Sleep Apnea, which affects about 20 million Americans, results in memory loss, poor concentration, and chronic fatigue. (from an earlier Smartkit post)

Adding to the evidence that sleep apnea induces structural abnormalities in the brain- a new study out of UCLA shows patients with Sleep Apnea have shrunken mammillary bodies (brain structures important for memory function). Click here to read the abstract.

Here’s the press release from the UCLA website.

Share This Post:

Your brain is extremely fragile, and easily damaged by concussions and other forms of acceleration/deceleration injury. Back in January, I posted the story about Andre Waters-an NFL defensive back who committed suicide at the age of 44. The pathologist who examined his brain concluded it had the appearance of an 85 year old man with Alzheimer’s disease, and thought the severe dementia-like changes were probably due to the multiple concussions sustained over the course of his football career.

The July issue of Neurology Today discusses how the same pathologist (world-renowned Dr. Bennet Omalu, MD out of the University of Pittsburgh) has autopsied the brain of Justin Strzelczyk, a Pittsburgh Steelers lineman who died in a car crash at age 36.

Interestingly, Dr. Omalu finds that Strzelczyk’s brain also has the appearance of an 80 year old man, and shows similar pathologic changes compared to what Andre Waters had in his brain.

This is the 4th football player brain Dr. Omalu has autopsied and diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Within several years time, I suspect more and more studies will come forth showing how widespread brain damage is amongst NFL players.

And next up will be the soccer players. Already, well over a dozen studies indicate heading induces measurable cognitive deficits.

Most people are surprised to learn just how fragile and easily damaged the human brain really is.

Share This Post:

Ecstasy damages your brain

A new study, to be published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental [Authors Keith Laws and Joy Kokkalis from the University of Hertfordshire] shows that the drug ecstasy [MDMA] moderate to markedly damages both short and long-term memory.

The study was a meta-analysis.

Verbal memory appeared to be disproportionately affected compared to visual memory.

Another brand new study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, shows that even a first low cumulative dose of Ecstasy is associated with damaged verbal memory ability. [Ref. 1]

According to another recent meta-analysis, Ecstasy use is associated with multiple neurocognitive deficits: [Ref 2]

• attention/concentration
• verbal and nonverbal learning and memory
• psychomotor speed and executive systems

[Reference 1]: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;64(6):728-36.

[Reference 2]: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2007 Jan;189(4):531-7.

Share This Post:

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"

Share This Post:

Last year I posted about the powerfully negative effects chronic stress has on your memory and brain. Now, a new study [Reference below] published in the June 12, 2007 journal of Neurology provides further evidence this is true by showing:

People who are chronically distressed are 40 percent more likely to develop Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) - a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia syndromes.

These findings are consistent with dozens of earlier studies showing stress damages the hippocampus- the memory engine of the brain.

A related post relates how stress is sticky, and where in the brain it settles.

[Reference]: Chronic distress and incidence of mild cognitive impairment. R. S. Wilson, J. A. Schneider, P. A. Boyle, S. E. Arnold, Y. Tang, and D. A. Bennett. Neurology 2007 68: 2085-2092

Share This Post:

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)]

Share This Post: