Taking your brain vitals: Stories from a techno-optimist inventing the future of human performance

We examined how experts currently measured brain health—like the neurologist who met my dad, gave him some tests, and made a determination. No matter how gifted the neurologist may be, there was no way for him to know whether my dad’s cognition had declined, improved, or stayed the same over the past months or even years. Yet I’d expected that doctor to have all the answers. We proposed a new approach. Rather than boil the ocean trying to characterize every aspect of cognition, we said, “Let’s track brain health as if it’s a vital sign.” To do this, we needed a tracking tool that was as easy to use as, say, a thermometer or blood pressure cuff. Before you assume this is impossible, think about the way you actually use a thermometer. The readout tells you whether your temperature is high or low, which helps you to form a picture of your overall health. You would never automatically attribute a high number to a particular illness, though a fever is certainly a sign that something may be severely wrong. With a blood pressure cuff, we would never check your pressure once—or even twice—to decide whether you have hypertension. We would need to track it over time so we have a fuller picture. Having that baseline also helps us determine if a change occurs that is significant for you. For example, I have consistently low blood pressure, so what’s high for me may be normal for you. And if we didn’t have that baseline, a doctor might consider my blood pressure to b...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation AnthroTronix brain health cognition cognitive changes Cognitive-tests concussions Dana dementia-diagnosis detect cognitive changes mild-cognitive-impairment neurologist neuropsychologi Source Type: blogs