I’ve been thinking a lot about altruism ever since the horrible devastation in Haiti. In the aftermath, the world contributed millions of dollars of aid. From the US alone, $220 million was raised in the first week. The first week! And this at a time when our national unemployment rate was in double-digits. While pondering […]
Get out your hand weights… Strength Training and Cognitive Improvement in Women
In the United States, about 20% of seniors who suffer a hip fracture will die within a year. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, has been investigating the impact of women’s weight training for helping seniors decrease the rate of fractures out of her laboratory at the Center for Hip Health and Mobility, Vancouver General Hospital. Now she […]
From Physiology to Structure…and More: What a Brain!
The brain’s plasticity is revolutionary but its evolutionary history is pretty remarkable, too. What’s amazing is that the brain has been evolving since our earliest predecessor, “Tool Maker” first appeared on the planet. But it’s only recently (during these last few minutes of our evolutionary past when neuroscience has been able to take us inside […]
Marble Therapy?
I played with marbles as a kid. Did you? Now I’m wondering if those little round stones can have an impact on memory and emotions. According to a new study published in Cognition, simple motor functioning like playing with marbles may trigger memories. Daniel Casasanto, PhD (Donders Center for Brain, Cognition, & Behavior, Nijmegen, […]
A Pain-Resistant Patch? Sign Me Up
I know that most people are not lovers of physical pain. If someone invented a patch to keep the wearer from feeling pain, this inventor would become an instant billionaire. But it appears that there already is something better than a patch: Zen meditation. In an earlier study, Montreal University researchers from the lab of […]
Your Teenager’s Brain IS Different
Many of us look back at our teenage years and realize that while often turbulent, these years laid the groundwork for who we are today. We learned incredible amounts of information, not just in terms of academics but also in terms of who we were as individuals. But why were these years so turbulent? At […]
Ritalin and Brain Growth – Guest Blog with Bill O’Hanlon
Hi, this is Bill O’Hanlon, guest blogging while Ruth travels to some conferences. Ruth recently interviewed me as part of NICABM’s Brain Plasticity series on brain plasticity and depression. There I discussed a new hypothesis relating depression, movement, brain growth and anti-depressants. Well, now comes news that Ritalin, like anti-depressants, appears to encourage not just […]
Is Your Brain Feeling Brilliant Today?
I love those days when my brain can do no wrong. I remember the names of people whom I haven’t seen in decades. I am able to focus on my work and get projects done in record time. My brain is on as if it’s in turbo-charge. But then there are those other days when […]
Could Neurogenesis Change Our Treatment of Addiction?
An osteopathic physician from Henderson, NV recently asked about the application of neurogenesis to the treatment of addictions. The back story – we recently held a free teleseminar on The Brain Plasticity and Depression Connection. Thousands of practitioners were on that call from all over the world and a lively discussion of its application. Turns […]
Mindfulness and the Brain
The brain has been “on my brain” for the last few weeks as I’ve been planning the New Science of the Brain teleseminar series. I’ve started to wonder how mindfulness meditation can change the brain. Turns out, others have been wondering the same thing… Sara Lazar, PhD runs a Meditation Laboratory out of Harvard. Her […]