Of all the issues around brain development, the most interesting to me has always been that of language learning- especially relating to second language learning. It probably has to with my background: my Dad is from Iran, and in my early childhood I spoke Farsi with him and English with my Mom. Eventually, though, my [...]

About the Brain is a new section on the Posit Science website that’s chock-full of great information about the brain and brain fitness.
You can choose from these areas of interest:

Brain Facts helps you understand how your brain and brain plasticity work. It answers all kinds of questions, like “Are crosswords really good for your [...]

At the Transportation Research Board annual meeting last year I attended a talk by Dr. Fredric Wolinsky of the University of Iowa. Along with his colleagues, he conducted an analysis of participants in the ACTIVE clinical trial, the largest study of cognitive training performed to date. He found that people who had done ten hours [...]

Learning a new skill, like juggling a soccer ball, takes focus and practice … what new skill have you tried recently to push your mind?

Recently Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida published a paper showing that older adults who cease driving have higher mortality rates.1 You might think this can be easily explained by the fact that unhealthy people are more likely to cease driving. However, Dr. Edwards used an analytical method to take into account [...]

‘If you want to keep safe out there, you must use your peripheral vision.’ So said the mentor in the orange vest. I was in a crowd of about 100 cyclists who were about to embark on their first criterium bicycle race. Criteriums are circuit races that are held on short road circuits.  In this [...]

A few months ago, my 6-year-old daughter was in the hospital. Her hospital roommate was a two-year-old girl with brain cancer.
I talked to this girl’s mother, and as it turned out, she had done everything she knew how to do to raise her daughter in an especially healthy environment. She and her husband had moved [...]

11:05 am: This session has now concluded. That is the end of my blogging from the Sharp Brains summit. All the best, Peter.
11:04 am: Dr. Stern believes that improving executive functioning performance with training can increase cognitive reserve. Improving cognitive reserve may delay or reverse the effects of aging.
10:56 am: Now speaking is Dr. Yaakov [...]

1:38 PM: That’s it for our live blog today- Peter Delahunt will start the live blogging tomorrow morning at 8 AM for Day 2 coverage.  We hope you enjoyed the live blog and that you’ll be back tomorrow!
1:35 PM: Elkhonon Goldberg is the Chief Scientific Advisor to SharpBrains. He begins by discussing the role of [...]

The evidence in favor of brain training just keeps rolling in: even a small amount of brain training in brain fitness software like InSight or DriveSharp can cut the crash risk of older driver’s in half. Don’t believe me? Check at this recent study presented at this year’s annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board [...]