Can you actually become more intelligent?  For years, neuroscientists thought that this basically didn’t happen.  According to this view, you can take in more information and learn new things, but you can’t really become “more intelligent.”  Recent research conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan shows that this old view is probably dead wrong.

Susanne Jaeggi, Martin Buschkuehl, and their colleagues at Michigan did a study looking at what happens when people play a challenging working memory task called Dual N-Back.  They found that after training on this task for 25 minutes a day for a few weeks, the young adults in their study actually scored much better on tests of fluid intelligence – the ability to creatively solve new problems.  Fluid intelligence is part of standard IQ tests, so we can say that these subjects actually increased their intelligence following this training.

The Dual N-Back training is now available (free for a limited time) on Lumosity!  We have worked closely with Dr. Jaeggi and Dr. Buschkuehl to create a version of the Dual N-Back training that replicates what was used in their earlier study.  And, we’re going to support their ongoing research by hosting the program which will be used in their studies of intelligence training going forward.

Try it for yourself, but be warned: this training is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard! But the effort is worth it. After you’ve started, why not share your experiences with other users in our dual n-back forum?

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.

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, meaning 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 courtroom, 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.

It 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:

• 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 performance on spatial memory tasks.

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

This is good news because 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.

Memories are vital to our ability to function on even the most basic of levels. Our respective “realities” are in fact a large part due to the constantly shifting kaleidoscope of our remembrances. Here we will touch briefly on the difference between short-term/working memory and long-term memory as well as how the two filter and add meaning to our worlds.

What if we could remember everything we experienced? As enticing as it sounds, our finite brains would quickly find themselves overwhelmed with the random details of yesterday’s weather forecast alongside the nutritional information off of last month’s box of raisin bran.

Thankfully, the vast majority of our memories are fleeting mental wisps lasting only seconds to minutes. These temporary impressions make up what is called short-term or working memory.

Working memory can be thought of as a staging area where the mind takes meaning from such items as:

• Specific immediate memories of very recent sensory input (IE the sour smell of expired milk).
• The temporary recollection of details from long-term memories (IE what happened the last time you drank sour milk).
• Conclusions and ideas made in the past (Sour milk is bad).

Notice how working memory can temporarily pull details from long-term memory for short-term use. Although constantly changing and ephemeral itself, working memory is vital to our ability to make decisions and take action over time (such as our pouring that sour milk down the drain). For a brilliant and more in-depth description of working memory read Elizabeth Buchen’s “Working Memory: What it is and how it works”.

When an experience or piece of information sticks and doesn’t evaporate with short-term memory, it is said to have entered into the realm of long-term memory. This journey is called consolidation and takes place after prolonged exposure to a piece of information or experience. The longer the exposure, the better the consolidation, the more robust the related memories will be.

Long-term memories can store much larger quantities of information than working memory and for much longer periods of time (often as much as a lifetime). These resilient long-term recollections are made up of both consciously learned facts, such as “Madrid is the capital of Spain” and subconsciously learned knowledge, such as the ability to balance and ride a bike.

We derive meaning and the ability to act via the synergistic relationship between long-term and working memory. Working memory combines elements from our long-term stores with immediate sensory information in order to generate ideas and plans of action. For example, remembering that the taste of peanut butter is pleasant as we toast toast, might just have us use our memorized skill of unscrewing a jar in order to manifest the pleasurable experience of peanut butter on toast. Which is just one more potentially delicious result of a fit and active mind.

A recent British study published by the American Heart Association suggests that the balance of cholesterol in our blood may affect not only heart health but also memory performance. It is widely accepted that diets promoting “Good” cholesterol, otherwise known as high-density lipoprotiens (HDL), can reduce cardiovascular disease, but it now appears that high HDL may also be good for memory.

Researchers tested 3,600 British civil servants for both HDL levels and memory performance over time, first at an average age of 55 and then again at 61.

The results?

• Participants with higher HDL levels did consistently better at recalling items from a list of 20 words after 2 minutes.
• For those whose HDL levels declined between tests there were also declines in memory performance.

Reference:

Singh-Manoux, A., Gimeno, D., Kivimaki, M., Brunner, E., & Marmot, M. G. (2008). Low HDL Cholesterol Is a Risk Factor for Deficit and Decline in Memory in Midlife. The Whitehall II Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 28, 1398.

]]> http://www.lumosity.com/blog/good-cholesterol-and-good-memory/feed/ 8 http://www.lumosity.com/blog/free-brain-games-announcing-name-tag/ http://www.lumosity.com/blog/free-brain-games-announcing-name-tag/#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:40:21 +0000 Aimee Fountain http://www.lumosity.com/blog/free-brain-games-announcing-name-tag/ Lumosity has a new brain game and we wanted to offer you the chance for a sneak peek! The game is called “Name Tag” and targets face and name recognition in a classic “Memory” game format. We know, through user feedback, that many people struggle with this skill in settings ranging from the workplace to barbecues and hope that you will enjoy playing! You can find “Name Tag” here: Play Name Tag!

This game will be free for a short time only.

The URL for the game is: http://games.lumosity.com/name_tag.html

We welcome any feedback you have to offer and will be in touch with more new games in the next month.

If you would like to hear about new games in the future, sign up here and join our new games announcement list.

CHICAGO – When it comes to remembering things, new research shows men are more likely than women to have mild cognitive impairment, the transition stage before dementia. The research will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008.

“This is one of the first studies to determine the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment among men and women who have been randomly selected from a community to participate in the study,” said study author Rosebud Roberts, MD, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. Mild cognitive impairment can also be described as impairment in memory or other thinking skills beyond what’s expected for a person’s age and education.

For the study, 2,050 people living in Olmsted County, Minnesota, who were between the ages of 70 and 89 were interviewed, examined, and given cognitive tests. Overall, 15 percent of the group had mild cognitive impairment.

The study found men were one-and-a-half times more likely to have mild cognitive impairment than women. The finding remained the same regardless of a man’s education or marital status.

“These findings are in contrast to studies which have found more women than men (or an equal proportion) have dementia, and suggest there’s a delayed progression to dementia in men,” said Roberts. “Alternately, women may develop dementia at a faster rate than men.”

###

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of over 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.

The article does offer some hope:

“…notes Richard Suzman, Ph.D., director of the NIA’s Behavioral and Social Research Program. ‘Research is now beginning to suggest that interventions – such as controlling hypertension and diabetes or perhaps cognitive training – might help maintain or improve mental abilities with age. As such interventions are tested and widely applied, we should be able to track their impact through this type of research.’”

Of course, improving attention is not quite as easy as it sounds. Let’s face it, life is full of distractions. After all, we have many things competing for our awareness. Think about how many times you’ve been interrupted – or have interrupted yourself – over the past hour alone. Perhaps you got a snack, checked email or took a phone call. In the time that I’ve been working on this piece alone I’ve had to answer the door, help my son edit a paper, and of course constantly check email so I don’t miss anything life altering (hey, you never know). On top of these tempting distractions, add other attention zappers, such as how we sleep, what we eat, if we are stressed or anxious – just a few of the lifestyle factors that may also mire our attention. Finally, aging can contribute to the problem, since as we grow older it can be harder for us to sustain attention. Rarely, however, do we consider how truly essential attention is to memory. So that we go around complaining that we can do difficult work tasks just fine but forget simple things, like brushing our teeth (yuck) or what we went into the other room to get.

Building attention can do wonders for your memory performance. Why? Well, consider for a moment what it takes to remember. First we have to learn, or acquire, things that we want to recall later. After all, if you want to know something, you first have to get it. And that acquisition process requires – you’ve got it – attention. You can start building better attention and focus by:

• Increase Your Awareness. Be aware when you want to remember something later. Then stop and focus your attention in that moment, so you more effectively get the information.
• Build Your Attention. Playing games that challenge your attention and focus can help build your attention capacity. Games, like those in Lumosity’s brain fitness training program, force you to stay focused and think quickly to do well.
• Pay Attention to How You Live. Daily factors such as fatigue, poor diet, anxiety, and stress can really drain your attention. Take the time to think about how things may be affecting your attention day to day. You can boost your attention and therefore your memory simply by leading a lifestyle that supports healthy attention function.
• Stop Overtasking. The human brain is still, well, human. There is only so much we can handle at one time. Protect your attention and your time getting better attention habits. For example, I recently set my email so that it only checks for new messages every 30 minutes. This gives me longer chunks of time without the distraction of messages, which invariably are NOT life altering. Put “Do Not Disturb” signs up at work when working on things which require concentration. Try rewarding yourself with a favorite distraction (a game, a trip to the water cooler) once you’ve completed a task.

In fact, now that I’ve finished this column, I think it’s time to refill my water bottle. So go forth and pay attention to your attention – it will help you remember better.

Dr. Green