“Chemobrain” or “chemofog” is a condition that affects cancer survivors who have undergone chemotherapy. Dozens of studies have shown that post-chemotherapy, patients may experience a decline in cognitive performance and memory, and many doctors have long believed chemobrain to be a significant problem for cancer patients. (To learn more about chemobrain, I recommend this in-depth article.) Despite this [...]

1. After Chemotherapy, Brain Can Be Impaired For 5+ Years
2. Chemobrain and cognitive training
3. HIV-Related Cognitive Decline – Webinar with Dr. Sean Rourke

Previous studies have shown that being bilingual may delay dementia, but for the first time, a Canadian study has used brain scans to offer additional proof of bilingualism’s protective effects on the brain. Research conducted up to this point has compared older people that speak either one or two languages to gauge the age at [...]

1. The Second Language Brain Debate
2. How the Brain Develops a Second Language
3. When Words Teeter on the Tip of Your Tongue (or Finger)

Ed. Note: To coincide with Independence Day celebrations, we’re offering an educational 4-part series “Saluting our Soldiers.” We’re taking a closer look at the mental health issues facing today’s soldiers and veterans—and sharing the latest research news affecting military personnel. Overview: Official military figures report that about 115,000 troops have experienced a traumatic brain injury [...]

1. Saluting our Soldiers Series: Part 4 – Cognition and Combat
2. Saluting our Soldiers Series: Part 1 – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
3. Saluting our Soldiers Series: Part 3 – Mental Health & Older Veterans

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, debilitating disease that attacks the neurological system, affecting both body and brain function. A recent study of Canadian MS  patients revealed that fewer than half of them consistently use MS medications for 2+ years.  The drugs, known as DMDs (disease-modifying drugs) have been proven to slow the progress of [...]

1. Live Blogging the SharpBrains Summit – Day 2
2. Chemobrain and cognitive training
3. HIV-Related Cognitive Decline – Webinar with Dr. Sean Rourke

A few days ago, we hosted a Q&A session on Facebook about brain plasticity and brain fitness with Posit Science founder Dr. Michael Merzenich. For those who missed the discussion and prefer to read it in transcript form, I’ve re-posted it here. Question: I would love to know what Dr. Merzenich thinks about brain plasticity [...]

1. Evaluating Brain Fitness Programs – Which Should I Choose?
2. Our Brain Awareness Session on Brain Foods with Karen Merzenich
3. Our Brain Awareness Q&A Session on Movement, Exercise, and the Brain with Dr. G

I now have something else to thank my parents for–all those years of piano lessons they forced me to take. New research published in Neuropsychology shows that kids who take music lessons get a brain boost that lasts even into old age. Researchers looked at a group of older adults between ages 60 and 83, [...]

1. Music and the Brain: Further Evidence on The Power of Sound
2. Music Has Charms to Soothe a Savage Brain
3. Our Brain Awareness Q&A Session on Music and the Brain with Kimberly Sena Moore

A few weeks ago, we hosted an excellent Q&A session on Facebook about movement, exercise, and the brain. Movement specialist M.A. Greenstein, PhD, aka Dr. G, answered people’s questions and I think we all learned a lot! For those who missed the discussion and prefer to read it in transcript form, I’ve re-posted it here. [...]

1. Our Brain Awareness Session on Brain Plasticity & Brain Fitness with Dr. Michael Merzenich
2. Early Results: European Study Combines Exercise and Brain Training for Memory
3. Our Brain Awareness Q&A Session on Music and the Brain with Kimberly Sena Moore

Ed. Note: this article is cross-posted on Dr. Merzenich’s blog On The Brain. I had the great pleasure of visiting a wonderful research team studying the neurological origins and treatment of tinnitus at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis last week.  About 30 million U.S. citizens have tinnitus (chronic, persistent ringing in the ears).  For [...]

1. Tinnitus, Music, and Brain Plasticity
2. Tinnitus: A Special Example of a Failure Mode for your Plastic Brain
3. Chemobrain and cognitive training

Yesterday, we hosted an excellent Q&A session on Facebook about music and the brain. Music therapist Kimberly Sena Moore answered people’s questions and I think we all learned a lot! For those who missed the discussion and prefer to read it in transcript form, I’ve re-posted it here. You can find Kimberly’s blog about music [...]

1. Top 12 Brain-Based Reasons Why Music as Therapy Works
2. Our Brain Awareness Q&A Session on Movement, Exercise, and the Brain with Dr. G
3. Our Brain Awareness Session on Brain Foods with Karen Merzenich

This past weekend the New York Times continued its coverage of the Boomers reaching retirement age. Interestingly, they tracked down and profiled the first boomer (at least one of the early ones) to reach retirement age; click the link to read more about this generation and one of its first born, Aloysius Nachreiner. Oliver Sacks [...]

1. Person of the Year
2. The Ultimate D.I.Y. Project
3. New Web Resource: “About the Brain”