You may find this primer about brain development and functioning, created by the Society of Neuroscience quite interesting. They are a nonprofit  organization of scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system and whose mission it to research and educate. The primer is called Brain Facts. It’s written with a non-medical audience in mind and it’s available for free. Definitely worth checking out if you have an interest in how the brain works, how memory is stored in the brain, how changes in the neural pathways effect our memory and the process of learning, to name just a few of of the interesting components.

Now, according to a study published on April 3 in the journal Science, researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health found more evidence that sleep resets the brain to allow more growth and learning the next day.  Read about their fascinating research here. So get a good night’s sleep - your brain will thank you for it.

The 15 Fruits & Vegetables from yesterday’s Splitwords puzzle are these:

beetroot – carrot – grape – kiwi – kumquat – lemon – mango – melon – mulberry – parsley – pepper – pumpkin – raspberry – rhubarb – spinach

Did you get them all?

As you may have seen, this week we announced a relationship with the French National Research Center and the Pierre & Marie Curie University (UPMC) at La Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital in Paris. The research program aims to measure the positive effects of HAPPYneuron‘s products on the cognitive rehabilitation of patients suffering from depression and Alzheimer’s disease. We are talking not just about preventative training activities to defer the onset of age related brain decline, but the actual regaining of cognitive function through rehabilitation. This is a very exciting prospect for so many who suffer from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

The team at the Pierre & Marie Curie University Hospital are indeed dedicated and committed to this project which we are very optimistic about the positive outcomes and we are excited to be working hand-in-hand with them.

A second objective of the collaboration is to develop distance therapy procedures that can be applied and used by practitioners in the rehabilitation of patients without the patient’s need too visit the doctor’s office in person. This will have huge implications for people located in rural areas and those that may be house bound or find it difficult to get to a doctor’s office for therapy. For the medical practitioner, the goal is to guide the patient’s therapy through phone interaction with the assistance of a cognitive informational dashboard to assess the patient’s compliance and progress.

Lastly, we expect to focus on further research on emotional rehabilitation.

We look forward to sharing the results of this research as it evolves.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association as many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Two recent studies, one in the US and the other in Europe, have found that those who showed signs of depression were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. The researchers of these studies have put forth some theories as to why that may be. Read about this very interesting article from the BBC News here…

A group of researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland have found that when brain cells in the hippocampus communicate with each other, the signal that travels from an axon to a dendritic spine simultaneously stimulates multiple other spines in the same neighborhood. This multiple transmission of information may help us learn and store information more efficiently. Since the hippocampus forms part of the limbic system and plays a role in long-term memory and spatial navigation, whenever we stimulate these areas our abilities for memory and visuo-spatial processing increase accordingly. This cellular process of stimulating multiple dendrites is called clustered plasticity, which may help to account for the immense storage capacity of the brain. Read more about it here….

It is now well known that, for rodents, physical exercise is beneficial for brain health. Indeed, mice allowed to freely run on an exercise wheel grow more new neurons that mice not allowed to move freely. Importantly, these new neurons grow in an area crucial for memory formation: the hippocampus.

Neurogenesis (the birth and development of neurons) is difficult to estimate in the human brain as there are no way to directly count new neurons…
Recently, Small and his colleagues (2007) were able to use neuroimaging to study the effect of physical exercise on neurogenesis in humans. Their study involved a group of 11 middle-aged adults who had been exercising about four times a week, for three months. Results show exercise-related changes in the hippocampus, suggesting neurogenesis in this area.

This new study adds to the numerous results showing that physical exercise is good for the brain. Let’s keep moving then!

Read the original article here.
Read a report on the original article here.

I thought to share with you a recent interview with Founder Dr. Bernard Croisile, Neurologist, Neuropsychologist and Happy Neuron’s Chief Scientist, about age related brain decline and what can be done.

As we age, what issues do people most complain about?

When we age, certain cognitive difficulties are usually more annoying than really hindering. These difficulties are usually due to a greater sensitivity to interferences (noise, conversations with several persons), a lesser attention and greater amount of time to simultaneously analyze several pieces of informations (cooking and understanding a slightly technical conversation at the same time). Information processing is often more superficial, organizing and sorting data to be memorized occurs more slowly and producing mental images becomes more difficult. Hence, it can become more difficult to remember information and it takes more time to recall memories (names) or recent events (e.g. the reason why you actually went into a room).

Why should cognitive abilities be trained?

By training cognitive abilities, the difficulties we sometimes painfully experience in everyday life can be corrected. Studies have also shown that rich and varied cognitive stimulation can delay onsets of age related decline and Alzheimer’s Disease by a number years. Cognitive training consists of reinforcing brain plasticity which forms new connections between brain neurons, strengthens neural networks and, as scientists have recently discovered, regenerate new neural pathways.

How can cognitive functions be trained?

For a start, simple things such as having a rich social life, reading, doing crosswords or playing cards, cooking or gardening, already constitute natural and effective stimulation situations. Most important are variety, enthusiasm and motivation. However, one should be aware that cognitive functions cannot be trained like leg muscles. Even if playing bridge stimulates long-term memory for game rules and crosswords train word memory (spelling, definitions), playing cards will not help anyone find their keys or their car! It is therefore necessary to train all aspects of cognitive functions, especially those neglected by the routine of hobbies we are accustomed to. It should also added that training can only relevant when the lessons learned are applied to everyday life.

How often should one perform focused brain exercises?

We advise two to three training sessions a week, of about 45 minutes each, in order to maintain interest and alertness. Variety and frequency are most important.

When should one start worrying and see a doctor?

Memory difficulties occur at any age and under any circumstances: remembering a surname or a recipe, finding one’s glasses… These difficulties are just ordinary consequences of normal aging or of a fragile emotional state. Difficulties to concentrate are often due to anxiety, depression and stress. However, when aging, cultural knowledge and automatic movements (riding a bike, playing tennis, driving a car…) are not forgotten. Many of our actions are also often automatic, which explains the fact that one cannot always remember properly whether they have locked their door or not.

One should start worrying , as soon as these difficulties become a real handicap in daily life and occur repeatedly, such as people who cannot manage their schedule or budget any more, who always get lost and systematically forget what they have been told. In such a situation, one should seek medical advice to decide whether the person needs to see a neurologist or a geriatrician.

Thank you Dr. Croisile.

Have you ever wondered why you remember so vividly that argument you had with your boss 3 months ago or the first time you kissed your husband or wife?

If yes, you may have thought that your memory for these events was vivid because they occurred when you were experiencing a strong emotion: anger or happiness.
And you were right! Emotionally charged events are usually much better remembered than less emotionally charged events.
But why would that be the case?

A study published this month seems to have the answer: a state of high emotion triggers the release of norepinephrine, a hormone that increases the activity of nerve cells. This results in unusually strong memory circuits in the brain.

Read more here…

Are you unable to remember more than two phone numbers? Then you may be a “victim” of new technologies. Chances are, it is easier for you to store information on your hard disk, electronic organizer or mobile phone, rather than use your memory.

This finding is the result of a study on 3000 subjects by Dr. Ian Robertson, a Professor of Psychology from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

The study shows that the under-30 generation was less likely to memorize such pieces of information than over-50s who are less keen on new technologies and use their memory more. We have learned to “outsource” our memory by storing this kind of information on mobiles or computers rather than our own brain but “The less you use of your memory, the poorer it becomes.”, said Dr. Robertson.

So do your memory a favor and challenge yourself to remember important details rather than rely on electronic devices. Your brain will thank you in the long run!

Click here to read the full article: