As you can see, we’ve got a new and improved design for the Brain Health blog (thanks Josh and Dave). Let us know if you find changes you do or do not like, or if there’s anything that doesn’t seem to be working properly.
More evidence that you should eat fruit. Cornell’s Chang Y. Lee found that the antioxidants in fruit prevented neurons from dying when exposed to oxidative stress.
“Our results suggest that fresh apples, banana and orange in our daily diet along with other fruits may protect neuron cells against oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity and may play an important role in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease,” Lee concluded.
Chris Chatham at Developing Intelligence published a great guide to getting the most cognitive benefit out of caffeine. We’ve mentioned before that caffeine can improve memory and reaction time and that coffee might be protective against dementia. But we haven’t yet gotten into the implementation - what’s the best way to consume caffeine for sustained cognitive performance? Chris outlines the approach indicated by empirical research in Caffeine: A User’s Guide to Getting Optimally Wired.
One of his stronger points is the value of small and frequent doses of caffeine rather than a venti chug to start the day. Caffeine reaches the brain quickly, and then your system begins to gradually remove it, so you may be best off having about a quarter-cup each hour over the course of the time you want to be alert.
Keep in mind that there are cardiovascular risks to too much caffeine use, and that it is an addictive drug. That said, Lumos Labs averages about 3 cups/day - close to the US average of 3.1/day - and we show no signs of slowing down.
Brain fitness and cognitive training articles appearing in the past few weeks have prominently featured Lumos Labs. Here are a few of our favorite:
Dominic Cadden writes about his experience completing the Lumosity training program.
Check out Doug Delony’s broadcast of Lumosity: “Games for a happy Friday”
did an excellent assessment of the current state of the science behind brain training products.
Tips to avoid forgetting and losing stuff - Lumosity helps you avoid losing memory itself.
By Lumos Labs Science Associate Paul Li, MS Neuroscience.
Males are bigger consumers than females when it comes to mainstream video games. A possible reason males enjoy playing (and end up addicted to) video games might be attributed to how the male brain is wired when compared to the female brain, particularly in the reward and addiction system.
Dr. Fumiko Hoeft and colleagues had subjects play a video game that involves acquiring territory while being scanned in an fMRI machine. Brain areas that showed activation were in the mesocorticolimbic center, along with the nucleus accumbens, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. In these areas, male brains had more activation - correlating with how much territory they gained - than female subjects. Since the study showed that males are territorial specimens, a follow-up approach might involve an fMRI study and a game that appeals more to females.
Dr. Fumiko Hoeft told me that, “We only examined one kind of game (one that is based on space infringement). Hence, when other types of games are examined, there may be a totally different response and perhaps females may show bigger physiological responses.” At least in the territorial game, though, female subjects actually “‘turn off certain regions during game play.” A game such as Lumosity’s Word Bubbles has been more popular among females than males and females also had greater improvement in their Brain Performance Index (BPI). We’d be interested in observing how the female and male brain activity compare when the women are more engaged with the game.
Announcing the T-Shirt Design Contest finalists! Congratulations to the 6 designers who made the finals with their impressive shirts. From the submissions received, we selected the best designs so that you (our readers) can vote to pick the winner.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a shirt design. We needed to narrow down the finalists to just six - and, unfortunately, some very creative submissions missed out on the finals.
Please vote for your favorite shirt with the voting widget on the right side of this page. (You can also vote here.)
I used to think I had Ted Williams-caliber vision (a doctor said that, and it was memorable for a 10-yr old aspiring baseball player). When dreams of baseball stardom started to seem less likely, I began to think I’d make a good pilot. Though I’ve long since chosen a different direction, I still took pride in having a top-notch visual system.
And then I discovered at the age of 28 that I’m colorblind. How did that go undetected for so long? Well, it’s not that I can’t detect colors - I can differentiate and name them well enough - but when given a color blindness test like the one below, I fail miserably.
Can you read the number in this circle?
For most people, the number “74″ jumps off the page, distinct and obvious - but not for those who are color blind. I see a “21″, and someone with more severe color blindness won’t see any numbers.
Color blindness is most often due to missing 1 or more of the 3 different types of cells that detect colors (aka “photoreceptors”) found in a normal eye. Each photoreceptor is tuned to respond to a different wavelength of light, and your brain can interpret their responses by combining the information from each type of photoreceptor, ideally leading to the perception of a vast array of colors.
I’m likely short on 1 type of photoreceptor making me red-green color blind, but it didn’t take long to uncover a rationale suggesting that colorblindness could be an advantage!
In WWII analysis of aerial photographs, teams that included color-blind people were more successful. Color-blind individuals were able to detect unusual patterns in ways that normal-vision people couldn’t.
And more recently, researchers from the University of Calgary showed that color-blind monkeys are better at hunting insects. The monkey’s without color vision caught more insects, presumably because they could see through the insects’ camouflage. Evolutionary speculators have suggested that a group of hunters that contained at least one person who is color blind would be more successful, and so this trait might continue to be selected for in a portion of the population.
It seems that under some circumstances colors can be distracting and actually detract from our ability to see subtle variations in texture and brightness. While it may still be more desirable to have full color vision, the 10% of males who are color blind do have some consolation: We will never starve for lack of camouflaged insects.
If you’ve been working on a design for the T-Shirt competition, now is your chance to send it to Lumosity.
The competition ends on tonight at midnight!
It’s easy to submit. Just email your design to info@lumosity.com.
The winner, runner-up, and all finalists will receive prizes. Submissions need to be received by February 12th at midnight PST. Readers will vote from the finalists to select the winning design.
By Lumos Labs Science Associate Paul Li, MS Neuroscience.
One of the top brain foods you can have in your diet is fish. This brain food, also in pill form, is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids that the body alone cannot produce. Recently, scientists from UCLA further discovered that omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, increases the production of a protein called LR11, which is known to destroy the beta amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer’s. A fish diet may possibly be a deterrent against this debilitating neurodegenerative disease. With that said, take care of that brain of yours by eating right and exercising, both physically and mentally.
By guest expert Dr. Cynthia Green, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert in brain health and president of Memory Arts LLC.
I was once asked if there is one thing that everyone could do to improve memory. Luckily, there was an easy answer. If we only paid better attention to things that we want to retain, we would remember them better.
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
Reade