I am a word of letters six,

“Pertaining to the mind;”

Rearrange my letters, and I’ll “grieve,”

Because you are unkind;

For my premiere on Smartkit I would like to present a series of 5 logic puzzles

Note: The Mindfit software is currently available for purchase in the Smartkit Store here

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

If you are overweight, here’s some additional incentive to lose the pounds from a recent study in the journal Neurology that suggests there is a connection between obesity and brain power amongst the middle aged.

Here’s some new research that will come as a surprise to most neurologists: Moderate iron deficiency- without overt anemia- can impair learning and memory.

Importantly, the study found that iron supplementation can reverse the cognitive dysfunction.

The study was published in the March 2007 issue American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

This article reveals what modern neuroscience has learned about sleep as it applies to learning and memory. I believe this information can be of great benefit not only to students looking to improve their study skills, but to anyone interested in improving their memory and learning potential.

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

Can certain smells boost brain power? Let’s first take a look at what else certain odors can do:

• Stores are now using special odors to make customers buy things and spend more money
• The leathery smell of a new car is an artificial odor sprayed on to enhance buyer satisfaction
• Casinos are using odors to make people gamble more

The first genius is Daniel Tammet, a 27 year old math and language prodigy with Asperger’s syndrome

Your mental energy and ability to concentrate depend to a very large extent on the types of food you eat. Unfortunately, most people fall short when it comes to understanding how to best feed the brain. Here’s a short tip you may find helpful:

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’.

It is estimated that more than 1 in 3 Americans take vitamin supplements every day. Many believe that by taking these pills, they can improve brain function. B Vitamins are especially popular.

Do they work?

My suspicion is, as long as you don’t have a significant deficiency, they are probably not doing your brain very much good.

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

Can college students pull an ‘All-Nighter’—staying up the entire night to cram for a test—and have their brains function close to normal the next day? The majority, of course, think so …

But several studies clearly show brain function takes a big hit after an all-nighter. Memory systems and

Over the past 4 years, I’ve eaten a lot of dark chocolate, and some of the world’s best bars have made their way through our kitchen. Amedei, Valrhona, Michel Cluizel, El Rey, Domori, Bonnat. The nice thing about chocolate is that it is a very affordable luxury. You can grab yourself the world’s finest bar for less than $20.

One of the greatest misunderstandings people have about the brain is their belief in “free energy”.

Read an interesting article about how Florida is looking to lower the requirements of entry into public school gifted programs.

Traditionally, entry is based on getting a score above 130 on such classic IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler intelligence scales. About 4% of children who take these tests score above 130.

The neurologic theory of Consolidation states that things you learn during the day are etched more permanently down in memory at night while you sleep. In other words, sleep plays a major role in learning and memorizing.

Snoring can be one of the signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a relatively common disease that affects children and adults. There’s been quite a bit of press lately about it- and for good reason: sleep apnea, which tends to be greatly underdiagnosed, can have a tremendous affect on your brain power.

Reading through the latest issue of Neurology Today, came across some interesting tidbits on how beneficial exercise can be for your brain:

• As mentioned in earlier posts, exercise leads to the creation of new brain cells in the hippocampus

Does listening to Mozart make you smarter? According to a landmark neuroscience research study out of the University of California, Mozart’s sonata for two pianos K448 (which you can listen to below) can increase your spatial-temporal IQ scores by 9 points

A new study reveals that both green and black tea have the ability to inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This enzyme is important, because it breaks down the acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter in the brain.

Today I received an email from someone who runs a memory and learning improvement internet business. It was the kind of email that gets blasted to thousands of inboxes simultaneously. Although I’ve never purchased any of their products, I always got the impression it was fairly reputable.

Just read an article on WebMD that discusses new research out of the University of Florida.

The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, reveals that children who are obese by age 4 are more likely to have lower IQ scores.

Specifically, children that weigh 150% more than their ideal weight had IQ scores that were 25-30 points lower.

Compared to those who drank less than one glass of fruit or vegetable juice per week, those who drank three or more were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Qi Dai and colleagues out of Vanderbilt School of Medicine reported these results in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

You can read the full article