For a limited time, Division Storm and Multiplication Storm are free to play for all members. What are you waiting for?

Give it a try and send some feedback our way; it’s free to all members for a limited time only!

From a cognitive perspective, “planning” can actually involve several brain attributes, including working memory, spatial recall, and logical reasoning. With all of these things in play, it’s no wonder that choosing your next few moves in a game of chess can seem like a monumental task.

That’s why we’ve designed Route to Sprout, a new game that challenges you to move a seed to its planting hole using the most efficient path you can find. If you take the time to figure out the optimal route, you’ll earn extra points and give your planning skills a workout at the same time.

Give it a try, and let us know what you think!

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.

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.

Well Lumos Labs has devised a new brain game to help you avoid those embarrassing situations. Its called Familiar Faces, and as the title implies, it involves remembering people’s faces, along with their names and food orders. Big tips and job promotions are the goal, and those are achieved by improving your service with practice.

Keeping in mind who ordered what will exercise both your working memory and attention, while possibly helping to make your social life a tad more comfortable. Check it out, and as always, feel free to give us your feedback.

A study of brain function in mice reveals that a stimulating environment improves the memory of their offspring. If this improvement also occurs in humans, a mother’s youthful experiences may help shape her childrens’ ability to learn. Here’s the press release, with the paper reference below the fold:

Newswise — A study reveals that the severity of learning disorders may
depend not only on the child’s environment but also – remarkably – on
the mother’s environment when she was young. The study in
memory-deficient mice, published in the February 4 issue of The
Journal of Neuroscience, was led by Larry Feig, PhD, professor of
biochemistry at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of the
biochemistry and neuroscience programs at the Sackler School of
Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University.

The researchers studied the brain function of pre-adolescent mice with
a genetically-created defect in memory. When these young mice were
enriched by exposure to a stimulating environment – including novel
objects, opportunities for social interaction and voluntary exercise –
for two weeks, the memory defect was reversed. The work showed that
this enhancement was remarkably long-lasting because it was passed on
to the offspring even though the offspring had the same genetic
mutation and were never exposed to an enriched environment.

Previous research has shown that environmental exposures during
pregnancy can affect offspring. “A striking feature of this study is
that enrichment took place during pre-adolescence, months before the
mice were even fertile, yet the effect reached into the next
generation,” said Feig.

“The offsprings’ improved memory was not the result of better
nurturing by mothers who were enriched when they were young. When the
offspring were raised by non-enriched foster mothers, the offspring
maintained the beneficial effect,” said co-author Junko Arai, PhD,
postdoctoral associate in Feig’s laboratory.

“The effect lasted until adolescence, when it waned, suggesting that
this process is designed specifically to aid the young brain,”
continued Shaomin Li, PhD, MD, co-author, former postdoctoral
associate in Feig’s laboratory, now at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“This example of ‘inheritance of acquired characters,’ was first
proposed by Lamarck in the early 1800s. However, it is incompatible
with classical Mendelian genetics, which states that we inherit
qualities from our parents through specific DNA sequences they
inherited from their parents. We now refer to this type of inheritance
as epigenetics, which involves environmentally-induced changes in the
structure of DNA and the chromosomes in which DNA resides that are
passed on to offspring,” said Feig.

Previous research by Feig and his team showed that a relatively brief
exposure to an enriched environment in both normal and
memory-deficient mice unlocks an otherwise latent biochemical control
mechanism that enhances a cellular process in nerve cells called
long-term potentiation (LTP), which is known to be involved in
learning and memory. This enhancement was detected in pre-adolescent
mice but not in adult mice, reflecting the brain’s higher plasticity
in the young.

Feig concluded that the transgenerational inheritance of the effect of
an enriched environment may be a mechanism that has evolved to protect
one’s offspring from deleterious effects of sensory deprivation, which
may be particularly potent in the young and exacerbated in the
learning disabled.

Junko Arai and Shaomin Li, first authors, contributed equally to the
paper. Dean M. Hartley, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center is also
an author.

The work was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the
National Institutes of Health because these findings were derived as
an offshoot of the Feig lab’s long-term experience working on Ras
proteins that are involved in cancer. Fundamental principles of how
Ras proteins function gained by studying its role in cancer expedited
subsequent studies on Ras function in the brain. This work highlights
how major breakthroughs can arise by allowing researches to follow new
leads that cross disciplines. The work was also supported by the Tufts
Center for Neuroscience Research.

Arai J, Li S, Hartley DM, and Feig LA. The Journal of Neuroscience.
2009. (February 4); 29(5): 1496-1502. “Transgenerational Rescue of a
Genetic Defect in Long-Term Potentiation and Memory Formation by
Juvenile Enrichment.” Published online February 3, 2009, doi:
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5057-08.2009

About Tufts University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate
Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in
innovative medical education and advanced research. The School of
Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in
education in general medicine, special combined degree programs in
business, health management, public health, bioengineering, and
international relations, as well as basic and clinical research at the
cellular and molecular level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the
School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and
more than 30 health care facilities. The Sackler School undertakes
research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation
for its impact on the advancement of medical science.

Ever wonder about the workings of your nervous system?  As mentioned in our previous post on cognition, the nervous system is responsible for integrating and processing information about your surroundings while directing action towards the achievement of goals; whether this be eating a tuna sandwich, serenading a lover or getting out of the way of a speeding bus. Physically, it is made up of your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

Let’s look at the structural components of this biological orchestra.

Neurons and Glia
The basic functional units of the nervous system include neurons (cells who’s primary job is to communicate) and glia (cells which support neurons and their communication).

The average brain has about 100 billion neurons and about 9 times as many glia.

Neurons (with the help of glia) connect and coordinate senses such as sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste with the activity of your muscles and organs. They are either taking information in for integration, communicating with other neurons for information processing, or sending information out to generate action.

Glial cells (of which there are multiple types) do a variety of tasks to support the functioning of neurons, including removing waste, providing nutritional and structural support and facilitating connections. Some glia have also been shown to communicate with neurons, as well as each other, in order to help coordinate neuronal activity.

Synapses and Neurotransmitters
Synapses are the actual locations at which neurons communicate with each other, and a typical neuron has about 10,000 of them.

Neurons communicate at synapses through the use of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals sent between neurons as well as the muscles and organs they work with. They attach to receptors on receiving cells, translating into one of three basic types of messages:

•    Excitatory- Encouraging connected neurons and other related cells to “pass it on” or activate; perhaps prompting you to swat at that fly after being buzzed by the umpteenth time or dilate your pupils when the lights go out.

•    Inhibitory- Suggesting that the receiving cell not continue passing on the signal or take action. This could be involved in the shutting down of appetite in response to the non-acquired taste of anchovies or the ability to ignore the radio in your car while figuring out how to get un-lost.

• Adaptive- Instructing a neuron to change something in its structure or the way it functions. This is the basis of plasticity where neurons may reduce or increase the number of connections, move them around and or adjust their sensitivity; all of which are part of the learning process.

Neural Networks

Neurons which collaborate on a specific physiological function, such as hearing high pitches, moving your pinky or remembering to take the trash out, are considered to be part of a shared neural network. Typically these functionally related neurons will use only one or two of the over 100 different types of neurotransmitters available. Neurotransmitters, however, can and often are associated with several types of neural networks.

Serotonin is an example of a neurotransmitter involved with the regulation of multiple systems including mood, appetite, temperature, pain sensation and sleep.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter of choice for neural networks dealing with reward, such as the feeling you get after winning an egg toss or eating a delicious meal. It is however also used by circuits involving memory and attention.

Complexity
As much as we do know about how our nervous systems work, there is still much more to be discovered. One of the many areas where little is known involves how different neural networks, responsible for such diverse tasks as detecting movement, recognizing objects and generating action, can communicate between themselves. The mechanisms involved in coordinating the information from different specialized neural systems into a seamless experience of say, catching a ball, is still a mystery.  This is referred to as the binding problem, and although there are plenty of theories, there are no clear answers as of yet.

As you can see, the interactions between our neurons, neurotransmitters and constantly shifting surroundings are complex…..especially when they are trying to grasp the complexity of interactions between neurons, neurotransmitters and constantly shifting surroundings;)

We’re on a roll! Following the debut of Name Tag last month, we are now ready to release Top Chimp, a brain game that sharpens visual attention and trains working memory. We think it’s more fun than a barrel of…well, monkeys, but would love to have your feedback before the game becomes part of the regular set of brain exercises. Please find the game here http://games.lumosity.com/top_chimp.html and send any suggestions to games@lumosity.com.

The field of neuroscience is just beginning to understand some of the physiological foundations of how we learn. The following is a basic breakdown of what we think we might know.

Learning is the process by which new knowledge or skills sticks to our brains.  Its functional “sticky” unit is the neuron. Neurons are cells specially adapted to communicate with each other. Everything we experience is reflected in the brain by neurons which communicate to form what are called neural networks.  These networks can be pictured as overlapping 3-D road maps which span brain regions responsible for processing everything from the bitter-sweet taste of dark chocolate to why your neighbor is such a grump. As we learn, these neural “road maps” interact and shift while also fading or strengthening in relation to our experiences.

Whether it be recognizing a co-worker or changing a flat tire, learning entails the formation and strengthening of connections or synapses between neurons. Brief experiences typically leave connections tracing an ephemeral neural network. This might be envisioned as crisscrossing deer paths. Which, if left unused, fade quickly.

After repeated exposure to a learning experience, like the second time we change that flat tire, the associated neuronal connections are reinforced, resembling more a network of single lane country roads than deer paths.  And when it comes to daily practice and expertise in a skill, one can imagine that the guy at the local tire shop would have the neuronal equivalent of intersecting super-highways.

This strengthening of neural network connections is thought to be the physiological basis of learning.

Changing, strengthening and creating new neural networks tends to get more difficult with age. There is some research, however, indicating that it is possible to maintain our ability to learn, and possibly even ward off or lessen the impact of certain types of dementia. It appears that a significant amount of age related cognitive decline can be attributed to a tendency to stay within pre-established comfort zones; shying away from new and challenging experiences, which typically push the brain to grow (or at least not shrink as fast).

Here are some simple tips that could help maintain our brain’s ability to adapt.

• Stay Social- Reaching out and staying connected with friends and family engages the mind.

• Break a Sweat- It’s not only good for your body but your head as well.  Regular aerobic exercise is even capable of stimulating the formation of new neurons.

• Relax- Certain stress hormones are damaging to the brain in excess.

• Seek Challenges- Take that swing dance class, it’ll keep you on your toes in more ways than one. Do a variety of the Lumosity brain games – don’t just focus on your favorites.

• Eat Fruits and Veggies- You’ve heard it a million times before; this time it’s because they contain anti-oxidants and other substances protective of your head’s contents.

• Review Your Day- Take some evening time to review what you did, who you met, and what you read about. Start with the present and work your way back to breakfast or vice a versa.