Over a recent long weekend I participated in a 4-day camp that teaches children with disabilities how to ride a bike. One of the participants in this camp was my son Daniel, who is six and has autism. The bi-annual camp was put together through a partnership between the Sonoma State Kinesiology department and United [...]

Recently, scientists at MIT tested a specially-designed nutritional drink to see whether it could improve cognitive function in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease. (Here’s an article in CNN on the subject.) The drink includes three key nutrients: uridine, choline (part of the vitamin B family) and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid). These are nutrients that [...]

‘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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I’ve been reading a fascinating book called Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt.  He writes about many of the challenges that driving presents to the brain.  In one section he quotes a survey of a road in Maryland where information is presented to the driver every two feet (think of traffic signs, road markings, stoplights, street names… not [...]

If you ever get a chance to talk to Dr. Mike Merzenich, be assured he’ll fill you with a missionary’s zeal for brain fitness.  You’ll leave the conversation wondering why everyone isn’t taking advantage of their brains’ natural abilities to improve.  However, we know good habits aren’t embraced by our society overnight.  It’s taken decades [...]

Great news for tinnitus sufferers: today the New York Times reports that researchers in Germany have developed and tested a novel music therapy for ameliorating the symptoms of tinnitus, with promising results. The researchers’ work is based on behavioral training that aims to reorganize the auditory cortex- much as the Brain Fitness Program works.  Read [...]

“No man fully capable of his own language ever masters another.” George Bernard Shaw said that, and as someone who aims to learn as many languages as one lifespan permits, I am delighted to report that the findings of cognitive and linguistic research have actually demonstrated au contraire. Take this Dartmouth College study from way [...]