Virtually everyone fears mental deterioration as they age. But in the past thirty years neuroscientists have discovered that the brain is actually designed to improve throughout life. How can you encourage this improvement?Brain Power shares practical, state-of-the-evidence answers in this inspiring, fun-to-read plan for action. The authors have interviewed physicians, gerontologists, and neuroscientists; studied the habits of men and women who epitomize healthy aging; and applied what they describe in their own lives. The resulting guidance; along with the accompanying downloadable Brain Sync audio program; can help you activate unused brain areas, tone mental muscles, and enliven every faculty.
The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."
Do you feel anxious, frazzled, or fatigued? Are you struggling with addiction, attention deficits, depression, or compulsive behaviors? Could your mind or memory be sharper? If so, these are tell-tale signs that your brain could use a tune-up. Fortunately, as author Ralph Carson explains, the brain is a very forgiving organ, and in this compelling guide, he reveals the many ways we can heal our brains from the assaults of everyday life and avoid specific situations that injure brain health. With a prescriptive blend of science, personal anecdotes, and advice, Carson shares what he has gleaned on the front lines, helping thousands of people overcome brain-based conditions and mood disorders including ADD, anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, and more. In The Brain Fix, Carson reveals an arsenal of proven tools and techniques that help regenerate new cells and connections in the brain. He shares a myriad of simple changes to make in your environment, diet, sleep habits, exercise routines, and emotional life that will yield both immediate and long-term changes to your brain. Carson's desire to learn about the brain was deeply personal: When he was a teenager, his mother died unexpectedly from a cerebral hemorrhage at forty-four; his grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in her early sixties; and his sister died from a rare form of brain cancer in her fifties. In this illuminating and empowering guide, Carson reveals why--and how--we should give rightful attention to the body's most complex organ with essential advice for bettering your brain. You'll discover: How to rewrite your genetic blueprint when it comes to decision making, impulse control, creativity, and mood stabilization: Although genetics play a key role in individual susceptibility, vulnerability, and capacity to heal from brain-based disorders, heredity is not necessarily destiny. Learn the best practices to follow that can rewrite your brain's blueprint and put you in control. How to feed your brain for optimal functioning: Discover how to fuel your brain with the right foods and supplements that foster brain plasticity—foods which can reverse years of damage from poor diet, addictions, or eating disorders. How to be mindful and why it matters: Discover why being mindful can aid in poor decision making and a lack of impulse control and how to master this elusive skill. How to alter your stress response. Learn how chronic worry can take a toll on your brain; by learning how to control your stress response, you lessen the the damaging effects of the daily grind. How to design a brain-friendly environment: While the modern world offers many conveniences, it also assaults your brain on a daily basis, sapping it of its full potential; learn some key fixes for your home and habits.
First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.
Keep your brain young, healthy, and sharp with this science-driven guide to protecting your mind from decline by neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Throughout our life, we look for ways to keep our minds sharp and effortlessly productive. Now, globetrotting neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta offers “the book all of us need, young and old” (Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker) with insights from top scientists all over the world, whose cutting-edge research can help you heighten and protect brain function and maintain cognitive health at any age. Keep Sharp debunks common myths about aging and mental decline, explores whether there’s a “best” diet or exercise regimen for the brain, and explains whether it’s healthier to play video games that test memory and processing speed, or to engage in more social interaction. Discover what we can learn from “super-brained” people who are in their eighties and nineties with no signs of slowing down—and whether there are truly any benefits to drugs, supplements, and vitamins. Dr. Gupta also addresses brain disease, particularly Alzheimer’s, answers all your questions about the signs and symptoms, and shows how to ward against it and stay healthy while caring for a partner in cognitive decline. He likewise provides you with a personalized twelve-week program featuring practical strategies to strengthen your brain every day. Keep Sharp is the “must-read owner’s manual” (Arianna Huffington) you’ll need to keep your brain young and healthy regardless of your age!
Citing the intellectual impairment and mood swings associated with an aging brain, a leading professor of integrative medicine outlines an easy-to-follow protocol for building brain cells and improving brain capacity in spite of age, profiling beneficial hormone therapies and current medications for treating cognitive decline.
Cutting-edge science and the ancient wisdom of Buddhism have come together to reveal that, contrary to popular belief, we have the power to literally change our brains by changing our minds. Recent pioneering experiments in neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to change in response to experience—reveal that the brain is capable of altering its structure and function, and even of generating new neurons, a power we retain well into old age. The brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma, compensate for disabilities, rewire itself to overcome dyslexia, and break cycles of depression and OCD. And as scientists are learning from studies performed on Buddhist monks, it is not only the outside world that can change the brain, so can the mind and, in particular, focused attention through the classic Buddhist practice of mindfulness. With her gift for making science accessible, meaningful, and compelling, science writer Sharon Begley illuminates a profound shift in our understanding of how the brain and the mind interact and takes us to the leading edge of a revolution in what it means to be human. Praise for Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain “There are two great things about this book. One is that it shows us how nothing about our brains is set in stone. The other is that it is written by Sharon Begley, one of the best science writers around. Begley is superb at framing the latest facts within the larger context of the field. This is a terrific book.”—Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers “Excellent . . . elegant and lucid prose . . . an open mind here will be rewarded.”—Discover “A strong dose of hope along with a strong does of science and Buddhist thought.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune
Finalist for Foreword Magazine's 2011 Book of the YearWith his knack for making science intelligible for the layman, and his ability to illuminate scientific concepts through analogy and reference to personal experience, James Zull offers the reader an engrossing and coherent introduction to what neuroscience can tell us about cognitive development through experience, and its implications for education.Stating that educational change is underway and that the time is ripe to recognize that “the primary objective of education is to understand human learning” and that “all other objectives depend on achieving this understanding”, James Zull challenges the reader to focus on this purpose, first for her or himself, and then for those for whose learning they are responsible. The book is addressed to all learners and educators – to the reader as self-educator embarked on the journey of lifelong learning, to the reader as parent, and to readers who are educators in schools or university settings, as well as mentors and trainers in the workplace.In this work, James Zull presents cognitive development as a journey taken by the brain, from an organ of organized cells, blood vessels, and chemicals at birth, through its shaping by experience and environment into potentially to the most powerful and exquisite force in the universe, the human mind.Zull begins his journey with sensory-motor learning, and how that leads to discovery, and discovery to emotion. He then describes how deeper learning develops, how symbolic systems such as language and numbers emerge as tools for thought, how memory builds a knowledge base, and how memory is then used to create ideas and solve problems. Along the way he prompts us to think of new ways to shape educational experiences from early in life through adulthood, informed by the insight that metacognition lies at the root of all learning.At a time when we can expect to change jobs and careers frequently during our lifetime, when technology is changing society at break-neck speed, and we have instant access to almost infinite information and opinion, he argues that self-knowledge, awareness of how and why we think as we do, and the ability to adapt and learn, are critical to our survival as individuals; and that the transformation of education, in the light of all this and what neuroscience can tell us, is a key element in future development of healthy and productive societies.
Will brain scientists ever be able to read our minds? Why are some things harder to remember than others? Based on recent brain research and neural network modelling, The Brain-Shaped Mind addresses these, and other, questions, and provides a clear account of how the structure of the brain influences the workings of the mind. Neuroscientists are now learning about our minds by examining how the neurones in the brain are connected with one another and the surrounding environment. This book explores how neural networks enable us to recognise objects and learn new things, and what happens when things go wrong. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey into what is arguably one of the most complicated and remarkable aspects of our lives.
DISCOVER THE SCIENCE BEHIND BRAIN-BASED COACHING By understanding how the brain works, coaching professionals can better tailor their language, strategies, and goals to be in alignment with an individual’s “hard-wired” way of thinking. Written by two well-known coaching professionals, David Rock and Linda Page, Coaching with the Brain in Mind presents the tools and methodologies that can be employed by novice and experienced coaches alike to create an effective—and ultimately more rewarding—relationship for both coach and client. This informative guide to the neuroscience of coaching clearly demonstrates how brain-based coaching works in practice, and how the power of the mind can be harnessed to help an individual learn and grow. Illustrated with numerous case examples and stories, this book is organized for immediate use by professionals in their client work. Coverage includes: A succinct but comprehensive overview of the major scientific and theoretical foundations for coaching and their implications for practice How the language of coaching—setting goals, making connections, becoming more aware, seeking breakthroughs, and taking action—parallels what neuroscientists tell us about how the brain operates Neuroscience as a natural platform for the ongoing development of coaching Building on the existing foundation of coaching by adding neuroscience as an evidence base for the profession, Coaching with the Brain in Mind shows that it is possible to become a better professional coach by understanding how the brain works. As well, the authors, through their research, present that an understanding of neuroscience research, however new and speculative, can help coaches and leaders fulfill their potential as change agents in the lives of others.
