Now some important news about a wonderfully original puzzle called THE RUNES.

I strongly recommend it, and am delighted that we can bring it to you well ahead of anyone else in North America.

Click here to learn more about this extraordinary puzzle!

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Note: The Mindfit software is currently available for purchase in the Smartkit Store here. Below you can read why the founder of the Smartkit website-a fellowship trained, board certified neurologist- decided to offer it for sale in the Smartkit store.

This article presents a review of Mindfit- a new computer program geared to train your brain. Many brain fitness programs have been released over the past year, and I have found this to be one of the most promising. As such, we’ve decided it’d be an appropriate addition to the smartkit store.

In a nutshell, Mindfit is a computerized brain gym designed to be used over an 8-12 month period of time (although you can still practice with the exercises after your training period is over).

It starts with several evaluation sessions, which are used to tailor the computer exercises to your specific abilities. The developers refer to this system as ITS- an Individualized Training System that adapts the difficulty level of the exercises to your abilities and performance as you advance.

After the evaluation session is complete, you train on Mindfit three times per week, 20 minutes a day, for 8 weeks. This process is repeated 3 times for a total of 3 rounds and 72 training sessions.

One important feature of Mindfit is that it continually provides feedback and analyzes your performance as you progress.

Another nice feature of Mindfit is that it tackles multiple cognitive domains. Many people think that by doing crossword puzzles every day (or more recently Sudoku puzzles), they’re doing a great job of exercising their brains. Unfortunately, this is just not true. To best train and sharpen your mind, you need to challenge it with lots of different puzzle types and activities. Novelty and challenge are crucial- otherwise you just won’t get the optimal benefit. Mindfit takes this into account, and features 14 skill areas that it goes to work on. These include:

• Working Memory
• Visual Short term memory
• Auditory short term memory
• Spatial Perception
• Planning
• Location Memory
• Naming
• Time estimation
• Inhibition
• Divided attention
• Hand-eye coordination

Is Mindfit for everybody? No. The exercises and overall difficulty level of the programs are mainly geared towards seniors, so I think those who are 50+ will find it most useful. However, because the software adapts to each individuals ability, even those younger can be challenged. Importantly, the developers have done an excellent job in making this software extremely easy to use. I suspect those who’ve never even sat down with a computer before will find it simple to set up and get started.

Over the last several years, quite a bit of research has come out showing that brain training exercises can in fact boost cognitive function (Click here to read about one of the most recent studies that appeared in JAMA, click here to read about a double-blind clinical trial that specifically showed MindFit improved short-term memory, spatial processing and attention/focus). For seniors looking to invest in a computerized brain gym, Mindfit represents a sophisticated piece of software that’s surprisingly easy to use.

Mindfit Demos:

Mindfit Demo #1: "Colored Walls"

Mindfit Demo #2: Picture Match"

MindFit Demo#3: Shape Arrangement"

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Researchers in Ireland have found that brain exercises in the form of rote memorization of poems, articles, and short stories leads to memory improvement.

The study was done on healthy adults aged between 55 and 70. They underwent six weeks of intensive brain exercises involving rote memorization of a newspaper articles or poems of 500 words, followed by six weeks of rest.

Interestingly, the improvement was not seen immediately. When the study participants were tested 6 weeks later, however, a clear improvement in verbal and episodic memory was noted.

Furthermore, changes were actually detected in the hippocampus via high tech brain scans called Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS).

Dr. Richard Roche, a co-author of the study from the Department of Psychology at National University of Ireland in Maynooth:

The brain is like a muscle that should be exercised through the retirement years as a defense against dementia, cognitive lapses and memory failure

You can read more about the rote memory training study here. For an earlier smartkit article that discusses how brain training exercises can improve memory and cognitive function, click here.

For computer software that can enhance cognitive function, check out this review of  Mindfit  

[Reference: McNulty, J,. Paul Brennan, M.D., Colin P. Doherty, M.D., D. McMackin, M.D., S. Sukumaran, M.D., I.H. Robertson, Ph.D., M.A. Mangaoang, Ph.D., S.M. O'Mara, D.Phil., Sinead L. Mullally, Ph.D., J. Hayden, B.A., J. Prendergast, B.Sc., and M. Fitzsimons, Ph.D.. The Identification of Neurometabolic Sequelae Post-learning Using Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Presented November 26 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)]

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New research out of Northwestern University’s Neuroscience Laboratory drastically changes our understanding of the brain.

The study, to appear in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience reveals that musical training not only alters the wiring of the cortex of the brain but also the brainstem.

Classical neuroscience teaches that the brainstem (the very
bottom portion of the brain that attaches to the spinal cord) is
basically a fixed and unchanging structure. This study clearly
indicates otherwise.

Additionally, the study also shows that children exposed to musical training have better equipped auditory processing for speech sounds. Nina Kraus, senior author of the study notes:

Increasing music experience appears to benefit all children — whether musically exceptional or not — in a wide range of learning activities. Our findings underscore the pervasive impact of musical training on neurological development. Yet music classes are often among the first
to be cut when school budgets get tight. That’s a mistake

Interestingly, the team at Northwestern has found in previous research that some learning disabled children have abnormalities in their brainstem that lead to impaired processing of sound and that furthermore these deficits can be improved with auditory training.

"We’ve found that by playing music — an action thought of as a function of the neocortex — a person may actually be tuning the brainstem," says Kraus. "This suggests that the relationship between the brainstem and neocortex is a dynamic and reciprocal one and tells
us that our basic sensory circuitry is more malleable than we previously thought."

For a related Smartkit article discussing the beneficial effect of music on brain power, click here. If you’d like to try to temporarily increase your spatial-temporal IQ, click here to listen to Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos K448.

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Is the brain like the muscles in your body? Can it be trained with cognitive exercises to improve mental agility and sharpness as you get older?

Quite a bit of research has come out lately indicating that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’.

The most recent research I’ve come across is the ACTIVE study (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), published in the December issue of JAMA (reference below). The amazing findings indicate a mere 10 training sessions (each lasting 60-75 minutes) over a five week period was enough to significantly improve cognitive ability and brain power. Importantly, the brain boosting effect lasted more than five years.

The benefits were actually quite impressive. Dr. Sherry Willis, one of the chief authors of the study, notes: "The improvements seen after training roughly counteract the degree in decline in cognitive performance that we would expect to see over a 7-14 year period among older people without dementia".

The study included 2,832 participants over the age of 65.

For those over 50 looking for computer software that serves as a brain gym, check out our review of Mindfit brain trainig program.

JAMA. 2006;296:2805-2814. Long-term Effects of Cognitive Training on Everyday Functional Outcomes in Older Adults.

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One of the main benefits of stimulant drugs (such as cocaine, ephedrine, and amphetamines like Ritalin) is their ability to dramatically increase mental energy and concentration. They can make it easier to focus on your work and studies for prolonged periods of time.

How is this achieved? Basically, it’s thought that psychostimulants increase catecholamine neurotransmission in the brain.

Catecholamines are a special category of brain chemicals used for neurotransmission. They include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Unfortunately, however, these drugs often have very harmful side effects (both long- and short-term), and taking them can sometimes result in death. What most people don’t realize is that there is a much safer, more natural way to boost brain catecholamines: Acute Bouts of Aerobic Exercise.

Both stimulants and aerobic exercise exert similarly powerful effects on: norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine. There is quite a bit of evidence in the scientific literature to back this up. [see References 1-6 below].

Since it is widely believed that the beneficial effects of stimulants stem from their ability to boost catecholamines in the brain, it certainly makes sense that aerobic exercise would produce these same beneficial effects (dramatic increases in mental energy and concentration). Is there any direct evidence to support the idea that aerobic exercise actually enhances cognition? Absolutely:

• “Acute exercise can improve learning and mental performance.”[Reference 7]

• “Acute bouts of exercise selectively facilitate multiple cognitive processes; exercise can, under certain conditions, enhance response speed and response accuracy, and it can facilitate cognitive processes that are central to problem-solving and goal-oriented action.”[Reference 8]

• “Exercise produces a condition during which individuals are able to perform both simple and complex tasks rapidly and efficiently.”[Reference 8]

• “Acute bouts of exercise improve the ability to block irrelevant information and to select and respond to task-relevant information.”[Reference 9,10] (Note: This is the basis of concentration)

• “Recent studies have provided the research community with clear support for an improvement of cognitive performance during exercise”[Reference 11]

So yes, it’s true. One of the most powerful nonpharmacologic ways to boost your ability to concentrate and focus while studying is to exercise aerobically beforehand.

References: 

1.Winter B, Breitenstein C, Mooren FC. High Impact running improves learning. Neurbiol Learn Mem. Dec 2006.

2.Ransford CP. A role for amines in the antidepressant effect of exercise: a review. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1982;14(1):1-10.

3.Peyrin L, Pequignot JM, Lacour JR, et al. Relationships between catecholamine or 3-methoxy 4-hydroxy phenylglycol changes and the mental performance under submaximal exercise in man. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1987;93(2):188-192.

4.Meeusen R, De Meirleir K. Exercise and brain neurotransmission. Sports Med. Sep 1995;20(3):160-188.

5.Pagliari R, Peyrin L. Physical conditioning in rats influences the central and peripheral catecholamine responses to sustained exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1995;71(1):41-52.

6.Pagliari R, Peyrin L. Norepinephrine release in the rat frontal cortex under treadmill exercise: a study with microdialysis. J Appl Physiol. Jun 1995;78(6):2121-2130.

7.Cotman CW, Berchtold NC. Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Trends Neurosci. Jun 2002;25(6):295-301.

8.Tomporowski PD. Effects of acute bouts of exercise on cognition. Acta Psychol (Amst). Mar 2003;112(3):297-324.

9.Hogervorst E, Riedel W, Jeukendrup A, et al. Cognitive performance after strenuous physical exercise. Percept Mot Skills. Oct 1996;83(2):479-488.

10.Lichtman S, Poser EG. The effects of exercise on mood and cognitive functioning. J Psychosom Res. 1983;27(1):43-52.

11.Brisswalter J, Collardeau M, Rene A. Effects of acute physical exercise characteristics on cognitive performance. Sports Med. 2002;32(9):555-566.

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