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- mishsquish, on 11/04/2007, -3/+57Over the last year we have interviewed a number of leading brain health and fitness scientists and practitioners worldwide to learn about their research and thoughts, and have news to report.
What can we say today that we couldn't have said only 10 years ago? That what neuroscience pioneer Santiago Ramon ySantiago Ramon y Cajal Cajal claimed in the XX century, "Every man can, if he so desires, become the sculptor his own brain", may well become reality in the XXI. And influence Education, Health, Training, and Gaming in the process.
We have only scratched the surface of what science-based structured cognitive (i.e., mental) exercise can do for brain health and productivity. We are now witnessing the birth of a new industry that crosses traditional sector boundaries and that may help us understand, assess and train our brains, harnessing the growing research about neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons), neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to rewire itself through experience), cognitive training and emotional regulation.
Let's now debunk 10 myths, still too prevalent, that may prevent us from seeing the full potential of this emerging field:
Myth 1: It’s all in our genes.
Reality: A big component of our lifelong brain health and development depends on what we do with our brains. Our own actions, not only our genes, influence our lives to a large extent. Genes predispose us, not determine our fates.
• “Individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through education, occupation and leisure activities, have reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Studies suggest that they have 35-40% less risk of manifesting the disease” - Dr. Yaakov Stern, Division Leader of the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Sergievsky Center at Columbia University.
Myth 2: The field of Cognitive/ Brain Fitness is too new to be credible.
Reality: The field rests on solid foundations dating back more decades --- what is new is the number and range of tools that are now starting to be available for healthy individuals.
• “Rigorous and targeted cognitive training has been used in clinical practice for many years. Exercising our brains systematically is as important as exercising our bodies.” - Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, neuropsychologist, Frontal Lobes fMRIclinical professor of neurology at New York University School of Medicine, and disciple of Alexander Luria.
• "Today, thanks to fMRI and other neuroimaging techniques, we are starting to understand the impact our actions can have on specific parts of the brain." - Dr. Judith Beck, Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Myth 3: Medication is and will remain the only evidence-based intervention for a number of brain-related problems.
Reality: Cognitive training programs are starting to show value as complements to drug-based interventions.
• “Cognitive training rests on solid premises, and some programs already have very promising research results"- Professor David Rabiner, Senior Research Scientist and Director of Psychology and Neuroscience Undergraduate Studies at Duke University.
Myth 4: We need to buy very expensive stuff to improve our brains.
Reality: Every time we learn a new skill, concept or fact, we change the physical composition of our brains. Lifelong learning means lifelong neuroplasticity.neurons
• “Learning is physical. Learning means the modification, growth, and pruning of our neurons, connections–called synapses– and neuronal networks, through experience...we are cultivating our own neuronal networks.” - Dr. James Zull, Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at Case Western University,
Myth 5: Schools should just focus on basic skills like Reading and Math.
Reality: “Mental muscles,” such as working memory, are fundamental to academic performance and are currently overlooked by the school system.
• “I don't see that schools are applying the best knowledge of how minds work. Schools should be the best place for applied neuroscience, taking the latest advances in cognitive research and applying it to the job of educating minds.” - Dr. Arthur Lavin, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western School of Medicine.
Myth 6: Crossword puzzles, or our daily job activities, are the best way to keep one’s mind sharp.
Reality: Computer-based programs can be more effective at training specific cognitive skills.
• “What research has shown is that cognition, or what we call thinking and performance, is really a set of skills that we can train systematically. And that computer-based cognitive trainers or “cognitive simulations” are the most effective and efficient way to do so.” - Dr. Daniel Gopher, Professor of Human Factors Engineering at Technion Institute of Science.
Myth 7: Videogames are always a waste of time.
Reality: Scientifically-designed, computer-based programs can be a good vehicle for training specific skills. For example, it has been shown that short term memory can be expanded by such programs.
• “We have shown that working memory can be improved by training.” – Dr. Torkel Klingberg, Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Karolinska Institute.
Myth 8: This means kids will spend more time playing videogames.
Reality: In Japan – the world’s earliest adopter of brain-related videogames- overall home videogame sales have declined, with children playing less over time. Interestingly, adults in Japan have started to play brain-related video games more, and we are starting to see the same trend with adults in the US and Europe.
• “The sales of software on home game machines have declined (in Japan) from its peak of 533 billion yen in 1997 to 53% of that amount, 315 billion yen in 2005” --- Go Hirano, Japanese executive.
Myth 9: Brain exercise is only for seniors. And, only about memory.
Reality: People of all ages can benefit from a variety of regular brain exercises. For active professionals, Working memorymanaging stress and emotions is often a good first step.
• “The elite performers are distinguished by the structuring of their learning process. It is important to understand the role of emotions: they are not “bad”. They are very useful signals. It is important to become aware of them to avoid being engulfed by them, and learn how to manage them.” - Dr. Steenbarger, Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and author of the book Enhancing Trader Performance.
Myth 10: This all sounds too soft to be of real value to managers and professionals.
Reality: There is nothing soft about the hard science-based training of specific cognitive and emotional skills.
• “I can easily see the relevance in highly competitive fields, such as professional sports and military training.” - Dr. Bradley Gibs - DiggDugglas, on 11/02/2007, -1/+19Myth 11: Brains cease to function shortly after death.
Reality: Brains can function for months or even years after death in a zombie state.
• “After a person dies, their brain can still go on living indefinitely, althouh at greatly reduced capacity. After a few hours of death, the brain becomes limited to basic motor skills and an unyielding desire to eat brains. 80-90% of cognitive reasoning is lost at this point." - AoSDFA, on 11/01/2007, -0/+14Myth 12: This article coincides with the release of the "Brain Age 2" bundle for Nintendo DS.
Reality: No, wait, it DOES coincide with the release of the "Brain Age 2" bundle for the Nintendo DS. Just in time for Christmas!
I am only submitting this comment to see if I can influence the ads populated on this page.
P.S. My "brain age" is 61. How does it know the difference between an old brain and a young dumbass? - ripple123, on 11/03/2007, -4/+16You make the assumption that the school system was intended to churn out intelligent people. But with its prisonlike atmosphere, constant shifting of ones focus to different topics throughout the school day, and early start times that leave students fatigued and unable to focus, I submit that it wasn't designed with the best of intentions. At best daycare for kids, at worst places where wills are crushed, and people are indoctrinated, with a dusting of education to make it seem legitimate. A sign of the effectiveness of this indoctrination is the fact that no one finds it unusual that from the age of 5 to adulthood, people are put in this system by law.
- felkdogg, on 11/01/2007, -1/+12This article brought to you by Brain Training for the Nintendo DS.
- inactive, on 10/31/2007, -0/+5That's no myth. It's fact.
- Stevethegreat, on 11/02/2007, -1/+5If schooling was for educating the masses it would never teach special-expertise oriented knowledge, it would let this for college/universities. It would however teach logic, dialectic and abstraction, the three most prominent functions of the human brain, thus generating a powerful foundation of human intellect for EVERYONE, it would be a child's play from then on to learn expert knowledge on every expertise.
What we have here and now is a failed system that dates back in the industrial era were demand and supply was the norm of the education system. We now- however- have too many experts, too many dropouts and too many functionally illiterate people. You have a doctor that knows just about nothing outside his expertise, you have a lawyer who knows nothing outside the courts, you have an athlete who's abstracted from all meaningful workings of a society, tell me how can such a society function. We have been dismantled to small shells of expertise, long gone are the ages when people -having no formal education- had to understand the world so that function inside them, now -the modern- schooling ENSURES that people are abstracted from the part of the society which is outside their expertise, we have people with the critical thinking of an infant being accounted as grown-ups.
And that's the disaster of modern societies, it's not automation, it's not technology in general, it's not that we have become lazy, it's only that we have become ***** stupid regarding critical thought. In a better world cars would be a lot greener and safe via POUPULAR demand, now that people are too supid to care they just don't they like living in their misery for they never saw the light of having purpose in life.
Mindless unenlightened zombies we are and that's what the Education system made us, the greatest invention to stupify the masses (even if it was intended as such, initially). - orlyfactor, on 10/31/2007, -3/+7Myth 11: Stop using Roman Numerals to represent what century we're in or whatever.
- funkytaco, on 10/31/2007, -0/+3Brain Age, anyone? You too can know the sum of 2 + 2
- Tors10, on 10/31/2007, -1/+4Well, after going to school, I have to agree with him. A lot of education researchers agree, as well. Perhaps reading might enlighten you. There are some interesting books about the school system doing exactly this. You might want to start with "Lies my Teacher Told Me" and go on from there.
- lukeperman, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2Actually, it's not all *****. Here is a clip from a UK show about how our brain gets resculpted based on our activities and experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGYyEtZeKpE - Vic333, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2Myth 12: Stop using commas to set off nonexistent prepositional phrases.
- m3t00, on 10/31/2007, -2/+4Contrived outdated misconceptions do not rate being called Myths. What are they selling?
- emjaymj, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2I think you have the right idea but your details are off. Our education system is in place to ensure the continued success of the country and the economy. And the economy just won't work if everybody tries to become doctors and lawyers. For every successful CEO, we need hundreds of people working jobs like burger flipping or collecting garbage. The school system is designed to make sure people know their role and accept it.
- inactive, on 10/31/2007, -0/+2You're right. Graduates have no idea how to do simple math without a calculator, but they sure do what to do in a Level 3 Code Red Lockdown!
- theodenking, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2New research? Buddhist monks have been 'resculpting' their brains for thousands of years. Man we can be arrogant in the west sometimes.
- theodenking, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1No, I'm not. Learning complex mental or pen-and-paper arithmetic is a waste of time at school now calculators are dirt cheap.
- endlessoul, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1That's all I thought about whilst reading the article.
I never did get very far in that game. - theodenking, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1Maths isn't about number crunching, you can still learn invaluable logical skills through maths using a calculator.
- smacksaw, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1I just read the article.
Quick, someone award me my Big Brain Academy Digg Degree. - mahdaeng, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1@theodenking
You're missing the point. - Gambit89, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1School excels at at what they were designed to do. If you haven't caught on to what this is yet, this would be a good introduction:
"The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher" by John Taylor Gatto
http://hometown.aol.com/tma68/7lesson.htm - mojotooth, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1Errr uh... Lucid dreaming doesn't really belong in that list of fake stuff. There is no scientific question that it exists. Maybe people attribute too much "self help" stuff capability into lucid dreaming, but that doesn't mean it's not a real phenomenon.
- lissie, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1
article is back alive
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/10/30/cogniti ... - Enfenestrate, on 10/31/2007, -0/+1Ah yes, but with my brain age of 22 I can probably realize what 2+2 is and write it down faster than you can.
- Fitbrains, on 05/11/2009, -0/+0I have been working in the brain fitness space since 2001 and we have come along way. There has been significant scientific studies over the last 5 years that illustrate how we can maintain and develop our cognitive skills through our lifespan. Our company has started to launch pilots that provide more efficacy to our software. I truly believe the next 5 years will see a lot of positive developments in this area.
Michael
www.fitbrains.com - Spoomeister, on 10/31/2007, -0/+0Old brain: Republican.
Young dumbass: Democrat. - synwolf, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1Diggs.
- melonhedd, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1It's funny because it's from a television show.
- inactive, on 11/01/2007, -2/+2Wow. You have some serious issues. I recommend you go to school and learn something rather than spouting off conspiracy theories that were passed to you by your psychotic parents.
- OneLess, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1Wasn't there _just_ an article on Digg about how people with good educations are supposed to be at a higher risk for Alzheimer's? Someone's shoveling *****...probably this advertisement.
- thomasprebble, on 10/31/2007, -1/+1http://duggmirror.com/general_sciences/10_Cognitiv ...
- richmessenger, on 10/31/2007, -4/+4Myth 11: I read the quotes after each reality.
- ZurMacht, on 11/01/2007, -0/+0As a psychology student this (while kind of not new) is very interesting to see. Dugg.
- AtomBoyz, on 10/31/2007, -4/+3Very interesting research. I wish the school system would put these findings into their teaching methods.
- red8ii8, on 10/31/2007, -1/+0thanks for the morning dose of commercial advertising! Mmm sales pitch.
- SJKat, on 11/01/2007, -3/+1Yeah, we were like so much better of when there was no mandatory school system. Maybe you should take a look in the mirror...
- 3tcp, on 10/31/2007, -15/+2Am I, am I supposed to sculpt with my penis?
