'Neurobics' and Other Brain Boosters

Wall Street Journal ^ | 3 June 2008 | MELINDA BECK

[shrinkermd]

But what scientists do know now that they didn't just a decade ago is that people generate new brain cells, and new connections between them, throughout life.

Mental stimulation is one key. The more you challenge your brain, the more new nerve pathways you form. A mini-industry of brain teasers, puzzles and computer games has sprung up to help worried baby boomers do just that. But you can give your brain a good workout with just a few modifications in your daily life.

Some of the niftiest are "neurobics" -- a term popularized by the late neurobiologist Lawrence Katz for engaging different parts of the brain to do familiar tasks. Try brushing your teeth or dialing the phone with your non-dominant hand. Theoretically, that can strengthen the pathways in the opposite side of your brain.

Since much of the brain is devoted to processing sensory input, Dr. Katz also suggested involving more of your senses in everyday activities...

Activities that challenge your brain on many levels, such as learning how to play a musical instrument or speak a new language, provide great stimulation. So do games like chess, bridge and Stratego that require you to strategize and interact socially at the same time.

Stress has the opposite effect. The stress hormone cortisol depresses the growth of nerve cells and the connections between them. Yoga, meditation, exercise and social interaction can all help alleviate it.

Getting sufficient sleep is also crucial. "REM sleep is when we consolidate memory and cement it in the brain," says Marianne J. Legato, a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University and author of "Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget." Untreated sleep apnea can be very detrimental to memory; age-related declines in testosterone and estrogen also interfere with sleep.

[aristotleman]

Daily routine of visualization/meditation, mild exercise, mindful and flexible living. Setting small obstacles constantly.

Keeps you growing and helps avoid a stagnant consciousness.

[lonevoice]

Something you might enjoy reading ping

[LomanBill]

>>Stress has the opposite effect.
>>The stress hormone cortisol depresses
>>the growth of nerve cells and the
>>connections between them.

Bad news for Starbucks fans...

Caffeine raises Cortisol levels.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Caffeine+Cortisol+Levels&btnG=Search

[goodnesswins]

"Setting small obstacles constantly'

Soooo...that's why we move every few years.....LOL

[Marie2]

“Caffeine raises cortisol levels.”

But I feel so much smarter when I drink it.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Maybe I’ll rethink my neurosuction treatments?

[Intolerant in NJ]

Bump.....

[LomanBill]

>>But I feel so much smarter when I drink it.

 

There may be a physiological basis for that.    I suspect the negative effects of caffeine and cortisol are manifested when the stress is chronic and long term.   The relationship between chronic caffiene abuse and adrenal fatigue is fairly well documented.

 

I think in the short term it would make sense that a stressful, adrenaline producing, situation would be conducive to formation of neural connections (memories); in that such memories would enhance the ability of the organism to cope with similar conditions if encountered in the future.

 

So I would not doubt what you say, and would not be surprised at a short term increase in "smartness".

 

The duration of the stressor is an important factor - making the difference between excitement and burnout.

 

 

[RightWhale]

They haven’t tried this with human subjects so far as I know but when sensors such as hearing are hooked up to a different lobe than Nature intended, the part hooked up to rebuilds itself so it can process hearing things. This would imply that the brain not only builds its own structure as it pleases, but that mental exercise could very well rebuild parts that need rebuilding or strengthening. Don’t know if a completely new lobe would be built if the person is thinking new, heretical thoughts.