Five sharp riddles to celebrate Thanksgiving in perfect harmony
Q: What is a sure way of sustaining a friendly and sociable feeling towards the whole world?
A: Consort only with strangers.
Q: What beats regretting what you DID say?
A: Treasuring what you DIDN’T say.
Q: What’s far more harmful to your health than NOT keeping up with the news?
A: Keeping up with the news and discussing the latest over Thanksgiving dinner.
Q: What is the most impenetrably foolproof camouflage of all on this planet?
A: The human smile.
Q: What does “you must come and visit us sometime” actually mean?
A: Nothing at all. However, if you take it seriously, be ready for the “what are YOU doing here?...
Source: SharpBrains - November 22, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Keith Perreur-Lloyd Tags: Brain Teasers cognitive-abilities riddles Thanksgiving Source Type: blogs
Study identifies protective brain structure that delays the onset of frontotemporal dementia symptoms over 2 years
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
To Learn More:
Deep learning model built on neuroimaging data identifies “Brain Age Gaps” as markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
Study: Building cognitive reserve helps delay memory and thinking decline regardless of genetic or childhood markers
The post Study identifies protective brain structure that delays the onset of frontotemporal dementia symptoms over 2 years appeared first on SharpBrains. (Source: SharpBrains)
Source: SharpBrains - November 17, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: The Conversation Tags: Brain/ Mental Health brain fold brain-reserve brain-structure Bruce Willis cognitive advantage cognitive-ability cognitive-reserve dementia frontal-lobes frontotemporal dementia paracingulate sulcus Source Type: blogs
Brain imaging AI start-up Neurophet raises $15M to better direct Alzheimer ’s treatments, lower ARIA side-effects
Korean AI startups Allganize, Neurophet raise over $35 mn (The Korea Economic Daily):
Founded in 2016, the company plans to next year roll out its new AI analysis program that can detect side effects of Alzheimer’s disease treatments with a microhemorrhage diagnosis.
The Korean AI startup is famous for its flagship AI analysis technologies, Neurophet AQUA, which is a brain MRI analysis technology, and Neurophet SCALE PET, an AI-based positron emission tomography (PET) image analysis program.
It plans to go public in Korea next year, said Neurophet CEO Bin Joon-gil, adding that it is currently working with its underwriter...
Source: SharpBrains - November 9, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Alzheimer’s disease treatments Alzheimers-disease anti-amyloid antibody treatments brain image analysis donanemab lecanemab microhemorrhage diagnosis Neurophet positron emission tomography Source Type: blogs
On neuroplasticity, cognition, aging, medication, Alzheimer ’s, board games, brain teasers, and more
Welcome to a new edition of SharpBrains e‑newsletter, featuring fascinating research findings on neuroplasticity, cognition, aging, medication, Alzheimer’s, board games, and more, plus some brain teasers to get you in great shape for Halloween.
#1. Study: Playing board games like Chess, Mahjong, Go, helps slow cognitive decline as we age (but with clear differences in neurobiology and improved function)
So … let’s play all three!
#2. The Mindful Body argues against mindlessly accepting age-related decline in cognition and health as inevitable
“Perhaps Langer’s most provocative advice is reserved for doctors and...
Source: SharpBrains - October 26, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning SharpBrains Monthly eNewsletter Aduhelm aging Alzheimer’s board games cognition digital therapeutics DTx Leqembi medication neuroplasticity Source Type: blogs
Study: Playing board games like Chess, Mahjong, Go, helps slow cognitive decline as we age (but with clear differences in neurobiology and function)
Conclusions: Traditional board games may slow global cognitive decline and improve the quality of life in elderly subjects. Different games have varying impacts on specific cognitive domains, possibly mediated by functional and biological factors.
The Study in Context:
Study: For better memory and thinking skills at age 70 (and beyond), play cards and board games from age 11
How learning changes your brain
Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
The post Study: Playing board games like Chess, Mahjong, Go, helps slow cognitive decline as we age (but with clear differences in neurobio...
Source: SharpBrains - October 25, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning aging Alzheimer’s Disease BDNF chess cognition cognitive decline Cognitive-impairment dementia Go Mahjong neurobiology primary prevention recreational games secondary preve Source Type: blogs
Questions grow about the validity and usefulness of direct-to-consumer blood tests for Alzheimer ’s Disease
For the first time, people worried about their risk of Alzheimer’s disease can go online, order a blood test, and receive results in the privacy of their homes.
This might seem appealing on the surface, but the development has Alzheimer’s researchers and clinicians up in arms.
The Quest Diagnostics blood test, AD-Detect, measures elevated levels of amyloid-beta proteins, a signature characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Introduced in late July, the test is targeted primarily at people 50 and older who suspect their memory and thinking might be impaired and people with a family history of Alzheimer’s or genetic risks for t...
Source: SharpBrains - October 19, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Judith Graham at Kaiser Health News Tags: Brain/ Mental Health AD-Detect Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s biomarker amyloid-beta proteins brain health brain pathology cognitive cognitive-symptoms mini-strokes neurology neuropsychologist Quest Diagnostics sleep apnea Source Type: blogs
The Mindful Body argues against mindlessly accepting age-related decline in cognition and health as inevitable
In 1979, Harvard researcher Ellen Langer invited elderly men to spend a week at a retreat designed to remind them of their younger days, surrounded by the art, music, food, games, décor, and more from the late 1950s. Afterward, the men were tested and found to have made significant gains in hearing, memory, dexterity, posture, and general well-being. It was as if being in a place signaling their younger days made them physiologically “younger.”
Maybe you, too, have had an experience where your mind seemed to affect your health. It turns out there’s a reason for that, according to Langer, author of the new book The M...
Source: SharpBrains - October 9, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Greater Good Science Center Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning anti-anxiety medication anti-depressants book cognition cognitive change cognitive-abilities Ellen Langer mind mindfulness-meditation mindlessly physiology placebo studies Th Source Type: blogs
Beyond the clinic: Can digital therapeutics (DTx) help boost mental health in the workforce at scale?
Hoping to Avoid Pear’s Fate, Behavioral Health-Focused DTx Companies Look to Employer Market (Behavioral Health Business):
The digital therapeutics (DTx) industry is at a crossroads after one of the most prominent companies in the space, Pear Therapeutics, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The turmoil comes after DTx began catching on in the behavioral health field.
Despite Pear’s setback, some believe there’s now a chance for other digital therapeutics companies to learn from their competitor’s mistakes and pave the way for DTx. One of the most challenging questions for the burgeoning sector remains payment ...
Source: SharpBrains - October 2, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Calm digital therapeutics DTx FDA Pear Therapeutics Wondr Health Wysa Source Type: blogs
Four reasons to question “new generation” monoclonal antibody Alzheimer’s drugs such as aducanumab (Aduhelm), lecanemab (Leqembi), donanemab
New Alzheimer’s Drugs Don’t Deserve the Hype (Being Patient):
A prominent childhood memory is of my grandparents living with and then dying from dementia. As is universal with dementia, there was a double blow: watching my grandparents lose their identity and seeing the suffering of those closest to them.
… Enter three drugs, tentatively FDA-approved aducanumab (Aduhelm); fully FDA-approved lecanemab (Leqembi); and donanemab … currently in clinical trials and soon to be considered for FDA approval) that remove amyloid, the protein thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease… But how useful are these drugs going t...
Source: SharpBrains - September 25, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health aducanumab Aduhelm Alzheimer's drugs brain bleeding brain swelling dementia donanemab hype lecanemab Leqembi monoclonal antibody Alzheimer's drugs MRI-scans Source Type: blogs
Non-invasive Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (TES) shows early promise to treat ADHD symptoms in children
While tDCS uses constant current intensity, tRNS and tACS use oscillating current. The vertical axis represents the current intensity in milliamp (mA), while the horizontal axis illustrates the time-course. Source: Wikipedia.
Many children with ADHD benefit from medication treatment, behavioral treatment, or their combination, but others do not. In addition, parents are often reluctant to start their child on medication and high quality behavioral treatments are not readily accessible in many areas. The long-term efficacy of these treatments is also less than desirable. Thus, despite these evidence-based ADHD treatments, t...
Source: SharpBrains - September 19, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention & ADD/ADHD Technology & Innovation ADHD behavioral treatment ADHD medication treatment ADHD rating scale Cognitive-Training Cognitive-Training-Program Computerized-cognitive-training transcranial electrical stimulation Source Type: blogs
“To do nothing is not an option”: The NHS Confederation releases digital mental health whitepaper
This report highlights practical and achievable suggested discussion points that aim to bridge this gap and make a difference. They include a call for a wider and deeper national conversation on digital mental health and its future and consider developing effective ways of scaling digital mental health solutions in local and national solutions.
Why digital mental health?
Improved access: Digital mental health solutions can overcome geographical barriers, making mental health services more accessible to people in remote areas, those with limited mobility, and those who would prefer not to have in-person visits…
Early ...
Source: SharpBrains - September 12, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation digital digital mental health mental health services mental healthcare NHS Confederation technologies Source Type: blogs
Next: Harnessing Neuroplasticity, Medication AND Psychotherapy to treat mental health conditions
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
To Learn More:
Does ADHD treatment enable long-term academic success? (Yes, especially when pharmacological and non-pharma treatments are combined)
Survey of 2500 families finds what ADHD treatments seem to work/ not work as applied in the real world
What are cognitive abilities and how to boost them?
The post Next: Harnessing Neuroplasticity, Medication AND Psychotherapy to treat mental health conditions appeared first on SharpBrains. (Source: SharpBrains)
Source: SharpBrains - September 6, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: The Conversation Tags: Brain/ Mental Health antidepressants anxiety Cognitive Neuroscience Combination therapy depression neuroplasticity psychedelics psychiatry Psychology Psychotherapy Source Type: blogs
Time for a universal “exercise prescription” for kids and adults to boost cognition and mental health?
Welcome to a new edition of SharpBrains e‑newsletter, featuring this time a range of brain research findings, tools and controversies plus some brain teasers to challenge your (and our) working memory.
#1. Major evidence review supports an “exercise prescription” for most adults to boost mental health
“Higher intensity physical activity was associated with greater improvements” and “Effectiveness of physical activity interventions diminished with longer duration interventions.”
The sweet spot was four or five half-hour effortful sessions per week. Are you hitting it?
#2. (Separate) Evidence review: Ph...
Source: SharpBrains - August 31, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Attention & ADD/ADHD Brain Teasers Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning Peak Performance SharpBrains Monthly eNewsletter Technology & Innovation AirPods Apple boost mental health brain teasers for adults brain-activity Source Type: blogs
Evidence review: Physical exercise helps boost attention, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control in children and adolescents with ADHD
Conclusions based on a single study –no matter how strong the study design and execution may be– are necessarily limited, however. This has led researchers to combine results from multiple studies using a statistical technique called meta-analysis so that more robust and reliable estimates of a treatment’s impact can be determined.
Meta-analyses also have limitations, however. Decisions made about which studies to include vs. exclude, how to adjust for potential biases in individual studies, etc., can lead different meta-analyses of the same issue to reach somewhat different conclusions, even when the studies examine...
Source: SharpBrains - August 23, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Dr. David Rabiner Tags: Attention & ADD/ADHD Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning ADHD-symptoms cognitive-abilities cognitive-function executive functioning Physical-activity Source Type: blogs
