Could brain training help us return to the moon or go on to Mars? That’s something NASA researchers are looking into—and they recently completed a pilot study using BrainHQ. While astronauts need to be in top cognitive health, scientists have long known that space travel can have adverse impacts on brain health and performance. This pilot study of employees at the Johnson Space Center showed that about 15 hours of BrainHQ training drove a 19% improvement on the NASA Cognition Test Battery. The next step is a larger study to confirm these initial results—and a longer-term hope of working with the astronauts on the ARTEMIS project. You can watch a news video about this research here, listen to an NPR podcast interview here, or read a news report about it here! |
|
Best regards, Jeff Zimman Co-founder Posit Science |
|
| | We Have Fingerprints—What About “Brainprints?” New imaging tools are allowing scientists to learn more and more about the brain. And one of the things they can now show is the incredible diversity of the human brain. Every adult has distinctive brain patterns—a brain “fingerprint” that identifies them individually. At the same time, some people have certain characteristics in common that may help researchers identify medical conditions, such as Alzheimer’s or schizophrenia, even before they are outwardly presented. Learn more about how this science might be used. |
|
|
Sigh… We’re often told to “just breathe” when particularly exasperated, stressed, or sorrowful. But what kind of breathing is most helpful? A new research study has shown that it’s a form of sighing—a longer exhalation than inhalation. In the study, “cyclic sighing”—even as few as three sighs in a row—helped people feel less anxious and stressed. So, if you hear someone sigh, it doesn’t just indicate unhappiness—it is also might help them feel a bit better! Learn more. |
|
|
Sounds Like Science Fiction: “Biocomputers” May Be in Our Future Even with all the advances in computing and artificial intelligence, the human brain can still outperform computers in many ways. That’s part of the reason that researchers at Johns Hopkins believe that taking the next great steps in computing will require “biocomputers”—computers powered by human brain cells. Learn more. |
|
|
The “Upper Bounds of Human Brain Plasticity” 15-year-old Mora Leeb had the entire left side of her brain removed when she was nine months old. Yet she can still perform most of the jobs that are usually controlled by that hemisphere, thanks to “extreme” brain plasticity. The right side of her brain has reorganized to make room for abilities found in both hemispheres. And that means that despite some limitations, Mora’s life is not so different from a typical teenager’s. Read more about Mora’s brain and how people like her are helping scientists learn about the brain. |
|
|
More Evidence for the Mediterranean and MIND Diets Over the past decade, several studies have suggested that both the Mediterranean and the MIND diets have benefits for the aging brain. (The MIND diet was specifically created to delay cognitive changes in aging, combining elements from the Mediterranean diet and the heart-healthy DASH diet.) Scientists have now taken this research a step further, conducting autopsies to see whether following either diet affected brain aging. Both diets reduced the numbers of plaques and tangles typically associated by Alzheimer’s, so that people who followed either diet closely had almost a 40% reduction in their odds of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The best part: even adding just one item from the diets reduced amyloid buildup. Learn more. |
|
|
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us (2022) By Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross In Your Brain on Art, co-authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross delve into the latest in “neuroaesthetics”—a growing field of research examining how the arts and aesthetic experiences play a role in mental health, learning and cognition, mobility, and much more. Art has evolved right alongside humans, so that now aesthetic experiences are “encoded in our DNA”—they are part of our humanity. Scientists and organizations have started to look into how art-based therapies can impact health, from using music to reduce stress among hospital patients, to dancing for Parkinson’s patients, to visual art expression for veterans with PTSD. With the many ways artistic reception and creation impact the brain, the authors conclude that “the arts are something we can’t afford to live without”—not just because they are enjoyable pastimes, but because they are core to our health. Learn more in this article written by Susan Magsamen, or buy now. |
|
|
| Click to learn more about BrainHQ! |
|
|
|