Brain Health Blog

Brain Hydration

July 1, 2009

By Gregory Kellett, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at SFSU and UCSF, and science writer for Lumos Labs.

Your brain is made up of 60% water and many of us may not be drinking enough of the clear wet stuff to keep our thinking “juicy”.

Not drinking enough water has detrimental effects on our brains. When your body lacks water, brain cells and other neurons shrink and biochemical processes involved in cellular communication slow. A drop of as little as 1 to 2% of fluid levels can result in slower processing speeds, impaired short-term memory, tweaked visual tracking and deficits in attention.

With proper hydration however, neurons work best and are capable of reacting faster.

What constitutes proper hydration is controversial. Some say that it is important to imbibe 8 tall glasses of water daily, while others claim that one should only drink when thirsty.

In fact, there is no one golden rule to staying well hydrated. The amount of water each of us needs varies from person to person as it depends on each individual’s physiology and lifestyle activities like diet and exercise.

Experiment and see what feels good. In today’s world of infinite distractions however, it is best not to leave hydration to your sense of thirst alone. It is also important to note that your ability to notice thirst typically diminishes with age.

Also of note:

  • Sweating from exercise or high temperatures can result in more than 3 liters an hour of fluid loss.
  • The maximum amount of water the body is capable of absorbing is 1 liter an hour or 330 milliliters every 20 min (the ideal amount to drink under high sweat conditions).
  • Although good for energy, foods high in protein and sugar increase the body’s need for water.

Warning!

Drinking TOO much water is very dangerous! Overhydration causes a sodium imbalance that can be fatal. It is common for marathon runners to be hospitalized because of overzealous hydration during the race.

Approach fluid consumption with moderation.

References:

Armstrong, L. E., & Epstein, Y. (1999). Fluid-electrolyte balance during labor and exercise: concepts and misconceptions. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 9(1), 1-12.

Kleiner, S. M. (1999). Water: an essential but overlooked nutrient. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99(2), 200-6.

Lang, F., Busch, G. L., Ritter, M., Völkl, H., Waldegger, S., Gulbins, E., et al. (1998). Functional significance of cell volume regulatory mechanisms. Physiological Reviews, 78(1), 247-306.

Lieberman, H. R. (2007). Hydration and cognition: a critical review and recommendations for future research. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 26(5 Suppl), 555S-561S.

Maughan, R. J., Shirreffs, S. M., & Watson, P. (2007). Exercise, heat, hydration and the brain. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 26(5 Suppl), 604S-612S.

Murray, R. (1998). Rehydration strategies–balancing substrate, fluid, and electrolyte provision. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 19 Suppl 2, S133-5.

Suhr, J. A., Hall, J., Patterson, S. M., & Niinistö, R. T. (2004). The relation of hydration status to cognitive performance in healthy older adults. International Journal of Psychophysiology: Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology, 53(2), 121-5.

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By Gregory Kellett | Posted in Brain Health | Comments (0)

The power of brain plasticity

June 26, 2009

This article was contributed by Paul Li, who teaches cognitive science at UC Berkeley.

The human brain is quite remarkable. It does not remain static, but instead ceaselessly changes throughout life. Everything you learn or experience impacts the biology of your brain.

Though some cognitive abilities typically begin to decline in the third decade of life, cortical plasticity renews our hope that new connections can be willfully forged. For example, there was a little girl who was born with very little cortical tissue. Doctors did not see much of a future for her because she did not have a ‘normal’ brain; however, because of cortical plasticity and the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, she learned to function quite well (Distelmaier et al., 2007).

The article highlighted that this “case teaches us that clinicians and parents should not give up in the face of an apparently hopeless case!”

In a previous post, Almost No Brain, a man managed to lead a normal life despite having minimal gray matter inside his skull. These two cases show how amazingly adaptable the brain is. The ability to shift the nature-nurture tension toward the nurture side is empowering for us, and provides hope even in the face of serious abnormalities of the brain.

References:
Distelmaier et al., “How Much Brain Is Really Necessary?” A Case of Complex Cerebral Malformation and Its Clinical Course, J Child Neurol 2007; 22; 756

Special thanks to Bradley Voytek, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Berkeley, for his assistance.

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By Paul Li | Posted in Brain Games, Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience | Comments (0)

Introducing Speed Brain for Palm® Pre™

June 9, 2009

Palm selects Lumosity to bring the first brain training game to the Palm Pre.

Designed to improve your processing speed and reaction time, Speed Brain exercises your ability to quickly understand information and react to it. You can also connect to your Lumosity account on your Palm Pre, which will allow you to track your Lumosity Brain Profile.

As with other Lumosity games, Speed Brain for webOS was created with heavy involvement from doctors, neuroscientists, and psychologists at universities worldwide.

Search for “Speed Brain” in the Palm Pre App Catalog.

We hope our Palm Pre users will enjoy their brain training on the go!

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By admin | Posted in Brain Games | Comments (0)

Working memory training changes the brain

May 29, 2009

By Gregory Kellett, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at SFSU and science writer for Lumos Labs .

It seems that working memory training may work by physically altering the brain. Stockholm Brain Institute researchers put healthy people through working memory exercises for 35 minutes per day over a period of 5 weeks. Changes in dopamine receptor density were measured with positron emission tomography (PET) before and after the training.

Following working memory training, they found:

  • An increase in the density of dopamine receptors.
  • An improvement in working memory performance.

The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a central role in working memory. This research implies that improving working memory performance through several weeks of training might work by increasing the quantity of dopamine receptors in the brain.

References:
Buschkuehl, M., Jaeggi, S. M., Hutchison, S., Perrig-Chiello, P., Däpp, C., Müller, M., et al. (2008). Impact of working memory training on memory performance in old-old adults. Psychology and Aging, 23(4), 743-53.

Dahlin, E., Neely, A. S., Larsson, A., Bäckman, L., & Nyberg, L. (2008). Transfer of learning after updating training mediated by the striatum. Science (New York, N.Y.), 320(5882), 1510-2.

McNab, F., Varrone, A., Farde, L., Jucaite, A., Bystritsky, P., Forssberg, H., et al. (2009). Changes in cortical dopamine D1 receptor binding associated with cognitive training. Science (New York, N.Y.), 323(5915), 800-2.

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By Gregory Kellett | Posted in Brain Games, Brain Research, Cognitive Performance, Lumos Labs, Memory, Neuroscience | Comments (0)

New on Lumosity: Friends and User Profiles

May 15, 2009

Today the Lumosity team launched a couple of new features that mark the beginning of a more social Lumosity experience: Lumosity Friends and user profiles.

Now, you can see what your friends and family are doing on Lumosity and what their best cognitive attributes are. If they aren’t already on Lumosity, invite them to join so you can add them as Lumosity Friends.

Also, check out your new Lumosity profile and personalize it with a photo.

There’s a lot more to come; stay tuned in the coming weeks for more ways to communicate and coordinate with the Lumosity community.

As always, let us know what you think by commenting on this post or by sending a note to feedback@lumosity.com.

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By Juliette Melton | Posted in Lumos Labs | Comments (2)

Improving Memory with Magnets?

March 30, 2009

By Gregory Kellett, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at SFSU and UCSF, and science writer for Lumos Labs .

Scientists at the university of Sydney in Australia have recently claimed to be able to make people’s memory more accurate by reducing the occurrence of false memories… via magnets.

Although it is often possible to increase the precision of memory by paying better attention at the time of an event, little till now has been able to help improve remembrance after the fact.

The experimenters used electro-magnetic pulses via a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation to decrease brain activity in such a way as to mimic the minds of people with anterior temporal lobe dementia and autism.  The logic behind this being that one of the common characteristics of these conditions is a more literal memory with greater accuracy for details.

Participants were given a list of words to memorize and then either actual magnetic brain manipulation, a sham manipulation or no treatment at all.

Those who actually had their brains magnetically pulsed after seeing the list of words showed a 36% decrease in false memories (IE thinking a word was initially presented when it was not) over those whose brains were left untouched.

Although this leaves us with more questions than answers, the authors point to a possible future application in the court room, where memories frequently get a little too creative.

Reference:

Gallate, J., Chi, R., Ellwood, S., & Snyder, A. (2009). Reducing false memories by magnetic pulse stimulation. Neuroscience Letters, 449(3), 151-154. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.11.021.

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By Gregory Kellett | Posted in Cognitive Performance, Memory | Comments (0)

Staying Sharp by Keeping Fit

March 18, 2009

By Gregory Kellett, a cognitive neuroscience researcher at SFSU and science writer for Lumos Labs .

Turns out there may be a link between cardiovascular fitness and the size of one’s hippocampus, a portion of the brain important for the formation of new memories.

Researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh, looked at the cardiovascular fitness of 165 adults between the ages of 59 and 81. They also measured (via MRI) the size of each participant’s hippocampus and tested for spatial reasoning abilities.

What they found was:

•    Elderly adults who are physically fit tend to have larger hippocampi than those who are less fit.

•    Having a larger hippocampus is correlated with better perfomance on spatial memory tasks.

Exercise has been linked to hippocampus size and spatial memory before, in rodents, but this is the first study to demonstrate a similar relationship in humans.

This is good news in that, although variable between individuals, it is well established that the hippocampus typically shrinks with age and that this shrinkage is associated with subtle but definite declines in memory and spatial orientation.

References:

Erickson, K. I., Prakash, R. S., Voss, M. W., Chaddock, L., Hu, L., Morris, K. S., et al. (2009). Aerobic fitness is associated with hippocampal volume in elderly humans. Hippocampus.

Kitabatake, Y., Sailor, K. A., Ming, G., & Song, H. (2007). Adult neurogenesis and hippocampal memory function: new cells, more plasticity, new memories? Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, 18(1), 105-13, x.

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By Gregory Kellett | Posted in Brain Health, Cognitive Performance, Memory | Comments (0)

New iPhone Brain Game Announcement - Memory Matrix

February 26, 2009

Train your memory while on the go with our latest iPhone and iPod Touch brain game — Memory Matrix!  This game trains your ability to recall locations and patterns.  If you’ve ever struggled with remembering where you put your car keys or what you needed to buy at the grocery store, then this is the game for you.

And because we’re so eager for you to play Memory Matrix, it’s going to be FREE — for a limited time — so take advantage of this offer and download it today!

Also, for those of you who downloaded our first mobile game (Speed Brain), you’ll notice that we’ve added new features to our mobile games, including the ability to sync to your lumosity.com account.  Now you can take your brain profile with you wherever you go!  Track your progress from anywhere and show your friends and family how much you’ve improved.

We hope you give Memory Matrix a whirl.  We think you’ll find it challenging and fun!

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By Joshua Duyan | Posted in Brain Games | Comments (3)