In early October, I attended a meeting sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the McKnight Foundation considering the general subject of cognitive decline in aging populations. I found the meeting to be useful, and distressing. Useful, because this subject is now on the front burner for the NIA, just as it is for…
Some months ago, after my grand-daughter Leila’s school in Oakland, California burned down and its rebuilding seems to be drowning in a bureaucratic swamp, I predicted that it would NEVER be rebuilt in time to begin the 2007-8 school year on time. I was wrong. The Oakland Unified School District and the contractors that they…
There was an interesting exchange of comments following a July 7th entry (“What’s it all about”) that begins with the argument (by CCb at anom@anom.com) that “brain fitness training” is unnecessary, for someone who is still engaged in reading and scholarship. [CCb, might I suggest that you and other commentors at least identify yourself with…
I initiated this blog for two reasons. First, I sought to provide neuroscience-related information to care-givers and to citizens who might benefit from a brain plasticity-informed perspective. There is an ongoing revolution in brain science that bears powerful implications for our understanding of human neurological and psychiatric impairments and disease, and that informs us about…
Ed Steenerson began his career as a rehabilitation psychologist before moving to the high-tech industry as an engineer and manager. Ed was a leader and team builder — which was all the more remarkable in light of the fact that he had suffered serious head trauma in an accident as teenager. Through hard work and…
Dave B and Alvaro have had an interesting (albeit, brief) discussion in their comments about the subject of the hypothetical “cognitive reserve” that stands between each one of us, and the timing of the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). First, Dave B said that while he saw ample evidence that most cognitively capable (“highly educated”)…
About 2 weeks ago, I read a Wall Street Journal article that documented a growing body of evidence that shows that major depression occurring in late middle age doubles the probability that an individual shall have significant cognitive impairments after the age of 65, and that it very significantly increases the probability that life shall…
It has been amusing to read the repeated claims, from individuals who have completed Posit Science’s Brain Fitness Program, that with their renewed mental competence and confidence, they have been inspired to very adventurous new hobbies and activities. I related the story of one such individual several weeks ago who, with her brain awakened by…
One of my favorite former research fellows, David Blake, has chided me for posting multiple blog entries on some days, followed by several entry-less days. “Spread ’em out!”, says Dave. “There should be something new and worthwhile to read EVERY day.” Since David is considerably smarter than me, and because he’s a real engineer who…