I love to travel, and I somehow manage to squeeze in a lot more trips than most people I know. So when I see hard and fast research supporting the health benefits of vacation, it really piques my interest.

I recently read a somewhat unscientific article that talked about why vacation is good for your brain, and it mentioned the work of Adam Galinsky and William Maddux. Digging into Galinsky and Maddux’s research further, I found there is a fascinating body of work about how traveling affects creative thinking. Maddux et al have published research findings showing that multicultural learning experiences enhance creativity, and that living abroad improves creativity measures of insight, association, and generation. Jonah Lehrer reports that research conducted by Lile Jia shows that merely thinking about faraway lands increases output in a creative task.

Continue reading "Take a Vacation – You and Your Brain Might Need It!" »

Not too long ago, 25 year-old Scott Deutsch had had enough. His beloved sister Marcy (diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and autism) became the victim of severe cyber-bullying. It drove Marcy to the point at which she began to retreat farther inside herself, eventually even considering suicide. Rather than accepting online bullying for what it was, Scott and his mother Robin, developed PsychMoo to provide a safe, online environment for individuals with mental health issues and their families, friends and healthcare providers. The site allows members to interact anonymously with one another and provide both resources and support.  PsychMoo’s development was made possible with the support of Deutsch family colleagues at the National Alliance on Mental Health.

Now, PsychMoo is  rapidly garnering acclaim.  Its story and its mission are inspiring, as are its two founders, Robin and Scott Deutsch, who recently spoke with me. When asked for words of wisdom or advice she’d like to offer readers, Robin Deutsch spoke with no hesitation. “Mental Health issues are nothing to be ashamed of.  There is help out there for you and your loved ones and you don’t have to go through anything alone.”

Continue reading "PsychMoo.com: Providing Mental Health Support Services “Until the Cows Come Home”" »

I recently read about a study that had some good news in it for me–researchers recently found that people, especially men, who actively watch or participate in sports and cultural activities are happier and healthier than those who stay at home. As an avid participant in athletics (softball, basketball, and golf), watcher of sports (season ticket holder for University of San Francisco basketball and baseball enthusiast), and lover of comedy shows and concerts–this is great to know.

The Norwegian study involved 50,000 people, and found that men who were active in a variety of activities, like sports, church events, music shows, or going to museums, were 14% more likely to report being satisfied with life and 12-13%  less likely to have anxiety or be depressed. There was an effect in women, but it was less significant than in men.

The effect might seem small, but one of the researchers noted that ”even if cultural participation might not do much for an individual’s likelihood of being unhappy or ill… small changes can have a big effect across an entire population.” It’s important to mention that this proved only a correlation, not a cause and effect–so it might be that happier and healthier people are more interested in getting out in the world, or it might be that the activities are positively impacting lives. I would be interested in learning whether it was related to the social aspects of sports and culture, since we know that socializing is good for happiness and health too. Either way, I’m glad to know that all of those days and nights spent in the stands agonizing over my beloved New York Mets might actually be good for me!

I was recently reading an article about the psychology of architecture on one of my favorite neuroscience blogs, The Frontal Cortex by Jonah Lehrer. I was particularly drawn to his mention of a study conducted in 2009 by Ravi Mehta and Rui Zhu that compared people’s performance on different types of tasks whether they were in a room that was painted red, blue, or neutral. The researchers undertook the study because there had previously been conflicting research about how color affects cognitive tasks, with some studies finding better results with one color or the other. The Mehta and Zhu study uncovered the reason for these previous conflicts: people do better at different types of tasks in differently colored environments.

Specifically, they found that subjects in a bright red room do better on a detail-oriented task, while those in blue room excel at a creative task. Mehta and Zhu posit that this effect occurs because red puts people in a higher state of alertness and awareness, since red is associated with danger. On the other hand, blue is associated with things that may mentally relax us–like the sky and the ocean–so we have an easier time opening up creative channels and imagining things.

This effect was not small; those in the blue room had double the creative output of those in the red room, showing that color may have a stronger effect than we would imagine. I think this is pretty interesting because I just painted my living room dark blue (pretty close to this color.) I wonder if it will unleash my creative potential? Or if we should paint the Posit Science conference rooms in different colors depending on what types of tasks we are taking on?

File this under strange but true: I recently saw a news story about a woman who had minor dental surgery and woke up from the operation speaking with a foreign accent. Post-surgery, Oregon native Karen Butler awoke to find she now spoke with a hodgepodge European accent. Doctors thought it might fade, but two years later, the foreign accent remains. The cause: Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS)–a rare disorder reported in fewer than 100 people. (To hear Karen Butler’s original voice, preserved on her answering machine, and her “new” accent, you can watch this video.)

This sounds like something out of a bad spy movie–so how did it happen in real life? The most likely cause is a tiny stroke that occurred during the surgery, in a very specific area of the brain. The stroke affected a part of the brain associated with intonation and articulation of speech, but not the fundamentals of speech itself or any of Ms. Butler’s other functions and faculties. Unlike Karen Butler, most people who report experiencing FAS have other complications from more severe strokes that affect the intonation/articulation brain region in addition to other brain regions. Ms. Butler’s case is interesting because her only symptom is FAS.

Continue reading "A Rare Side Effect of Surgery: A Funky Foreign Accent" »

I’ve just gotten back from a very exciting scientific meeting in Greece (yes, the life of a brain scientist occasionally has its perks!) I had the opportunity to visit our collaborators in the Long-Lasting Memories consortium. This research group, with members in Greece, Spain, Austria, France, and Cyprus, is working to develop a combined brain & physical fitness program, based on the notion that combining these two forms of exercise should yield synergistic benefits for brain health and to help keep people stay sharp and live independently as they age.

The brain fitness component is our auditory Brain Fitness Program, adapted for use in those European languages.  The physical fitness component is custom-built exer-games for the Nintendo Wii, involving balance and movement.  These components are integrated into a single platform that allows users to log in, perform brain and physical exercise, and track their progress.

This group has just shared results from their first studies at the Society for Applied Neuroscience.  They saw strong improvements in core measures of memory, attention, and processing speed – all areas crucial to maintaining mental sharpness.  The study participants also reported enjoying and looking forward to the combined program, which is crucial for their long-term use.

Continue reading "Early Results: European Study Combines Exercise and Brain Training for Memory " »

The results of the 7th Annual Best Illusion of the Year are in! The winner: “Silencing awareness of change by background motion.” Though of the top 10 finalists, I personally like “Mask of Love.”

If you’d like to see a collection of fun illusions that befuddle the brain, check out our Brain Teasers page. You might be surprised to find how these images and sounds can trick your brain!

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 MS, yet only 44% of patients were found to continually use the drugs over the trial period.

We previously reported on another study that showed that MS patients who were more “mentally active” suffered fewer negative effects of MS-related cognitive decline. In another study, Mark et. al found that exercises that suppress the MS patient’s “good” limb, forcing him to use his “bad” limb, can change the brain and use plasticity to help recover function. Because Posit Science programs utilize brain plasticity to change the brain, it’s not surprising that we have heard from dozens of MS patients who have found that training with the Auditory Brain Fitness Program helped maintain and improve cognitive fitness in the face of MS-associated decline.

All of these present strong reasons for more research into non-invasive, non-drug treatment strategies for MS. It would be a great next step to do a peer-reviewed study on MS patients and brain fitness training, in hopes of providing a path to non-invasive MS therapy options for the 2.5 million people worldwide who suffer from the disease.

While my time in the office is steeped in talk of brain science, when I head home after work I like to decompress by watching some of my favorite TV funnymen like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Imagine my surprise when The Colbert Report cut to snippets from a lecture about the “gut brain” that we previously posted on this blog! Of course, Colbert’s clever skewering of this topic isn’t completely accurate from a scientific point of view, but it is entertaining. It’s also a great example that reminds me that brain science has become an increasingly popular topic to lots of people–not just those of us who work on it every day. If you like Stephen Colbert’s pseudo-serious shtick, then you might enjoy this clip–as long as you take it with a grain of salt and a dash of humor, of course.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle just released results of a recent study. The researchers were looking at “chemobrain,” a type of cognitive impairment that occurs following chemotherapy treatment. The study showed that tpost-chemo cognitive impairment may be longer lasting and more severe than generally believed. This finding is important because even today, some doctors whether chemobrain is a “real” condition, or a result of the increased exhaustion and weakness brought about by chemotherapy. Research on chemobrain provides support and a better level of understanding for patients who suffer from cognitive losses after cancer treatment.

About 1/3 of breast cancer survivors report mild to severe chemobrain (also known as “chemofog.”) There is no known cure, although scientists’ understanding of the underlying mechanisms leads many to believe that brain training or cognitive therapy can help. In fact, based on customer testimonials and scientific precedent, there are studies in progress testing the efficacy of the Brain Fitness Program to treat chemobrain.

You can read this brief article on chemobrain to find more information and resources, and hear stories from people with chemobrain.