It turns out that falling in love may be a powerful way to crank up the bodily chemicals that boost brain power and enhance learning ability.

According to a new research study done at the University of Pavia (Italy) and published in Psychoneuroendocrinology

A recent article published in Nature Neuroscience reveals that when the stomach is empty, it makes a special hormone called ghrelin.

Amazingly, ghrelin travels to the hippocampus portion of the brain and causes new connections to form between brain cells there. As discussed in previous posts, the hippocampus is the memory engine of your brain.

A 2006 study out of the Division of Neuroscience and The Brain Research Center at University of British Columbia Hospital nicely summarizes one of the core teachings of brain enhancement:

• Regular doses of exercise can “massively increase” the growth of new brain cells in your brain.

The best part of it all, however, is the specific location

If your ability to concentrate and pay attention is bad enough to the point you’ve been told you have ADHD, the results from this new study may offer you some hope of brain enhancement without amphetamines.

The 2006 article from the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids found that:

Tuna enjoys the reputation of being a good brain food. Many pregnant women eat it, hoping it will increase IQ of baby. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

Many college student rely on caffeine for accelerated learning. However, contrary to what most people think, caffeine does not simultaneously stimulate all regions of your brain.

New brain imaging technology reveals that it preferentially stimulates the Frontal Lobes and the Anterior Cingulum. These areas are important for:

Children in elementary and middle school typically need 9.5 - 10 hours of sleep per night (probably closer to 10). When they only get 8-9 hours of sleep, their brain function and ability to learn drops markedly. Surprisingly, research studies seem to indicate just this 1 extra hour of sleep a night can make a very large difference.

For years it was thought (and taught!) that the brain can not create and make new brain cells.

This is false. Numerous studies have now conclusively proven otherwise.

What is really interesting, however, is that new studies show that the hippocampus- the memory engine of your mind- can actually

Are you eating all organic yet? Organic foods taste much better. They’re vastly superior in nutrient content. But if these reasons aren’t good enough, here’s a fairly compelling one:

There have been numerous studies linking chronic, low-level pesticide exposure to

A recent study out of Massachussetts General Hospital found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the brain in areas involved in attention and sensory processing.

Besides genetics, there are many different things that determine a child’s intelligence.

• Quality of diet
• Quality of schools and teachers
• How much of an enriched environment they’re exposed to (before they even start school)
• the mother’s diet and overall state of health during the 9 months of pregnancy

Studies of students at colleges report that a whopping 16% or more had tried Ritalin.  This sort of thing was unheard of back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

With drug company profits in excess of $3 billion per year for ADHD drugs alone, I’m almost inclined to post a link to a picture of what a real drug kingpin looks like…

A fairly recent study showed that zinc supplementation can improve brain power.

can be increased. At least in elderly folks.

A very simple way for older folks to improve their IQ and brain power is to make sure their senses are working as best they can be. Quite of bit of research over the last few years has shown that when sensory perception is abnormal in elderly people, brain performance suffers and IQ drops-

Over the last 15 years several studies have revealed how music can boost brain power.

• One study found students with music training scored 52 points higher on the verbal portion and 37 points higher on the math portion of the "old" SAT than students with no such training