Author: SharpBrains

We are pleased to announce that, out of the 40 great entries submitted, the 10 Finalists to the 2010 Brain Fitness Innovation Awards moving to the next round are (ordered by approximate age of end user population, from younger to older):

• Arrowsmith School,
• USA Hockey,
• Nationwide Mutual Insurance,
• University Behavioral HealthCare/ University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey,
• Allstate,
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety,
• Saint Luke’s Brain and Stroke Institute,
• Oakland Unified School District,
• Mental Health Association of Rockland County,
• SCAN Health Plan.

Winners will be announced during the State of Brain Fitness Innovation Webinar on May 24th, noon-1pm Pacific Time. Registration is now open ($25), and includes executive summary of SharpBrains’ 2010 market report and access to private LinkedIn network. Learn More Here.

News & Analysis

BBC “Brain Training” Experiment: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly: You probably saw the hundreds of media articles titled “brain training doesn’t work”, based on a BBC experiment. Once more, claims seem to go beyond the science backing them up … except that in this case it is the researchers, not the developers, who are responsible.

Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention or Cognitive Enhancement: an independent expert panel just released yesterday a thoughtful report on the state of the science for prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease. Before people get scared away by “there is nothing that works”, everyone should understand that this is true but different from “there is nothing we can do to reduce the probability from developing Alzheimer’s symptoms” or “there is nothing we can do today to enhance our cognitive functions today and tomorrow”.

New Resource

We have created a new section in SharpBrains.com to  contribute to the ongoing conversation on cognitive health and brain fitness, based on last year’s book by Alvaro Fernandez and Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg.  Main sections are:

Debunking 10 Brain Myths: The goal of this resource is to help you make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness, based on latest scientific findings. First of all, let’s debunk some common myths.

1. Brain Fitness Fundamentals: The brain is composed of a number of specialized regions serving distinct functions. Our life and productivity depend on a variety of brain functions, not just one, and there is nothing inherently fixed in the trajectory of how brain functions evolve as we age.

2. The 4 Pillars of Brain Maintenance: Thanks to lifelong neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, our lifestyles and actions play a meaningful role in how our brains physically change. There is no “magic pill”, but the need for a multi-pronged approach.

3. Mental Exercise vs. Mental Activity: Mental exercise (or “brain training”) goes beyond mental activity in general. Mental exercise is the structured use of exercises or techniques aimed at improving specific brain functions, and can be delivered in a number of ways: meditation, cognitive therapy, cognitive training, biofeedback.

4. Making Informed Brain Training Decisions: The state of the research does not allow for strong “prescriptions” of specific products for everyone and everything: here we offer information to navigate claims and make better informed decisions.

5. Brain Fitness through the Lifespan: The same way there are many reasons to exercise our bodies, there are many reasons to exercise our brains. Here we review a few current and future applications of mental exercise through the lifespan, including education, corporate wellness, retirement communities, clinical conditions, and more.

6. Ready for the Future?: We believe that more and more  lifelong learners will look for innovative ways to integrate brain fitness to their everyday activities, and more professionals will identify opportunities to offer new services and programs. Here we discuss main trends.

7. Opening the Debate: Processing new information is a stimulating intellectual exercise, and discussing insights and open questions with a group of people can be even more stimulating. Here we offer questions for book clubs and invite you to continue the conversation via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Have a great month of May. And please say Hello to the new neurons in your brain that weren’t up there when you woke up this morning.

In light of the current BBC-led controversy on whether “brain training” works, we believe it is critical to spend some time discussing the basics of brain functioning and brain-healthy lifestyles, what “brain training” is and isn’t (to be accurate, the BBC didn’t test Brain Training as a category, only the new games that their researchers chose to build from scratch and designate as “brain training” ignoring previous research), what methodologies for brain training are in fact backed up by science (meditation, cognitive therapy, biofeedback, computerized cognitive training) as valuable for a variety of populations and goals, and how consumers and professionals can learn to navigate the growing array of claims. SharpBrains wants to contribute to a healthy conversation by sharing online a new online resource based on the content from the book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness (May 2009, $19.95), by Alvaro Fernandez and Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg.

The new resource is available via the Navigation Bar as “HOW-TO GUIDE: all about brain fitness“, and below are its main sections. You can engage in the conversation in this blog, via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Enjoy!

	Debunking 10 Brain Myths You are a lifelong learner. You may also be a caregiver, or a professional in fields such as healthcare, education, or psychology. The goal of this resource is to help you make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness, based on latest scientific findings. First of all, let’s debunk some common myths. Keep reading.
	1. Brain Fitness Fundamentals In order to make informed decisions about brain health and brain training, you need to first understand the underlying organization of the human brain and how it evolves across our lifespan. For example, the brain is composed of a number of specialized regions serving distinct functions, our life and productivity depend on a variety of brain functions, not just one, and there is nothing inherently fixed in the trajectory of how brain functions evolve as we age. Keep reading.
	2. The 4 Pillars of Brain Maintenance Thanks to lifelong neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, our lifestyles and actions play a meaningful role in how our brains physically change. Now, there is no “general solution” or “magic pill” for brain maintenance. A multi-pronged approach centered on nutrition, stress management, and both physical and mental exercise is recommended for better brain health. Keep reading.
	3. Brain Training vs. Mental Activity In this section we focus on mental exercise – which we will call brain training, to distinguish it from mental activity in general. Brain training goes beyond mental activity. It is the structured use of cognitive exercises or techniques aimed at improving specific brain functions, and can be delivered in a number of ways: meditation, cognitive therapy, cognitive training, biofeedback. Keep reading.
	4. Making Informed Brain Training Decisions The state of the research does not allow for strong “prescriptions” of specific products: we want to offer you the best information available today so that you can make better informed decisions. Different people face different cognitive demands, and have different starting points, so there is no general solution for everyone and everything. As in physical fitness, informed consumers and professionals must ask themselves a number of questions. Keep reading.
	5. Brain Fitness through the Lifespan The same way there are many reasons to exercise our bodies (run in a marathon, stay in shape, lose weight, become an Olympian, have strong abdominal muscles, etc.), there are many reasons to exercise our brains. In this chapter, we review a few current and future applications of brain training through the lifespan, including education, corporate wellness, retirement communities, clinical conditions, and more. Keep reading.
	6. Ready for the Future? In this section our aim is to describe the trends we think are important in order to help you be ready for the future. Informed and proactive adults will look for solutions to integrate brain fitness to their everyday activities. Professionals will identify opportunities to offer new services and programs. We hope this chapter will give you ideas as to how to introduce brain fitness in your personal life and/or your workplace. Keep reading.
	7. Opening the Debate Our ultimate goal is to stimulate discussion. In this final section we want to provide you, proud brain owners and ambassadors of brain fitness, with additional food for though. Processing new information is a stimulating intellectual exercise, and discussing insights and open questions with a group of people can be equally if not more stimulating. Keep reading.