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.

Researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute found Gingko Biloba triggers significant improvement in verbal memory in subjects with age-associated memory impairment compared to placebo.

Many earlier studies with Ginkgo Biloba have produced conflicting results. According to

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.

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

A new study out of Boston University and UCLA and published in the journal Current Biology, confirms that learning is more efficient when multiple senses are involved.

A very unique approach to boosting memory was just published in the journal Nature.

While medical students slept, electrodes placed on their scalp came to life, slowly and gently applying current to the brain tissue beneath the skull. The currents were designed to induce and magnify the slow oscillating brain waves of deep sleep.

Yet another study (presented at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting) has come out showing that estrogen does not improve working memory or executive function in postmenopausal women.

The study does show, however, that premenopausal women who’ve had their ovaries removed may benefit from estrogen replacement therapy when it comes to working memory.

Students who study for many hours on end should take note of a new study done by David Foster and other researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The study supports the idea that taking regular breaks can improve learning and memory formation.

A natural chemical (flavonoid) found in strawberries has recently been shown to boost long-term memory formation in mice.

The chemical is called Fisetin

Have been reading lately about a substance derived from the Chinese club moss: Huperzia serrata- Huperzine A.

For many years, this compound has been used in China to treat patients with memory decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

As pharmaceutical companies come out with newer, more effective brain boosting pills (see an earlier post on ampakines), more and more people will be chiming in on the ethics of brain enhancement.

A new study published in the European Child Adolescent Psychiatry seems to indicate that pine bark extract is effective for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The extract is called Pycnogenol, which is derived from the bark of the French maritime pine.

Many students believe they don’t do well academically because they were “born with a bad memory”.

I’ve always believed, however, that memory ability depends in large part upon what strategies are being used. And since strategies are things that can be taught, a bad memory can easily be improved and good memory can be made great.

Dr. Marius Smuts from the Nutritional Internvention Research Center in South Africa found that primary school children given a daily spread of fish oil on bread showed improvements in learning and memory.

This student study tip is a good example of “better learning through neurochemistry”.

It comes from a new research study out of the University College London, and provides an interesting