Patients with dementia and other neural diseases show physical symptoms such as stumbling and confusion, but identifying the problem isn’t as simple as taking an X-ray. A group of researchers at Purdue University are designing data-driven tools that will help clinicians better understand the progression of neurodegenerative diseases by identifying and tracking changes in the brain. A...
Tag: <span>Brain Training</span>
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Scientists can predict intelligence from brain scans
If you’ve ever lied about your IQ to seem more intelligent, it’s time to fess up. Scientists can now tell how smart you are just by looking at a scan of your brain. Actually, to be more precise, the scientists themselves aren’t looking at your brain scan; a machine-learning algorithm they’ve developed is. In a...
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Spatial memory patterns mapped
Researchers at Cardiff University have mapped out how we store long-term spatial memory, shedding light on how our brains remember where things are within our surroundings. Professor Frank Sengpiel, from Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences, said: “Until now, how the brain stores information about our environment over long periods of time has been a mystery....
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Repeated stimulation enlarges dendritic spines
Even in adult brains, new neurons are generated throughout a lifetime. In a publication in the scientific journal PNAS, a research group led by Goethe University describes plastic changes of adult-born neurons in the hippocampus, a critical region for learning: frequent nerve signals enlarge the spines on neuronal dendrites, which in turn enables contact with the...
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Brain-stimulation trials get personal to lift depression – brain training
Before playing a guitar, musicians tune the strings to particular frequencies to get the pitch they want. Starting this week, a team of neuroscientists in Australia will apply a similar tuning process to human brains as part of a study to recalibrate abnormal neural patterns to a healthy state. The group, at Monash University in...
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How to activate your brain’s ability to learn
In music, you have scales. In Jiu Jitsu, it’s drilling. Most of us just call it practice. Whatever you label it, many believe that greatness, heck even mere competency, requires training a skill well past proficiency. It’s continuing to practice your free throw even after you’ve nailed every shot. It’s playing through that song one...
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Researchers develop portable brain imaging system to shed light on concussions
University of Calgary researchers have developed a brain imaging system that may one day be used in concussion treatment clinics and sports facilities to detect and monitor damage in the brain from concussion. It’s one of the most talked about injuries in sport today, concussion. Yet, there is no accepted way to image a...
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Brain training has no effect on decision-making or cognitive function: study
During the last decade, commercial brain-training programs have risen in popularity, offering people the hope of improving their cognitive abilities through the routine performance of various “brain games” that tap cognitive functions such as memory, attention and cognitive flexibility. But a recent study at the University of Pennsylvania found that, not only did commercial brain training with Lumosity...
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Five of the best apps to train your brain
It is no secret that as we age, our brain function declines. However, studies have suggested that keeping mentally active – particularly when older – can help to maintain cognitive functioning. Brain training apps are considered a useful aid for mental stimulation, but which one is right for you? We present our pick of five...
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Functional brain training alleviates chemotherapy-induced peripheral nerve damage in cancer survivor
Neurofeedback also results in measureable changes in targeted brain activity A type of functional brain training known as neurofeedback shows promise in reducing symptoms of chemotherapy-induced nerve damage, or neuropathy, in cancer survivors, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The pilot study, published in the journal Cancer,...