a beauty. You enter tree-house paradise via a ladder (still under construction) that wraps around a large oak tree to deliver the kid to a notch that opens out onto a beautiful platform that ties together two magnificent old oak trees. A delightful slide runs off one side. Kids get onto the slide through a magical gateway formed by two large, parallel vertical trunks. Through another notch, you can enter (or exit) the tree-house from above, by first climbing up a net that extends from the ground up through the notch, than stepping down from the notch onto the platform. Future plans call for a net between two other large branches for a kind ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=697002 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:28:13 +0100 697002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683502&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F19%2Fwhy-not-fix-it-before-it-breaks%2F An article in the New York Times published about two weeks ago mirrored by an article in the AARP Bulletin bumptiously extolled the wonderful energies in the pharmaceutical industry directed toward medical strategies for more effectively treating or ‘curing’ Alzheimers Disease. The NYT science writer focussed on Wyeth Laboratories, because they are putting down most of their chips on an AD play. Both articles pointed out, quite correctly, that there is a tremendous effort and substantial treasure being expended in this drug development arena, and that almost every major manufacturer is working hard to crack this nut. The marginally effective drugs now available for AD patients have been highly profitable for their producers; new proprietary drugs that could actually arrest the ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683502 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:56:49 +0100 683502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683503&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F18%2Fperalta-school-hits-the-jackpot%2F As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my grandaughter Leila’s neighborhood public elementary school in Oakland, California is being reconstructed at all deliberate speed — and I emphasize the word ‘deliberate’ — after it was largely destroyed by an arsonist. Because schools and institutions in general have just lost the skill of doing anything FAST, much less on an actual schedule, it won’t be open in time for the start of school. But it’s not ALL bad news! Two benefactors have joined forces and decided to give Peralta School a computer cart and Fast ForWord software to jump-start their little brains, beginning at the start of the 2007 school year! Their BRAINS can go faster, even while the Oakland Unified School District can’t. This gift of hop... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683503 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:56:24 +0100 683503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676714&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F10%2Fracing-through-life%2F Race car driving was the last thing Marilyn Kays expected to be doing at the age of 63. Her late husband called her ‘grandma’ because of her pokey driving. After completing Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Program, where she made great individual progress, Marilyn felt more confident than ever before. She noticed that she remembered things like her bank account number without trying. Her outlook on life was more positive, and completing the program eased her battle with depression, so much so that she was able to get off her medication. Marilyn was feeling so confident and frisky that she decided to enroll in a driving class for high-performance cars. “I would have never done that before; I wouldn’t have even thought of it,” Marilyn told us. ”I’m taking more chances than e... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676714 Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:49:18 +0100 676714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676715&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F09%2Fcreating-a-representation-of-the-world-when-you-cant-see-it%2F Dan has been making a lot of comments and asking a lot of questions, and I thought I’d take a crack at one of the latter. He specifically asks how a blind individual creates representations of the things of the world. What kind of internal ‘representation’ can the brain make, when it can never see them? You know, intuitively, that if you hold an object and manipulate it in your hand — say a water glass — that you can create a mental construct of it. That construct includes the shape, size, surface texture etc. of the object. What if a blind person could draw that object? How do you think they would represent it? It turns out that this question was asked by a Canadian psychologist, John Kennedy, beginning about 20 years ago. Kennedy had the bright idea of aski... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676715 Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:10:19 +0100 676715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676716&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F08%2Fi-think-therefore-i-am%2F There are several highly-ordered neurological representations of the surfaces of your body within a cortical region called “S1″, which occupies a narrow band that roughly bisects the cerebral cortex mantle from a location just above and in front of your ear, and extends from ear to ear. When you stimulate a specific location on the body surface (for example, on the thumb), neurons are selectively excited at specific locations in the brain (the “thumb zones” of body surface ‘representations’). By documenting those responses in detail, a scientist can reconstruct orderly ‘topographic maps’ of the body surface in this cortical region. [Historically, there was believed to be a single large body surface representation in “S1″. In the 1... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676716 Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:36:57 +0100 676716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=676717&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F06%2Fpride-in-reading%2F In an earlier blog, I recommended that you look at “Children of the Code” as a reference for gaining a deeper understanding of dyslexia and its human costs. I really hope that you’ve taken a look at this wonderful resource. One of the best treatments in this outstanding series of documentaries summarizes the often-tragic human consequences of reading failure that begin with the failed kid being very ashamed of themselves. Every teacher and every clinical professional that is dedicated to helping these children understands that reading failure, with rare exception, has consequences for the kid that extend far beyond the classroom, and that stem from the fact that such a girl or boy is a self-identified academic bust. It is just not very self-reassuring to be a Red Bird, or... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=676717 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:13:13 +0100 676717 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=659138&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F04%2Fred-red-wine%2F Alcohol is our best-studied neurotoxin. You can pickle a brain in booze. At somewhat lower concentrations that are quite easily achieved in drinking humans, ethanol alters synaptic spines and their plasticity, greatly reduces the complexity of neuronal interconnections, ultimately kills off your neurons, and shrinks your brain. Cognitive and motor losses are the predictable behavioral consequences of chronically drinking too much. While you’re burning up your liver over-indulging, you’re also seriously disrespecting your brain! On the other hand, we have an increasingly complete scientific understanding of the neurological bases of the “French Paradox”, whereby the cardiovascular and neurological and hepatic health of regular imbibers of lots of red wine actually se... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=659138 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:17:55 +0100 659138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=659139&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F04%2Fwhats-in-your-dna%2F James B. Watson, the genetics pioneer, is the first individual in the history of the universe to have his DNA completely sequenced. In a statement that testifies to his infectious enthusiasm for nerd science (for which, if you’ve had a conversation with him, you know that Watson is obviously genetically endowed), Jim was “thrilled to see my genome!” Dr. Watson now stands with his pants down, naked to the world, DNA-wise, in every way but one. His figleaf?! He asked that his apolipoprotein E gene, which (with substantial variance) predicts one’s susceptibility to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease be kept a secret. Watson didn’t want to know — nor did he want anyone else to know — if he had any special susceptibility to AD. Actually, you can ta... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=659139 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:26:42 +0100 659139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651331&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F06%2F01%2Fa-great-resource-for-a-general-understanding-of-dyslexia-and-its-human-and-societal-impacts%2F David Boulton’s “Children of the Code” is a wonderful, general resource for educating yourself, a class, a teaching staff, your professional assistants — or any other group with a need to know — about the miracle of reading. A second, very enlightened focus of Boulton’s opus is on the origins of, and the great personal and societal costs, of impairments in reading. David’s basic strategy was 1) to record beautifully guided conversations with more than a hundred scholars, scientists and educators who have something useful to say about reading and reading failure; 2) to collect a large series of straight-from-the-heart interviews with less-than-proficient and busted readers; then, as a skilled documentarian, 3) to summarize the wisdom represented by... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651331 Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:48:37 +0100 651331 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651332&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F31%2Fmea-culpa%2F One of my favorite former research fellows, David Blake, has chided me for posting multiple blog entries on some days, followed by several entry-less days. “Spread ‘em out!”, says Dave. “There should be something new and worthwhile to read EVERY day.” Since David is considerably smarter than me, and because he’s a real engineer who technologically intimidates his old professor and knows a well-run blog-site when he sees one, I know he’s right, and will obey! From now on, at least one new entry will appear at this blogsite, every day. Count on it! Thanks, Dave! (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=651332 Thu, 31 May 2007 23:39:11 +0100 651332 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651333&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F31%2Fhow-can-we-help-our-brain-traumatized-soldiers-and-vets-nancy-raises-a-call-for-action%2F On May 23rd, Nancy Martin-Crisco wrote a heart-rending response to a blog I posted on May 18th (”How to get PTSD. Twice. Worse.”) that you all should read. Her son Christopher was diagnosed with PTSD after service in Afghanistan. After a few months stateside, he was redeployed to Baghdad. It was NOT good for him. Addiction, divorce, separation from his child, depression, anxiety, anger mangagement issues, problems with relationships, poor focus, still PTSD, a feeling of worthlessness and shame because he’s here, with us, discharged because of his addiction after 10 years in the Army, instead of with his fellow soldiers, who he feels he has let down………. CHRISTOPHER BLAMES HIMSELF. How utterly and totally unfair that is. Christopher, the changes that you exper... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651333 Thu, 31 May 2007 23:00:06 +0100 651333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651334&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F30%2Fethics-class%2F I delivered a lecture about ethical considerations related to the neuroscience of brain plasticity to a class at Stanford last night, and thought it might be fun to reiterate some of the issues raised for those bright young men and women struggling to understand how to behave in their professional lives. The class is organized by Bill Hurlbut, a Stanford neurologist and bioethicist who serves on the President’s Council for Bioethics, and Bill Newsome, a distinguished neurobiologist (member of the National Academy of Sciences) on the Stanford faculty who has had a long interest in neuroscience-related issues of philosophy and ethics. The closing questions of my lecture, which you might consider as ‘food for thought’: 1. How can a neuroscience that lucidly explains the ori... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651334 Thu, 31 May 2007 00:01:21 +0100 651334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651335&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F30%2Fdown-syndrome-children-can-greatly-benefit-from-early-training%2F A child therapist who I very greatly respect, Ann Osterling (from Champaign, Illinois) wrote me an email message in response to my (undoubtedly superficial) comments about Down Sydrome that I thought everyone interested in helping these kids would enjoy reading. In her words: You threw out the idea of intensive early intervention as one option for improving the learning outcomes of children with Down Syndrome. Not only do I agree, but we actually have already seen the tremendous positive impact of early intervention (in these) children. If I had Down Syndrome when I was born 50 years ago, it is highly likely that I would have been put into an institution. After all, we knew that people with Down Syndrome were very retarded, and had very low IQs. We knew that because that’s where mos... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651335 Wed, 30 May 2007 22:37:52 +0100 651335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=645385&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F29%2Fa-brain-fitness-graduate-comes-home%2F A couple of weeks ago, Jerry Emmons shared his story with Posit Science. It seems that the 84-year-old was spending much of each day re-living old, painful World War II memories. He had been the only survivor in his crew and the horror was haunting him more and more. “Post-traumatic stress disorder,” said his doctor. And it was getting worse. PTSD was just one of Jerry’s cognitive challenges. He was losing control: getting lost while driving and walking, feeling afraid of going out, having difficulty remembering everyday things that were crucial to his welfare, and causing his wife Marline no end of worry. Ultimately, Marline saw no alternative to having Jerry take up residence in a senior community where he could live a less stressful life and get the help that he need... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=645385 Tue, 29 May 2007 19:26:21 +0100 645385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629442&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F21%2Foverlooking-downs-syndrome%2F Dazee is frustrated because we have not included any discussion of Down’s Syndrome at this site, even while autism and other forms of severe disability are frequent topics of consideration. There are several reasons for our neglect. First, the principal contributor to this blog has no experience with these kids. He hasn’t studied them (or animal models of this inherited malady) directly, in any meaningful way. There are better authorities out there in the scientific community. Second, these children differ from other kids with cognitive impairments that we’ve studied, by the fact that their Syndrome commonly results in the disabling of one of the key brain centers (the “basal nucleus of Meynert”, a main source of the critical neurotransmitter acetylcholine) ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629442 Mon, 21 May 2007 19:16:44 +0100 629442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629443&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F21%2Fjacksonville-is-moving-up%2F Jacksonville, Florida is making an unprecedented attempt to move up in the world. How can a large American city accomplish that? There is one slow-but-certain way: Improve the brain potential of, and the possibilities for achievement for EVERY child. How on earth could an entire city begin to achieve THAT? Led by a great Superintendent of Schools (Dr. Joseph Wise), and an enlightened school-administration team and Board (and by other key civic leaders), Jacksonville is investing heavily in new technical infrastructure, in computers, and in the most advanced computer-based brain-plasticity-based training programs so that an outstanding array of the best brain training tools in the world are available in every public school in their metropolitan area. Their goal [which ought to be on the fro... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629443 Mon, 21 May 2007 14:29:12 +0100 629443 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=623896&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F18%2Fhow-to-get-ptsd-twice-worse%2F I just read disturbing comments by a highly respected University of California doc Karen Seal [who screens and treats returning veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan at San Francisco’s famous Ft. Miley Veterans Hospital, one of our premier VA Research Hospitals] about the redeployment of young soldiers treated for PTSD and other neurological and psychatric problems back to Mid-East war zones [http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,136020,00.html]. Effective last December, service members with a “psychiatric disorder in remission, or whose residual symptoms do not impair duty performance” may be sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan. The redeployment decision will be made by their military commanders. Dr. Seal stated flatly that patients under her direct care had been deployed ba... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=623896 Fri, 18 May 2007 23:00:55 +0100 623896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620644&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F16%2Fi-feel-your-pain%2F In the May issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex, a group from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan reported interesting results from a study in which “pain centers” in the brain were shown to be activated by WITNESSING pain afflicted to others. If you see someone being poked with a sharp needle in a (fake) movie, your brain responds as if YOU’VE been poked, and your brain responds as if YOU hurt. (I can almost see you wincing, as you read this!) IT HURTS, WHEN YOU THINK IT SHOULD. If I flash a red light each time I burn your skin, you’ll learn that the red light means “pain”. If I flash a green light each time I just warm your skin a little without burning it, you’ll understand that the green light means “no pa... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620644 Thu, 17 May 2007 06:19:21 +0100 620644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620645&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F16%2Fone-million-children%2F Sometime over the next days, the millionth child willl enroll in a Fast ForWord language or reading program. For Paula, Bill, Steve, Bob, Glenn …………. and the thousands of other good people who have helped make, sell, manage, train, support, HELP those million children — THANK YOU! One of the nicest things that can happen to a nerdy scientist like myself is for a parent or grandparent or aunt or teacher come up to me in some public place (or in a letter or email) and thank me, for saving a child’s bacon. When this kind of message is delivered, I know, as do my colleagues who get these messages (no one more than Paula Tallal), that I am the recipient of thanks being delivered to all of those thousands of folks who have played a role in helping Fast ForWord... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620645 Wed, 16 May 2007 19:33:41 +0100 620645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620646&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F15%2Fwest-nile-virus-is-also-on-the-list%2F In Caldwell, Idaho, on the Snake River in Western Idaho, Dr. Carolyn Rees tells us that she was at ground zero during a West Nile Virus epidemic “leaving many people with post-encephalitic brain damage”. A review of the research literature on WNV includes a number of studies now documenting enduring memory and other cognitive losses as a predictable outcome of a WNV infection. The prevalence of this kind of virus (an “arborvirus”) is growing continuously in the US. The disease is primarily spread via mosquito-transmitted infections in birds. Where the disease has had a long history, some mammals are also commonly infected (e.g., in Northern Africa, where this plague originated, nearly 100% of horses have WNV antibodies marking a historic infection; tragically, in th... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620646 Tue, 15 May 2007 22:03:11 +0100 620646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620647&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F15%2Funderstanding-mental-illness%2F Alan Towers wrote an instructive, poignant comment about the difficulty that he had understanding that his schizophrenic son could not be EXPECTED to “make sense”, if sense was defined by the standards that applied for Alan, or for the wider society. Because so many people who live with psychotic illness or substantial neurological impairment require that their affected loved ones operate by THEIR rules and THEIR logical constructs and world view, they often abandon their children, relatives and friends as uncorrectible and irrecoverable, as lost souls. I’ve had a conversation about this subject with a number of individuals who live with someone who suffers from neurological or psychiatry illness, and know that this misunderstanding can be destructive for all concerned. I... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620647 Tue, 15 May 2007 20:58:11 +0100 620647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=586066&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F01%2Fjacks-hippocampus-is-bigger-than-yours%2F My dog Jack, shown here, thinking, has a proportionally larger hippocampus than you do. If I had a pet bunny, its hippocampus would be (proportionally) larger, still!! You’ve probably heard a lot about the crucial role that the hippocampus plays in recording our “episodic” (historic, serial, ‘long-term’) memories. Does this mean that we should revise that age old saying to “Molly has a memory like a ………….. rabbit!”. Or what?! Or put another way, what can a rabbit or dog DO, that is decisively superior to YOU? It turns out that dogs and especially rabbits have an exquisite ability to reconstruct and remember their spatial environments, on the basis of visual and olfactory cues in their landscape environments. I learned this ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=586066 Tue, 01 May 2007 16:41:34 +0100 586066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=586067&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F01%2Fnew-%25e2%2580%259cvisual%25e2%2580%259d-fitness-programs%2F It was big local news at Posit Science last week when its scientists and engineers completed the development of a new suite of intensive brain plasticity-based training programs targeting declining visual perception, visual attentional control, eye movement control, and related cognitive abilities — and released the programs internally, for evaluation by its “outcomes research” team. Very extensive testing has already shown that these new programs can substantially rejuvenate the visual capabilities – and related visual cognitive skills — of the older brain. Now, controlled scientific studies shall determine the overall effectiveness of this program suite, as well as the additive and possibly synergistic values of applying this very extensive new program with Posit’s al... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=586067 Tue, 01 May 2007 15:54:05 +0100 586067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=586068&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F05%2F01%2Fultrasound-and-autism%2F A former UCSF medical student, Carolyn Rees, now a doc in rural Idaho, wrote me a very informative letter — and raised several interesting questions — that are definitely worth a little discussion here. Dr. Rees asked: Is there any evidence that ultrasound examination can affect brain development? In fact, that evidence is mixed. Over the past 10-15 years, a number of smaller studies conducted principally in North America recorded cognitive and language impairments in children that were attributable to ultrasound examination — while results in several other subsequent large studies conducted principally in the public health systems in Europe were negative. On the other hand: 1) Elegant studies conducted in monkeys by an eminent brain scientist at Yale (Dr. Pasko Rakic) ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=586068 Tue, 01 May 2007 15:46:49 +0100 586068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=571672&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F26%2Fa-smarter-mike%2F I completed Posit Science’s “Brain Fitness Program” about a week ago, and have been alert to possible changes that I might be able to attribute to it. Two stand out. I have been writing a book, and had written a chapter in which the reader surveys their neurological status by conducting a series of simple, self-administered assessments. As I worked on the development of these tasks, I “invented” a speech fluency assessment, and as a part of that development measured my own abilities. Because I perceived gains in speech fluency after BFP training, I re-tested myself. Overall fluency scores had more than doubled. A second relatively objective measure of improvement came about by accident. On a flight from Mexico to Houston, not long before landing, I completed ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=571672 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:34:00 +0100 571672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=571673&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F26%2Fwhat-underlies-the-documented-increase-in-autism-incidence-results-of-a-new-study%2F Studies from the Center for Disease Control and elsewhere have compellingly documented a rapid increase in the incidence of autism in the United States. WHAT THE HELL IS CAUSING IT? Given the enormous human and societal costs of this malady, few practical scientific questions are more important to we Americans, in our current era. Whether a single or multiple factors, the cause(s) of an increased incidence of autism has to meet three obvious criteria: 1) It has to be widely dispersed in our environment — because autism rate increases are EVERYWHERE, at least in the United States. 2) It must be steadily increasing in its concentration or its power over the past several decades. 3) It must further exacerbate the abnormal brain-development processes that account for autism origin in c... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=571673 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:57:38 +0100 571673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=570491&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F25%2Fcomputers-go-to-school%2F The U.S. Department of Education recently published a report that they prepared for Congress summarizing the gains achieved by children using computer-based training in reading and mathematics, comparing randomly assigned classes of children who did or did not use these tools (”Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from the First Student Cohort”; Report to Congress from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences). If you read this report you would discover, perhaps surprisingly, that the use of computer-based training offers NO measurable advantages over standard teacher/pencil-and-paper/print-based training. Educational publishers and software compani... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=570491 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:15:31 +0100 570491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552124&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F18%2Fwhy-we-do-research%2F Why do we study autistic or dyslexic or schizophrenic or other subjects, in our scientific experiments? That is a question that was asked, rather impolitely, by “dyslexic in LA”, who challenged the “arrogance” of a perspective that engages such individuals as “scientific guinea pigs”. There are two simple answers to this question. 1. We want to understand. 2. If possible, we want to help. There are few if any individuals in the current era who have contributed more to understanding and helping autistic individuals than Tito, Soma, and Portia. I’ve tried to help them. I have the GREATEST respect and admiration for Tito, and for every other individual that has been clinically identified as “autistic” that has contributed to the struggle ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552124 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:25:46 +0100 552124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552125&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F18%2Fthe-brain-and-the-law-when-bobby-goes-bad%2F Each year I deliver a “guest lecture” in a medical ethics course at Stanford. My friend Bill Hurlbut, a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics, is the course director. The issues that I raise in this course were addressed in part by an interesting cover story in the March 11th New York Times Sunday magazine (“The Brain on the Stand”), which considered some of the ways that contemporary neuroscience could be used in our legal system to neurologically determine truth from falsehood, or guilt from innocence. The article stated, quite correctly, that it should soon be possible to reconstruct a brain’s historic involvement in a past criminal event, or at least to query a subject in a way that the brain’s lying or truth-telling about it would be unequivocally documented. Th... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552125 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:15:41 +0100 552125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=547005&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F16%2Fhow-can-the-same-brain-plasticity-based-training-programs-help-individuals-with-cognitive-losses-arising-from-normal-aging-exposure-to-ied-explosions-or-chemotherapy%2F Over the past two weeks, I have specifically discussed the potential value of intensive brain plasticity-based brain fitness training for individuals with ALL of these (and other, related) personal histories. How in the heck can “one size fit all”? How on earth can the losses in mental faculties stemming from an explosion of little bubbles in the brain accompanying an IED blast be related to those derived from a slow, deliberate chemical poisoning of regenerative processes in the brain designed to limit the proliferation of cancerous tissues that are usually not even IN the brain, or to the normal deterioration of the fabric of the brain that accompanies getting older? Understanding the nature of the basic neurological processes that account for how the brain encodes and “represents�... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=547005 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:26:33 +0100 547005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=547007&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F16%2Fwhats-normal-the-diagnosis-of-bipolar-disorder-in-children-is-on-the-rise%2F In an article in the April 9th issue of the New Yorker, Jerome Groopman writes lucidly about the explosion in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children. Reading it made me thank my lucky stars once again that I am not a child neurologist or child psychologist or child psychiatrist who actually has to address the problems presented by the instable child personality, one child at a time. As in the case of the ADHD “epidemic” that has resulted in the continuous medication of hundreds of thousands of children with strong neuro-active drugs, a rapidly growing population of kids are now being given even more powerful anti-psychotic drugs in an attempt to stabilize their erratic behaviors. It’s a rather strange world we live in. Life for many children is chock full of stron... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=547007 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:22:31 +0100 547007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=547009&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F16%2Falvaro-asked-a-tough-question-how-do-you-define-%25e2%2580%2598smart%25e2%2580%2599%2F Alvaro asked this question as a comment after a blog entry discussed recent evidence that physical exercise contributes to academic success. Alvaro, “smart”, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. You do not necessarily want a computer jockey next to you in your foxhole. You do not necessarily want a great world scholar managing your finances. If I lifted you up and dropped you down into a community of Aleuts or Bedouins or Ainu, it would take a very, very long time before anyone in that community viewed you as “smart”. “SMART” IS CONTEXTUAL. We commonly define “smart” in terms of academic success in school. We commonly define it in terms of the accumulation and capacity for regurgitation and manipulation of content from memory, becaus... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=547009 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:20:19 +0100 547009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=539640&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F12%2Fa-shock-wave-of-brain-injuries%2F That was the headline in a Washington Post article written by Ronald Glasser, published on Sunday, April 8, 2007. It reported a rather astounding statistic that applies to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: About 30% of soldiers in those conflicts have been directly exposed to IED or other powerful explosions. That exposure has resulted in diffuse physical trauma to their brains. To paraphrase Mr. Glasser, detonation of any powerful explosive generates a blast wave of high pressure that spreads out at about twice the speed of sound away from the explosion, and travels with great force over hundreds of yards. The initial shock wave physically “rattles” the brain within the skull; the huge volume of displaced air flooding back into the area of the explosion generates a s... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=539640 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:03:27 +0100 539640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=539641&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F12%2Fmore-better-quicker-new-middlehigh-school-computer-based-language-training-programs%2F I attended a scientific meeting two weeks ago in which Bill Jenkins, the program development team leader at Scientific Learning, described a radically improved version of one of their middle- and high school-targeted language learning programs (which they call “Literacy Advanced”). They have completely re-worked the game-play aspects of these exercises. Changes resulted in very significant improvements in training efficiency. Even though the content in the exercises has been increased by 29%, these more efficient and more engaging exercises are actually completed (high-schoolers’ speech reception and related cognitive abilities reach an asymptotic performance level) in 23% LESS time. Most importantly, in that shorter time, the average kid asymptotes at a 37% HIGHER performance level.... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=539641 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:44:06 +0100 539641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=539642&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F12%2Fmy-own-experiences-at-brain-fitness-exercises%2F I just completed session 31 (of 40) of Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Program v. 2.0 this morning. Because I have been working on the development of these exercises over the past several years, I’ve spent many an hour hunched over my computer “trying to get the answer right” on model training programs!! My current goal is to make brain fitness training part of my regular daily routine. I have another several months of model programs lined up after I complete the BFP. I’m already pretty addicted to my daily time spent in the “brain fitness center”, and am looking forward to these visual-skills, attention-skills and executive-skills training programs with considerable anticipation. A key is to put the necessary time for exercise onto your schedule in... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=539642 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:31:46 +0100 539642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=530659&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F09%2Freactions-to-a-book-about-an-autistic-boy-and-his-mom%2F Several days ago, I recommended a book called “Strange Son”, written by a mother who struggled to communicate with, understand, and help her own autistic child. When I was looking up the URL for the book, I scanned through the reviews posted on Amazon, and was stunned by two negative reactions. One was from a reader who panned the book, stating (I’m paraphrasing) that a mother had to pretty far out to lunch to have a son who had knowledge about lots of things that she, his mom, was absolutely unaware of. To the reviewer, this reflected unbelievable insensitivity on the part of the boy’s mother. Who, then, would be interested in reading the ridiculous, self-centered statement about this subject from such a mother? I know the mom and dad, and know the boy. The mother has dedicated mu... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=530659 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:44:14 +0100 530659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=530660&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F09%2Fmore-better-quicker%2F I attended a scientific meeting two weeks ago in which Bill Jenkins, the program development team leader at Scientific Learning, described a radically improved version of one of their high school-targeted language learning program (that they call “Literacy Advanced”). They have completely re-worked the game-play aspects of these exercises. Changes resulted in major improvements in training efficiency. Even though the content in the exercises has been increased by 29%, these more efficient and more engaging exercises are actually completed (high-schoolers’ speech reception and related cognitive abilities reach an asymptotic performance level) in 23% LESS time. Most importantly, in that shorter time, the average kid asymptotes at a 37% HIGHER performance level. In a phrase, More, Bett... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=530660 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:06:56 +0100 530660 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=523833&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F05%2Fbrain-plasticity-based-cognitive-training-elevates-bdnf%2F Serum BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophin factor) has been repeatedly shown to be lower than normal in schizophrenic, bipolar and depressed patient populations. Moreover, the severity of manias or depression have been shown to be inversely correlated with serum BDNF. This key brain trophic factor plays a complicated panoply of roles in brain development, in maintaining the metabolic status and transmitter production in neuronal populations, in protecting neuron populations, and in enabling brain plasticity processes. It is specifically released as a function of cortical or subcortical nucleus activity levels. At least in the cortex, its release is a function of the level of coordination of neural activities. In a presentation at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Colorado... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=523833 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:03:01 +0100 523833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=520759&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F04%2Fa-recommended-book-for-some-readers%2F “Strange Son”, by Portia Iversen is a personal account of a very special individual (the co-founder of Cure Autism Now; a friend of mine) struggling to understand and help her autistic son. It is NOT a book about the general science of autism or about the landscape of rehabilitative therapies applied to help autistics, because it is sharply focussed on Portias own journey of understanding, which necessarily describes only a small part of the complex science and treatment landscape in the world of autism. The achievement described in the book is notable: A mother with a very severely impaired child comes to understand, through the application of the “Rapid Prompting Method” empirically developed by an Indian mother, that her “strange son” knows and under... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=520759 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:06:30 +0100 520759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=520761&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F04%2Flearning-math-on-the-streets%2F As in many places in the “3rd World”, Mexican cities have many children on their streets and plazas, begging, or selling small trinkets of toys or whatever to whoever passes by. It is often difficult to turn these bright-eyed kids down ,and by the end of the evening I can find my pockets full of little things that I have no use for — even while these street children are usually the obvious sales force for a supervising adult (usually mom). Interacting with these bright little salespeople reminds me of a study conducted on the streets in Recife, a large city of more than a million people on the northeast coast of Brazil. Brazil has a large population of abandoned children who live largely on the streets, and who survive in large part as street merchants. A mathematics rese... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=520761 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:24:40 +0100 520761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=520762&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F04%2F04%2Fwhy-science-can-be-confusing-just-another-example%2F This study DOES provide unequivocal evidence that new cell formation in the hippocampus is not REQUIRED for spatial learning. That is hardly surprising. The primary changes underlying learning involve an amplification of the strengths of just those connections (synapses) that contribute to a successful learning outcome. In most of the brain — including the cerebral cortex and the primary brain centers that support the cortex’s contributions to learning, cognition and memory control — there is little or no neurogenesis in adult brains. Nonetheless, the brain is, by its very nature, a plastic (LEARNING) machine, and the cortex is crucially involved in all memory-guided learning! It learns through changing synaptic weights (strengthening synapses that are engaged in a good &... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=520762 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:06:02 +0100 520762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513149&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F30%2Fmarch-30-does-exercise-make-kids-smarter%2F That’s the claim of a lead article in the last issue of Newsweek (for the full article, see MSNBC Article). The authors cite interesting evidence from a study conducted at an outstanding brain plasticity-oriented neuroscience research institute at the University of Illinois, where investigators have found that the kids with the fittest bodies are the kids with the fittest brains. There is a growing body of evidence that has argued that physical exercise is good for your brain. A University of Illinois scientist Bill Greenough conducted a landmark study that showed, more than a decade ago, that physical exercise has a direct, positive impact on enriching the blood supply to a brain region that is engaged by that exercise (for example, the sectors of the brain controlling running movem... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513149 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 04:26:51 +0100 513149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513151&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F30%2Fmarch-30-second-language-learning-as-brain-exercise%2F While I’m working in Mexico, my wife Diane spends much of each day in an immersion Spanish class. She began by taking Spanish classes over a period of about a year at a local community center. Now that she has the basics, an immersion class in which you have to operate in the second language is pretty effective. After two weeks of classes, the difference is striking; she now has the confidence for operating in simple, everyday conversations in social child-talk Spanish. She is determine to grow an oak tree from this acorn! There are few things that you can do that are better for an older brain than taking on a complex new challenge like this one. Learning a second language requires careful listening, and a heavy dose of new learning on all levels of perception, memory, cognition, and... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513151 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:53:36 +0100 513151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513153&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F30%2Fmarch-29-why-are-mexican-americans-more-susceptible-to-ptsd%2F Traveling in Mexico and observing the operation of Mexican families has brought a simple question to my mind: Why are Mexican-American soldiers from the Iraq War significantly more susceptible than other ethnicities for developing post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs)? Does their “weakness” reflect genetic contributions to their risk for PTSD, or, more likely perhaps, does it stem from differences in family structure and child-rearing? Susceptibility to PTSD is going to be an on-and-off subject on this blog for awhile We’re going to figure it out — because susceptibility will tell us important things about the plastic change in the brain that underlie this devastating condition. (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=513153 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:51:26 +0100 513153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513155&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F29%2Fmarch-28-a-recommended-book-about-neuro-plasticity%2F The Brain That Changes Itself (2007) by Normal Doidge, M.D. This interesting just-published book chronicles some of the stories of the men and women who have ushered in the new “brain plasticity” revolution in neuroscience. As we repeatedly emphasize in this blog, the brain is no longer viewed by neuroscientists as a machine that is hard-wired early in early life, unable to adapt, and destined to “wear out” with age. This book attempts to document how scientists are unlocking the secrets of the powerful, lifelong, adaptability – or “plasticity” – of the brain, for the benefit of child and young-and-old adult populations. The implications for treating neurological disease, for addressing performance problems that arise in aging, and for making dramatic improvements in human ... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513155 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:25:35 +0100 513155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513156&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F29%2Fmarch-26-for-chemobrain-et-alia-think-brain-fitness-training%2F If you have this personal history of cancer and chemo- or radiation-therapy, or know someone or are treating someone who has lived it, you might seriously consider enrolling (them) in a serious “brain fitness program”. That is ESPECIALLY the case if memory or other cognitive losses have been noted after either chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Posit Science is now supporting a study that is designed to document improvements in cognitive function resulting from its “brain fitness training” strategy (see www.positscience.com) in chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors. While initial findings in this population are very encouraging, we’ll know more when this study is completed. On that date, results shall immediately appear in abbreviated form on this blog! Two more th... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513156 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:23:27 +0100 513156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=513158&cid=t_234506_122_f&fid=35373&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmerzenich.positscience.com%2F2007%2F03%2F29%2Fmarch-24-2007-a-triple-whammy%2F This study is special because it uses an analysis of cognitive ability and senility in identical twins. By this strategy, inherited and childhood rearing factors are ruled out from contributing to measured differences. The results: You’ve had cancer. You’re twice as likely to be significantly cognitively impaired. You’re twice as likely to be senile. Like I said, a triple whammy. ONE MORE POINT: People argue about whether or not Alzheimer’s incidences are on the rise. How can they NOT be, when many factors that affect the probability and the timing of AD onset are products of modern societies? Maybe that contributes to the explanation as to why it took Alois Alzheimer about 7 years to identify the handful of patients with the condition that bears this name! (Source: On the Brain... On the Brain by Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=513158 Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:18:34 +0100 513158