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Brain Fitness ProgramBrain Fitness ProgramsIf you enjoyed this page, and wish to bookmark it or share it with friends, please use this link. Thanks.
Ever heard of Norman Doidge, M.D.? If you haven't, you will be hearing more about him and his recent book entitled "The Brain That Changes Itself-Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science". From the preface; "This book is about the revolutionary discovery that the human brain can change itself, as told through the stories of the scientists, doctors, and patients who have together brought about these astonishing transformations. Without operations or medications, they have made use of the brain's hitherto unknown ability to change. Some were patients who had what were thought to be incurable brain problems; others were people without specific problems who simply wanted to improve the functioning of their brains or preserve them as they aged. " Dr. Doidge writes enthusiastically about how research is revealing some options for working with issues, like stroke and its aftermath or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or brain fitness programs that we can all buy and use at home, or use online. (See the Lumosity link below) Most writers are calling this "Neuroplasticity", which refers to the physical changes that are continually taking place in your brain as you experience and adapt to the world around you. During every day of your life, neurons and the connections between them change to encode information. By influencing this plasticity with the right activities, it is possible to train your brain to function better. Learning new things and challenging yourself frequently may promote more constructive neuroplasticity, and help prevent or off-set the negative effects of brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, or aging. Improving Cognitive Ability Fundamental cognitive abilities – such as memory, attention and processing speed – can be improved with appropriate training. The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, funded by NIH, demonstrated that older adults could improve their cognitive abilities with proper training, and that some of these gains were maintained several years later. In this experiment conducted by a number of researchers across the US, over 2800 adults aged 65-94 received training in memory, reasoning, or processing speed. After about 10 hours of training, each group improved significantly in the area that they trained. Even 5 years later subjects maintained many of their improvements. So millions of us are looking for ways to do brain fitness programs, either to become really good at Trivial Pursuit or do battle with evil genuises, or maybe even to become an evil genius. Actually, I have small children and I want to be an active part of their life. I have outlived both parents and all my grandparents, by decades actually, so I have no models for how we age. Just in case, I want to practice healthy aging. And we can pick and choose between any number of alternative products, some involving buying something online and having it sent to my home and then installing it on my computer, others involve an online experience. In the interests of my own brain, I am currently trying three different programs, two from CD which I had to purchase and install on my computer, very painless process for someone with a bit of computer experience. Those two programs are Brain Builder 3.0 and the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program. The other is the Lumosity program, from Lumos labs, which I can do online. There are others out there that I would like to try but cannot afford just yet. I really enjoy working with the programs, and analyzing my experience of them. I am suddenly more aware than ever of my particular style of losing attention, and also how incredibly fast losing attention happens. The Brain Builder, which may be coming online soon, (as off July 8th 2008), works with auditory and visual memory using a series of numbers that I have to listen for or read and recite or type. I am moving up challenge levels and working with longer strings on numbers each practice. I really like that when I make an error, the program repeats that particular trial so I can get it correct. I noticed a very strong improvement in my Brain Builder after just a few practices of the Posit Science Brain Fitness, which is an auditory program, designed to really challenge the sound processing parts of my brain to re-establish a more youthful clarity. The directions for the Posit Science program are easy, the installation was easy, and the game is actually intriguing to do. The Lumosity Program can be done all online, and that is a big point in its favor as far as I am concerned. It trains things like attention, memory, processing speed, and cognitive control. Those things are explained at the site in more detail. I play Brain Builder and Lumosity first thing every day, and get to Posit Science later on, usually at work. Doing the exercises is not like a workout at the gym where I can see changes in muscle mass, and I am on guard to not make extraordinary claims for the products, but I am seeing an improvement in my ability to remember a series of items, like an account number, and I am following my schedule, rather than getting excited, distracted, and wandering off on some internet quest. Staying on schedule that way will actually free up time for my family. If you would like to try the Lumosity program, click the link below.
This material is from the Posit Science site, and it is compelling isn't it?
"If you are 50 years old today, you'll probably live into your mid-80s. If you live into your mid-80s, there's a more than even probability that your brain will decline in function before you die. At age 85, there's almost an even-money chance that you'll be identified as senile which will dramatically impair your ability to live alone, your ability to make your own decisions and live a full and interesting life until the day you die. The problem is more than just lapses in memory. There are three root causes of problems in the aging brain: (1) an increasing signal-to-noise problem in processing information collected by our senses, (2) a decline in the production of key brain chemicals and (3) a slowing in processing speed. These problems make it increasingly difficult to accurately receive, store, retrieve and manipulate information received from any of the 5 senses. The good news is that we can change this! It is not inevitable that we will be in a state of dementia at the time of our death. We know that we need physical exercise to maintain our physical strength throughout our lives, our brain also needs to be exercised in order to retain our mental acuity throughout whatever our lifespan. Over 50 neuroscientists have worked to create a system for strengthening the brain and making it perform with more agility, speed and comprehension." Free Trial! This can Help Your Counseling Experience
Lumosity.com - The Brain Fitness Program Worried that your memory, attention, and processing speed are slowing down with age? To keep your brain fit, check out Lumosity. It's a fun way to keep your brain functioning the way you want it to by playing different games that help to train your cognitive abilities of memory, attention, processing speed, and cognitive control. It's been scientifically tested and has had incredibly positive results. With each game you play you get helpful hints about improving your brain function and which cognitive abilities are being improved with the specific game. You also get feedback on how you?re doing and improving. The program evolves over 30 sessions, and each session is made up of three to five different games. Games get more difficult as you move along through the course. It's the fun way to keep your brain active and functioning the way you want it to.
In their own words: Scientifically designed brain fitness program. Based on the brain's ability to learn and physically adapt (neuroplasticity) and designed collaboratively by some of the world's leading experts in neuroscience, cognitive psychology and bioinformatics, Lumosity is designed to exercise the major cognitive areas - memory, attention, processing speed, and cognitive control. The Lumosity program has been shown to improve memory and attention in randomized, controlled clinical trials, results of which were presented at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in 2006 and the Bay Area Neuroscience Gathering in 2007.”
So you need to organize your Free Mind Mind Maps? (Say that fast five times). You have downloaded this wonderful free tool, and are learning it, but it seems to take more time than you want to spend...well, here is a tutorial. The keyboard tips which speed up your Free Mind experience alone are worth the price).
Online Brain Games
The folks from Sharpbrains are going to give you a sense of how to discriminate between marketing fluff and research information.
What Counseling Information are You Searching For?
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