What household commodity is represented by this anagram?

GERMAN AIR

Share This Post:

What often separates ‘A’ students from average students is not necessarily intelligence, but rather time management skills and discipline.

Recently came across a clean & easy to use online time management system to help students better organize their school work and remain on task. The service is called GradeFix, and you can visit their website here.

Signup is painless, so I figured I’d try it out a bit. One key feature of Gradefix’s program are it’s algorithms, which break tasks down into smaller pieces and automatically distributes the work according to your time allowances. I supsect this important feature should enable many students to budget their time much more effectively.

The basic online version, which can keep track of up to 10 tasks, is free. Could’ve used something like this when I was back in school…

Share This Post:

It is commonly said that "elephants never forget". From the website Elephant Voices:

Based on the evidence available, elephants seem to remember for years other individuals and places and learned skills. In experimental trials involving a large set of visual symbols and acoustic tones or commands captive elephants show exceptional ability to learn and retain information over long periods. Accounts by practised observers indicate that elephants are able to remember the voices (and perhaps scents) o individual people for over 12 years

How to explain this phenomenon? Recently came across some interesting research out of Caltech that looked at elephant brains with MRI technology:

The elephant has an unusually large and convoluted hippocampus compared to primates and especially to cetaceans.( MRI image above comes from the John Allman Lab at the California Institute of Technology).

In humans and other mammals, the hippocampus is the brain structure largely responsible for memory formation.

Within 5-8 years, I suspect neuroimaging technology will be far enough advanced that a quick 5 minute human brain scan will be able to assess hippocampal anatomy & connectivity, and rate a person’s:

1. Natural ability to memorize various pieces of information (semantic, episodic, procedural, etc…)
2. Susceptibility to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia- decades before actual memory impairment sets in

On a further note regarding elephant intelligence, a recent study [Reference below] reveals that elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors- a sign of self-awareness.

To date, only 3 other animals have shown themselves capable of this task:

• humans
• dolphins
• apes

Reference: Plotnik JM, de Waal FBM, Reiss D. Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 7;103(45):17053-7

Share This Post:

Mental rotation cube folding puzzles frequently show up on IQ tests. While some are easy, the more challenging ones present a great way to exercise the visual-spatial circuits of your brain…

(Created for the Smartkit site)

Share This Post:

"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know."

- Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, Nobel laureate (1899-1961)

Share This Post:

Stimulants are being used with increasing frequency by students across college campuses (see ‘Harvard Students: Reaching for drugs to boost brain power). Many of them, however, probably aren’t well aware of the various side effects. In addition to chronic cognitive problems, amphetamines can also induce catastrophic acute events.

An article in the December 2006 issue of Neurology [Reference here] describes a couple of cases of carotid artery dissections following amphetamine use. The carotid arteries are two of the major blood vessels that travel up the neck and supply blood to the brain. When these arteries dissect (tear), strokes often ensue. A stroke is a focal area of permanent brain death due to lack of blood flow.

Cocaine, another sympathomimetic (drug that mimics the effects of sympathetic nervous system stimulation), has also been reported to cause tears in major blood vessels.

It is also important to note that amphetamines and cocaine can also lead to strokes via another mechanism: inflammation of blood vessels in the brain [click here for reference]. The medical term for this process is Vasculitis.

Since the vast majority of strokes are "silent", I suspect the prevalence of strokes due to stimulants is much higher than officially reported or recognized.

As far as more common chronic side effects, an earlier smartkit post details how just 3 months of Ritalin use (an amphetamine) can significantly damage the very blueprint of cell architecture- DNA.

In future posts, I’ll discuss oxidative damage as well as cardiac side effects.

Share This Post:

This ‘distortion’ picture question is also a new puzzle type we haven’t seen before. Try to figure out what the original photograph portrays.

Click on the image below to jump to high resolution version.

[ Brain teaser created for Smartkit site ]

If you’d like to try a ’spot the difference’ type photo picture puzzle, click here. If you’d like to do the same with a really nice painting by Jim Warren, you can try his ‘Find the Seven Hearts’ here.

Share This Post:

Smart-kit.com, Authored by Board Certified Neurologist, Offers Tips to Help Keep the Mind Sharp and Lower the Risk of Mental Disease, Alzheimer’s

Boynton Beach, FL April 20, 2007 — www.smart-kit.com — Smartkit, the leading brain enhancement website, is offering tips to readers to help sharpen the mind and prevent the development of Alzheimer’s.

Smart-kit.com, led by board certified neurologist, Dr. R.L. Kaplan, explains that people should pay attention to those habits in their day to day routine that may negatively impact their mental capacity as they age.

"Currently, there are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease," said Dr. R.L. Kaplan, author of Smart-kit.com. "By mid-century, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is expected to grow to as high as 16 million, which is more than the current population of New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston combined."

Dr. R. L. Kaplan provides the following suggestions to help decrease the chances of developing the debilitating disease:

• Socialize! Recent research indicates that loneliness in the form of emotional isolation is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Exercise aerobically. This leads to the creation of new brain cells in the memory engine of the brain: the hippocampus. A recent study showed that seniors who exercised three or more times per week were 60 percent less likely to develop dementia.
• Make raw vegetables and fruits a large part of your diet. A recent study showed that those who drank three or more glasses of fruit or vegetable juice per week were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
• Consume cold water, fatty fish, which is rich in DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid). Data from the Framingham Heart Study showed that people whose blood level of DHA was in the top quartile had a 47% reduction in the risk of developing dementia.
• Avoid chronically high levels of stress. Stress produces a special class of hormones called glucocorticoids which are extremely toxic to the memory areas of the brain.
• Several neuroscientific studies indicate that calorie restriction mainly via a low carbohydrate diet may be able to not only protect against Alzheimer’s disease but potentially reverse some of the pathologic changes.
• Curcumin, one of the beneficial chemicals in curry, has been found to inhibit and break up the accumulation of amyloid plaques typically seen with Alzheimer’s disease.

"Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes great pain both for the patient and his/her family," said Kaplan. "Smartkit’s goal is to teach its readers simple tweaks they can make in everyday life to reduce the likelihood that they will develop Alzheimer’s."

About Smartkit
The SmartKit Guidebook is a soon to be published book written by Board Certified neurologist Dr. R.L. Kaplan. It provides learning strategies for students of all ages, as well as hundreds of tips and techniques to improve brain power.

The SmartKit website and its contents are owned and published by Synaptic Blue, LLC.

Share This Post:

Don’t think we’ve done this type of puzzle layout before:

(Created for Smartkit site)

WARNING: Answer below. Don’t scroll down until you give it a try!

Share This Post:

Just last week I was telling my wife that, after having heard hundreds
of violent crime stories from victims and their families over the years, it was my conclusion that in the vast majority of cases, the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, or prescription drugs, and that without this influence, the violent crime probably would not have taken place.

Today I’ve had a chance to finally catch up on some of the news regarding the Virginia Tech massacre. I’ve looked through quite a few of the articles, and nowhere was it mentioned that Cho Seung-Hui was on an anti-depressant medication. My bet, however, was that he was on an SSRI (e.g., Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, etc…)

SSRI’s are given out like breath fresheners in this country; sometimes it seems as if every patient I see is on one. Unfortunately, most physicians don’t realize how radically these drugs can alter someone’s brain to transform personality and thought.

To me, it is remarkable that many of the mass killers in this country were on an SSRI at the time of the massacres (Columbine included) as noted in this article, and it would not be surprising if it’s eventually revealed that Cho Seung-Hui was on one too.

The public (and the many physicians who liberally prescribe SSRIs) needs to be better informed of their consequences- not only for homicide, but also suicide. Their marked potential for heightening aggression and triggering violence (both against others and self) is clearly well documented. [Reference 1] To quote the article’s abstract:

Evidence from many sources confirms that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) commonly cause or exacerbate a wide range of abnormal mental and behavioral conditions. These adverse drug reactions include the following overlapping clinical phenomena: a stimulant profile that ranges from mild agitation to manic psychosis, agitated depression, obsessive preoccupations that are alien or uncharacteristic of the individual, and akathisia. Each of these reactions can worsen the individual’s mental condition and can result in suicidality, violence, and other forms of extreme abnormal behavior. Evidence for these reactions is found in clinical reports, controlled clinical trials, and epidemiological studies in children and adults.

This is the information drug companies don’t want you (or your physician) to know about. Not when $8 billion/year is at stake.

Let’s just hope the guys who have their fingers on the Big Red Button aren’t on these meds….

[Reference 1]: Ethical Human Sciences, Journal of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psycholoy. Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA.

Share This Post:

Not sure of the exact translation, but in this very old "Hidden Objects" puzzle card from France, I believe this man is looking for his three rabbits. Can you find them?

Click on picture below to jump to high resolution image

Give it a try before scrolling down to see the answers below

Share This Post:

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.

2223 healthy men and women between the ages of 32 and 62 were studied. Those who were overweight (as judged by a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25) performed worse on cognitive tests that measured learning and memory ability.

Interestingly, these findings held up even when the cognitive test scores were adjusted for high blood pressure and diabetes (both brain busters tend to be more common in those who are obese).

Earlier smartkit posts discuss how:

• children who are obese by age 4 are more likely to have lower IQ scores (25-30 points)
• the appetite control hormone leptin has recently been found to have an important role in learning and memory.

[Click here to jump to the abstract for the above 'obesity and brain power' study in the journal Neurology 2006;67:1208-1214]

Share This Post:

Here’s a classic riddle (30 words) that’s fairly hard:

Short was my life, and brilliant my career;

Behead me, I in lovely green appear;

Behead again, I once was made to save

My chosen inmates from a watery grave.

Doubt anyone will get the answer right away. Feel free, however, to try.

For those visitors new to the site, you may want to try browsing our collection of high quality riddles.

Share This Post:

In this short puzzle, the seven figures below form a series.

One of the five numbered figures, however, doesn’t fit. Can you determine which?

[will unmask answers in a day]

(brain teaser created for Smartkit site)

Share This Post:

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.

Women who are pregnant or have heavy bleeding during their periods are felt to be most at risk for iron deficiency.

The study’s authors conclude:

Iron status is a significant factor in cognitive performance in women of reproductive age

To view the abstract, click here.

While earlier research has shown that iron deficiency can have a significant effect on the developing child’s brain power (e.g., poor school performance) the recent research breaks new ground in showing the susceptibility of adult brains to even mild to moderate iron deficiency without obvious anemia.

Share This Post: