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joi, 5 ianuarie 2017
Brain training exercises and games: Do they work? (CBC Marketplace)
Can brain training exercises and games prevent memory loss and Alzheimer's? Marketplace tests popular apps
marți, 1 noiembrie 2016
Brain Fitness Exercises. Make you smart, Brain activation.Right Brain exercise
Training your coordination of left and right brain. Challenge for the Brain,
Everything is Possible, Just Train Your Brain - Memorize, Brain Fitness Exercises.
Improves Concentration, Improves Memory, Improves Creativity,
Improves Perceptivity, Improves Talents, Balance Hormone, Rebuilt Character,
Emotional Stability.
Are People Really Left-Brained or Right-Brained?
SciShow explains how some great, Nobel-winning research into the human brain turned into a meme of misunderstanding that lasted for decades.
After watching this, your brain will not be the same | Lara Boyd |
In a classic research-based TEDx Talk, Dr. Lara Boyd describes how neuroplasticity gives you the power to shape the brain you want. Recorded at TEDxVancouver at Rogers Arena on November 14, 2015.
Our knowledge of the brain is evolving at a breathtaking pace, and Dr. Lara Boyd is positioned at the cutting edge of these discoveries. In 2006, she was recruited by the University of British Columbia to become the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Motor Learning. Since that time she has established the Brain Behaviour Lab, recruited and trained over 40 graduate students, published more than 80 papers and been awarded over $5 million in funding.
Dr. Boyd’s efforts are leading to the development of novel, and more effective, therapeutics for individuals with brain damage, but they are also shedding light on broader applications. By learning new concepts, taking advantage of opportunities, and participating in new activities, you are physically changing who you are, and opening up a world of endless possibility.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Can You Really 'Train' Your Brain?
Brain training games claim to improve your memory, attention, and reasoning skills. Some even say they help prevent the onset of dementia. Problem is, they don’t really work
sâmbătă, 20 decembrie 2014
Physical exercise and cognitive function
Physical activity has always existed in human history. Anthropological studies and historical evidence report the existence of this practice since the prehistoric culture, as an integral component of religious, social and cultural expression.
Currently, exercise is an absolute necessity for man, because with the scientific and technological development arising from the industrial revolution and the technological revolution, which we passed, we are faced with high levels of stress, anxiety and physical inactivity undermining the good health the populations of developed and developing countries.
Through this framework, in recent decades has witnessed the growth of interest from individuals and health professionals by regular physical activity (training) in order to meet the physical and cognitive well-being.
Despite the effects of exercise are unquestionable, approximately 60% of Americans do not exercise regularly while 25% do not exercise at all. Among the population segments that traditionally do not engage in physical exercise include the elderly (particularly women) especially those of lower educational level, smokers and obese individuals.
In Brazil, there was a tendency to physical inactivity similar to that observed in the US according to the report of Brazilians living standards, prepared by IBGE (3), indicating that 26% of men under regular physical activity and only 12.7% women are involved in any training programs. When checking the amount of people who exercise at least thirty minutes or more a day, at least three days a week, is 10.8% and 5.2% of men and women respectively.
In the population of the city of São Paulo, in a survey conducted by Mello et al. (2000) (4) on the physical activity and sleep disorders, met physical activity level a little higher than in the rest of the country, as 31.3% of respondents were engaged in some sort of physical activity however, only 36.4% of these individuals have supervision of a qualified professional. In addition, this study found that engaging in physical training programs is higher in higher social classes and that physically active people have lower rates of complaints about sleep disorders. The authors stressed also the importance of public awareness of the benefits of regular and supervised physical exercise and the need for a change in the sedentary lifestyle of the population of the city of São Paulo in order to reduce health-related complaints the individual.
Matsudo et al. (2002) (5), in a study of the population of the State of São Paulo, aimed to investigate the level of physical activity (LPA) of this population, taking into account gender, age, socio-economic and intellectual levels. 2,001 interviews were conducted with 953 men and 1,048 women between 14 and 77 years selected in 29 cities of large, medium and small in the state. Using version 8 of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in short form to determine the level of physical activity, it was found that 45.5% of men, 47.3% women and 46.5% of the total sample are people insufficiently active (sedentary and irregularly active).
This prevalent condition of inactivity observed in the general population, especially in the elderly, is a serious threat to the body, stimulating the emergence of chronic degenerative diseases, mood disorder, reducing the physiological and cognitive functions, causing immunosuppression, worsening profile lipid, glucose and sleep quality. Furthermore, a sedentary lifestyle decreases self-esteem, increased anxiety; may also contribute to the worsening of depression symptoms.
Risk factors such as smoking, poor eating habits, alcohol consumption, emotional stress and cognitive problems are also related to physical inactivity (6), so that approximately 250,000 lives are lost each year due to sedentary lifestyle. In this sense, Breslow et al. (1980) presented a list of habits associated with health and longevity, including regular physical exercise, could add between seven and 11 years in the life of a person.
Thus, the adoption of better living habits is an important saving to the public coffers to the extent that it reduces the demand for care in health centers and public hospitals. Thus, encouraging regular physical exercise should be routine in shaping public health policies in the present and in the future.
COGNITIVE FUNCTION
The term cognitive function or cognitive functional system phases of the reporting process, such as perception, learning, memory, attention, vigilance, reasoning and problem solving. Furthermore, psychomotor functioning (reaction time, movement time, speed of performance) has frequently been included in this concept.
Although these cognitive functions are negatively affected by age, as from the third decade of life is loss of neurons with concomitant decline in cognitive performance, based processes crystallized skills such as verbal knowledge and understanding still maintained or improve with aging. In contrast, processes based on fluid skills such as learned but not executed tasks, suffer decline.
Colcombe et al. (2003) found significant declines in the density of neural tissue in aging function in the frontal, parietal and temporal. This can be justified due to a balance of breaks between injury and neuronal repair. The brain is sensitive to many factors that result in damage to neural networks. Similar to other tissues, it has the ability to self-repair / auto-adaptation, or even compensation for the loss of neurons and neural architecture interruptions. When there is an imbalance between neuronal injury and repair, this neuronal plasticity capacity is impaired, then settling the brain aging and dementia.
Over the past decade have identified some risk factors that may increase the predisposition of an individual to cognitive impairment. Among these factors include age, gender, family history, head trauma, educational level, smoking, alcohol consumption, mental stress, nutrition and socialization. More recently factors that can be reversed or mitigated by exercise, such as chronic degenerative diseases, hypercholesterolemia and increase in plasma fibrinogen and physical inactivity, are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline.
The reasons that lead to the appearance of cognitive impairment over the years are not well established; however, some proposals have been raised, among them the reduction of speed in information processing, attention decrease, sensory deficit, reduced working memory capacity, impaired frontal lobe function and neurotransmitter function in addition to the deterioration of movement central and blood-brain barrier.
PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND FUNCTION Cognitive
Epidemiological data suggest that moderately active people have a lower risk of developing mental disorders than sedentary, showing that participation in physical exercise programs exerts benefits in the physical and psychological sphere and that physically active individuals probably have a faster cognitive processing. Nevertheless, Heyn et al. (2004) in a recent meta-analysis also found a significant increase in physical and cognitive performance and positive change in the behavior of older people with cognitive impairment and dementia. Confirming that physical exercise may be important protective against cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.
Studies on exercise and cognitive function
The magnitude of the effect of exercise on cognition depends on the nature of the cognitive task being evaluated and the type of exercise that was applied. According to Weingarten, this conclusion is based on the complexity of the cognitive task. According to him, the physical training can have a positive impact on cognitive performance of complex tasks, but does not influence the performance of simple tasks. In the study of Gutin (1973), the author suggests that the effects of exercise are mediated by the complexity of the cognitive task and the duration of the exercise, because the reaction time and the optimal level of exercise inducing the alert could be inversely associated with related tasks with choices. The author also suggests that exercise lasting between 45 seconds and two minutes, with heart rate between 90 and 120 beats per minute, would be beneficial for cognitive performance, whereas exercises with six minutes and that increase the heart rate to close 150 beats per minute would be detrimental to cognitive performance.
The observations of the beneficial effects of exercise on cognitive performance, particularly in the elderly, were experimentally performed by several researchers. Van Boxtel, et al. (1997) believe that cognitive tasks could be sensitive to aerobic capacity. Thus, 132 persons aged between 24 and 76 years were submitted to an acute session of submaximal exercise on a cycle ergometer, followed by an extensive neuropsychological battery, including intelligence tests, verbal memory and speed in processing information, which revealed the existence of a interaction between cognitive processing speed tests, age and aerobic capacity.
Hill et al. (1993) also related cognitive performance with aerobic capacity, submitting 87 sedentary elderly to an aerobic training program. They observed positive effects on memory and logic Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) in the trained group compared with the control that did not train. Another study observed improvement in cognitive functions with increased reaction time, in the range of memory, mood and well-being measures in a group of elderly (N = 94) who participated in an aerobic training program lasting 12 months.
Binder et al. (1999) (30) studied the relationship between performance on psychometric tests and physical performance in elderly, concluded that the speed of cognitive processing is an important component of physical weakness, although it is consistent to consider that there is a small percentage of variance in performance standardized physical tests. The authors reported that cognitive decline with advancing age is more related to global cognitive decline. In particular, would be involved in this process the speed of information processing and the ability to use short-term memory while the information is being processed. This would occur in the elderly, especially in view of the aging central nervous system, thus limiting the adaptive responses that are necessary for its independent operation.
In a study of our group, 23 healthy women between 60 and 70 years (64.3 ± 3.3 years) were subjected to 60 minutes of walking three times a week; as a complementary activity, were subjected to stretching and flexibility exercises. After six months of training, were found improvement in attention, memory, agility and mood pattern for a group of 17 sedentary women. These results suggest that participation in an aerobic exercise program may be seen as an alternative drug not important for successful cognitive improvement in elderly women.
Unlike aerobic studies, studies linking resistance exercises to the possible effects on cognitive functions are still scarce. In one of the few studies on the subject, it was observed that eight weeks of resistance exercise in 46 elderly volunteers promoted improvement in psychological well-being and cognitive functioning (34), suggesting that further studies are needed in order to better understand this relationship between resistance and cognitive function exercise, it is recognized that this type of exercise promotes other important adaptations for this age group, how to mitigate the loss of strength, muscle mass and bone mineral density.
Physical exercise can interfere with cognitive performance for several reasons: a) due to the increase in the levels of neurotransmitters and by changes in brain structures (this would be evident in the comparison of physically active x sedentary individuals); b) the cognitive improvement observed in individuals with mental impairment (based on comparison with healthy subjects); c) the limited improvement achieved by older adults, due to a lower mental / attentional flexibility when compared to a younger group.
In contrast, Etnier et al. (1997) studied several aspects that attempt to explain this complex relationship between physical exercise and cognition, clarifying considerations and assumptions that could help understand and explain some of these disparities. It is believed that the influence of exercise on cognition is inconsistent when small and temporary changes occur in physiological parameters. Thus, the exercise may have little impact on cognition is achieved when acutely, unlike training, which could produce fitness gains and thus be used as an intervention to improve cognitive performance (35). Fabre et al. (2002) compared the effects of physical training and mental training in cognitive function and sought to determine the association of techniques could show better results. The authors studied 32 elderly between 60-76 years who were divided into four groups (aerobic training, mental training, combined aerobic and mental training and control). Aerobic training was conducted in the intensity of heart rate related to the individual ventilatory threshold; have mental training was compounded by Israel's method, the combined group was made up of the activities of aerobic and mental groups and the control group did leisure activities for a period of two months. The aerobic exercise program using the individualized intensity at the ventilatory threshold, and the mental training program resulted in the same degree of improvement in cognitive function, suggesting that the combined use of the two methods can enhance the results because of the improvement of the memory coefficient was higher than that using only one technique. However, the lack of comparison of the results to a group without any type of activity imposes barriers towards definitive conclusions.
Intense exercise and cognitive functions
The protocols developed to investigate the effects of intense exercise on cognitive functions are characterized by the maximal anaerobic demand, causing a state of fatigue and therefore a cognitive decline. These kinds of protocols are short and intense, lasting from a few minutes, usually the cognitive assessment performed immediately after the exercise. Some studies did not succeed in showing the relationship between exercise and comprehensive processes involving perception, sensory or discriminating integration. This is because exercise with high intensity can temporarily slow processes that control the preparation of the response, such as the decrease in cognitive performance.
However, there is some evidence that intensive exercise could facilitate certain aspects of cognition. The exercise performed on a treadmill produced a selective effect on the performance of participants with regard to the analysis and interpretation of maps, because individuals showed reduced ability in interpreting the global information presented on the map; however, short-term memory was significantly improved, leading the authors to conclude that intense physical exercise affects differently the cognitive processing be it high or low level. In addition, associated with the exercise intensity seems that the fitness level plays an important role in determining the impact of intense physical exercise on cognitive function.
Fleury et al. (1981) show that run to exhaustion did not influence the visual perception of young men in a similar way to that observed by Fleury and Bard (1987), for whom there was no influence of exercise with progressive intensity on visual tasks. These results support the hypothesis Wrisberg and Herbert (1976), suggesting that exercise influence of mild, transient processes that control the preparation of the response. This would result possibly due to the rapid recovery of physiological fatigue after the end of the year, as compared to acute and long exercise, which causes decrease in cognitive functioning because of dehydration and depletion of energy reserves.
Alertness induced by physical exercise and cognitive functions
The alert state induced by the exercise is based on the Yerkes-Dodson Law. This law proposes the existence of a relationship between cognitive performance and exercise, similar to what occurs with the alert level, as could occur an initial improvement in performance followed by a decline with increased alert above the resting state. Thus, there is clear evidence of the relationship in inverted "U" between cognition and performance.
However, the results on the alert produced by exercise and cognitive performance are still contradictory. The work conducted by Levitt and Gutin (1971) followed the reaction time and movement in choice-response tasks while subjects walked at equivalent intensities to the heart rates of 115, 145 or 175 beats per minute. The reaction time decreased when the heart rate reached 115 beats returned to baseline at 145 beats and reached lower values to 175 beats. The movement time improved linearly as a function of heart rate.
Other more recent studies confirm the observations of Levitt and Gutin: Salmela and Ndoye (1986), Reilly and Smith (1986) investigated in two steps perceptual-motor and cognitive performance after six minutes of exercise on a cycle ergometer with intensity corresponding to 25, 40 55 to 85% of O2max. In the first, subjects performed perceptual-motor tasks at the end of each exercise intensity; in the second stage, the subjects performed arithmetic tasks using a computer. For both tasks, there was a behavior in inverted "U", with improvement in psychomotor performance every workload increase to approximately 40% of O2max. From this intensity the behavior of this relationship becomes reverse. In relation to cognitive performance, there was a positive result with loads related to 25 and 70% of O2max, but 85% of O2max was perceived deficit in this performance.
Studies McMorris and Graydon (1997) and McMorris et al. (1999) show that the alert state induced by the exercise is limited to information processing speed and has little impact on complex types of decisions encountered during a sporting event. Most of the review studies reports that the alert induced by physical exercise can influence cognition, but not necessarily follows function of inverted "U", as described in other studies, showing the lack of consensus on the matter. In this sense many factors such as type of task to be employed, experience and fitness level of the person must be observed before the comparison and interpretation of results.
By the time the data in the literature can be inferred that physical exercise can, under some conditions, facilitate decision making and solving complex problems; however, there are many mechanisms that act in the interaction between cognitive performance and alertness induced by stress, resulting in wide range of results. With the advent of technology it is expected that new methodologies can help clarify this complex relationship.
Exercise in "steady state" and cognitive functions
The effects of exercise on cognitive function can be divided into acute and chronic (49). Many studies have shown the effects of exercise with intensity between 40 and 80% of O2max and duration of up to 90 minutes in the mood, cognitive function and feelings of well-being. The results so far suggest that aerobic exercise improves the operation of specific stages of information processing, which processes are involved in solving complex problems and processes of care and seem to be more influenced by the submaximal exercise, unlike the initial mechanisms information processing.
Some of these effects in relation to acute exercise of long duration, can be negative, citing dehydration and stress of passive temperature as harmful to the response speed of performance and memory, although not clear the rehydration of the performance impacts cognitive.
The study Simonsick (2003) suggests that low fitness level and low cognitive performance are manifestations of the same disease process and may or may not be changed by the improved physical condition promoted by training.
Nevertheless, several studies have positively associated cardiorespiratory fitness with cognition, especially in measures of attention, executive and visuospatial function.
Because of the lack of consensus on the results in our laboratory investigated the possible physiological, cognitive and mood status and blood viscosity of the elderly before and after a six-month program of aerobic training on a cycle ergometer three times / week with intensity equivalent to LV1. Were used 46 sedentary men aged between 60 and 75 years (66.97 ± 4.80 years). The results showed significant improvement in mood scales, cognitive performance, aerobic capacity and decreased blood viscosity after training period. An important fact in the complex relationship between physical exercise and cognition was reported by Richardson et al. (1998), as reported a case of transient global amnesia (TGA) after an incremental exercise test. After completion of the test the patient in good health for his age, reported confusion, ignorance about how he had come to the site and fluctuation in the mood for four hours after the end of testing. Later, it was revealed, through neurological examinations, an inability to learn and remember verbal material and non-verbal, beyond recall inability to events dating from several hours to several years before the incremental test he underwent. This episode could be related to a temporary dysfunction of the medial temporal lobe, a very important structure for the memory, including the hippocampus. The proposal was that this dysfunction starts in an ischemia caused by vascular changes in the vertebrobasilar arteries.
This work, in contrast to others who have been presented so far, seems to show the role of oxygen as a possible key elements in the relationship exercise and cognition. This would be more evident in light of the conclusions of several studies suggest that neurotransmission as special for cognitive processes. It should be remembered that neurotransmission processes need oxygen for biochemical reactions in the synthesis and degradation of its contributors, demonstrating that the effects of exercise on cognitive function are multifactorial and are associated with changes promoted by exercise in several systems.
MECHANISMS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN THE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS
The action of physical exercise on cognitive function can be direct or indirect. The mechanisms which act directly increasing the speed of cognitive processing would be an improvement in cerebral circulation and change in neurotransmitter synthesis and degradation. In addition to direct mechanisms, others, such as decreased blood pressure, decrease in LDL and triglyceride levels in the blood plasma and inhibition of platelet aggregation appear to act indirectly by improving these functions and also the overall functional capacity, reflecting in this way increase quality of life.
In addition, scholars have suggested some mechanisms that would be responsible for mediating the effects of exercise on cognitive functions. For synthesis, action and metabolism of neurotransmitters, it is essential to supply adequate amounts of substrates for these reactions. Thus it is believed that physical exercise could increase cerebral blood flow and therefore oxygen and other energy substrates, thus providing improved cognitive function. Another hypothesis that has been formulated with regard to the effects of oxidative stress on the CNS, so that the aerobic physical exercise could increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes in a manner similar to what happens in other tissues such as skeletal muscle, increasing defense capability against damage caused by reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, it can not be ruled out the possibility that exercise in itself, increases the release of several neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine increases in concentrations and their precursors, increasing the concentration of serotonin and b-endorphin after an acute session exercise.
Even after a training period, an acute exercise session increases the concentration of norepinephrine in humans and other animals. These findings are important, since studies in rodents have shown that elevated plasma norepinephrine concentration is related to a better memory. In addition, dopaminergic and noradrenergic synapses appear to be important elements to mnemonic processes.
Moreover, it is possible that regular physical activity influence brain plasticity. Studies such as Isaacs et al. demonstrated that exercise increases vascular density in the cerebellar cortex of rodents subjected to exercise. In addition to maintaining cerebrovascular integrity (avoiding the decrease in cerebral blood flow due to adverse effects) increases the capillarity (68) and the number of dendritic connections.
Spirduso proposed that the exercise could increase the oxidative capacity of the brain, developing a trophic effect on brain centers involved in sensorimotor function. Recent studies have suggested that the central executive function of the type associated with the frontal lobe and hippocampal brain regions can be selectively maintained or improved, in humans, with higher fitness level.
In addition to the assumptions made, others try to explain the mechanisms by which exercise could act improving cognitive functions. Some are related to humoral and neuroendocrine changes caused by exercise, increases as adrenaline, norepinephrine, ACTH, vasopressin and, especially, b-endorphin, which is among the opioids is considered a physiological modulator of memory. These changes could in the long run change the biosynthesis, secretion and / or metabolism of the central systems, working mainly in regions such as the hippocampus, amygdala, medial septum and entorhinal cortex (important regions related mnemonic processes, such as consolidation, storage and recall of information) . With the exception of b-endorphin, catecholamines, vasopressin and ACTH are secreted in proportion to the amount of stress caused by exercise. Therefore, these substances may, by reflex mechanisms to improve the consolidation of memory, thus causing a situation of "dependency state". As the hormones released peripherally present difficulties transferring the blood-brain barrier, the effects of these substances in the memory would be conditioned to the activation of peripheral receptors and / or activity in brain regions weakly protected by the barrier, while some studies suggest that during exercise the barrier blood brain becomes permeable to the action of catecholamines, thus affecting brain metabolism. However, it seems unlikely that these neuromodulators events are solely responsible for the cognitive improvement obtained with the practice of exercise, it is possible that the improved mood and physical conditioning reflect in improved quality of life, helping to obtain the benefit.
Although the mechanisms of exercise on cognitive function have not been clearly elucidated, it can not be left to chance that this improvement is involved in nerve growth factors such as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) or other neurogenic stimulators which act in maintenance of brain function and promoting neuronal plasticity.
Currently, exercise is an absolute necessity for man, because with the scientific and technological development arising from the industrial revolution and the technological revolution, which we passed, we are faced with high levels of stress, anxiety and physical inactivity undermining the good health the populations of developed and developing countries.
Through this framework, in recent decades has witnessed the growth of interest from individuals and health professionals by regular physical activity (training) in order to meet the physical and cognitive well-being.
Despite the effects of exercise are unquestionable, approximately 60% of Americans do not exercise regularly while 25% do not exercise at all. Among the population segments that traditionally do not engage in physical exercise include the elderly (particularly women) especially those of lower educational level, smokers and obese individuals.
In Brazil, there was a tendency to physical inactivity similar to that observed in the US according to the report of Brazilians living standards, prepared by IBGE (3), indicating that 26% of men under regular physical activity and only 12.7% women are involved in any training programs. When checking the amount of people who exercise at least thirty minutes or more a day, at least three days a week, is 10.8% and 5.2% of men and women respectively.
In the population of the city of São Paulo, in a survey conducted by Mello et al. (2000) (4) on the physical activity and sleep disorders, met physical activity level a little higher than in the rest of the country, as 31.3% of respondents were engaged in some sort of physical activity however, only 36.4% of these individuals have supervision of a qualified professional. In addition, this study found that engaging in physical training programs is higher in higher social classes and that physically active people have lower rates of complaints about sleep disorders. The authors stressed also the importance of public awareness of the benefits of regular and supervised physical exercise and the need for a change in the sedentary lifestyle of the population of the city of São Paulo in order to reduce health-related complaints the individual.
Matsudo et al. (2002) (5), in a study of the population of the State of São Paulo, aimed to investigate the level of physical activity (LPA) of this population, taking into account gender, age, socio-economic and intellectual levels. 2,001 interviews were conducted with 953 men and 1,048 women between 14 and 77 years selected in 29 cities of large, medium and small in the state. Using version 8 of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in short form to determine the level of physical activity, it was found that 45.5% of men, 47.3% women and 46.5% of the total sample are people insufficiently active (sedentary and irregularly active).
This prevalent condition of inactivity observed in the general population, especially in the elderly, is a serious threat to the body, stimulating the emergence of chronic degenerative diseases, mood disorder, reducing the physiological and cognitive functions, causing immunosuppression, worsening profile lipid, glucose and sleep quality. Furthermore, a sedentary lifestyle decreases self-esteem, increased anxiety; may also contribute to the worsening of depression symptoms.
Risk factors such as smoking, poor eating habits, alcohol consumption, emotional stress and cognitive problems are also related to physical inactivity (6), so that approximately 250,000 lives are lost each year due to sedentary lifestyle. In this sense, Breslow et al. (1980) presented a list of habits associated with health and longevity, including regular physical exercise, could add between seven and 11 years in the life of a person.
Thus, the adoption of better living habits is an important saving to the public coffers to the extent that it reduces the demand for care in health centers and public hospitals. Thus, encouraging regular physical exercise should be routine in shaping public health policies in the present and in the future.
COGNITIVE FUNCTION
The term cognitive function or cognitive functional system phases of the reporting process, such as perception, learning, memory, attention, vigilance, reasoning and problem solving. Furthermore, psychomotor functioning (reaction time, movement time, speed of performance) has frequently been included in this concept.
Although these cognitive functions are negatively affected by age, as from the third decade of life is loss of neurons with concomitant decline in cognitive performance, based processes crystallized skills such as verbal knowledge and understanding still maintained or improve with aging. In contrast, processes based on fluid skills such as learned but not executed tasks, suffer decline.
Colcombe et al. (2003) found significant declines in the density of neural tissue in aging function in the frontal, parietal and temporal. This can be justified due to a balance of breaks between injury and neuronal repair. The brain is sensitive to many factors that result in damage to neural networks. Similar to other tissues, it has the ability to self-repair / auto-adaptation, or even compensation for the loss of neurons and neural architecture interruptions. When there is an imbalance between neuronal injury and repair, this neuronal plasticity capacity is impaired, then settling the brain aging and dementia.
Over the past decade have identified some risk factors that may increase the predisposition of an individual to cognitive impairment. Among these factors include age, gender, family history, head trauma, educational level, smoking, alcohol consumption, mental stress, nutrition and socialization. More recently factors that can be reversed or mitigated by exercise, such as chronic degenerative diseases, hypercholesterolemia and increase in plasma fibrinogen and physical inactivity, are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline.
The reasons that lead to the appearance of cognitive impairment over the years are not well established; however, some proposals have been raised, among them the reduction of speed in information processing, attention decrease, sensory deficit, reduced working memory capacity, impaired frontal lobe function and neurotransmitter function in addition to the deterioration of movement central and blood-brain barrier.
PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND FUNCTION Cognitive
Epidemiological data suggest that moderately active people have a lower risk of developing mental disorders than sedentary, showing that participation in physical exercise programs exerts benefits in the physical and psychological sphere and that physically active individuals probably have a faster cognitive processing. Nevertheless, Heyn et al. (2004) in a recent meta-analysis also found a significant increase in physical and cognitive performance and positive change in the behavior of older people with cognitive impairment and dementia. Confirming that physical exercise may be important protective against cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.
Studies on exercise and cognitive function
The magnitude of the effect of exercise on cognition depends on the nature of the cognitive task being evaluated and the type of exercise that was applied. According to Weingarten, this conclusion is based on the complexity of the cognitive task. According to him, the physical training can have a positive impact on cognitive performance of complex tasks, but does not influence the performance of simple tasks. In the study of Gutin (1973), the author suggests that the effects of exercise are mediated by the complexity of the cognitive task and the duration of the exercise, because the reaction time and the optimal level of exercise inducing the alert could be inversely associated with related tasks with choices. The author also suggests that exercise lasting between 45 seconds and two minutes, with heart rate between 90 and 120 beats per minute, would be beneficial for cognitive performance, whereas exercises with six minutes and that increase the heart rate to close 150 beats per minute would be detrimental to cognitive performance.
The observations of the beneficial effects of exercise on cognitive performance, particularly in the elderly, were experimentally performed by several researchers. Van Boxtel, et al. (1997) believe that cognitive tasks could be sensitive to aerobic capacity. Thus, 132 persons aged between 24 and 76 years were submitted to an acute session of submaximal exercise on a cycle ergometer, followed by an extensive neuropsychological battery, including intelligence tests, verbal memory and speed in processing information, which revealed the existence of a interaction between cognitive processing speed tests, age and aerobic capacity.
Hill et al. (1993) also related cognitive performance with aerobic capacity, submitting 87 sedentary elderly to an aerobic training program. They observed positive effects on memory and logic Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) in the trained group compared with the control that did not train. Another study observed improvement in cognitive functions with increased reaction time, in the range of memory, mood and well-being measures in a group of elderly (N = 94) who participated in an aerobic training program lasting 12 months.
Binder et al. (1999) (30) studied the relationship between performance on psychometric tests and physical performance in elderly, concluded that the speed of cognitive processing is an important component of physical weakness, although it is consistent to consider that there is a small percentage of variance in performance standardized physical tests. The authors reported that cognitive decline with advancing age is more related to global cognitive decline. In particular, would be involved in this process the speed of information processing and the ability to use short-term memory while the information is being processed. This would occur in the elderly, especially in view of the aging central nervous system, thus limiting the adaptive responses that are necessary for its independent operation.
In a study of our group, 23 healthy women between 60 and 70 years (64.3 ± 3.3 years) were subjected to 60 minutes of walking three times a week; as a complementary activity, were subjected to stretching and flexibility exercises. After six months of training, were found improvement in attention, memory, agility and mood pattern for a group of 17 sedentary women. These results suggest that participation in an aerobic exercise program may be seen as an alternative drug not important for successful cognitive improvement in elderly women.
Unlike aerobic studies, studies linking resistance exercises to the possible effects on cognitive functions are still scarce. In one of the few studies on the subject, it was observed that eight weeks of resistance exercise in 46 elderly volunteers promoted improvement in psychological well-being and cognitive functioning (34), suggesting that further studies are needed in order to better understand this relationship between resistance and cognitive function exercise, it is recognized that this type of exercise promotes other important adaptations for this age group, how to mitigate the loss of strength, muscle mass and bone mineral density.
Physical exercise can interfere with cognitive performance for several reasons: a) due to the increase in the levels of neurotransmitters and by changes in brain structures (this would be evident in the comparison of physically active x sedentary individuals); b) the cognitive improvement observed in individuals with mental impairment (based on comparison with healthy subjects); c) the limited improvement achieved by older adults, due to a lower mental / attentional flexibility when compared to a younger group.
In contrast, Etnier et al. (1997) studied several aspects that attempt to explain this complex relationship between physical exercise and cognition, clarifying considerations and assumptions that could help understand and explain some of these disparities. It is believed that the influence of exercise on cognition is inconsistent when small and temporary changes occur in physiological parameters. Thus, the exercise may have little impact on cognition is achieved when acutely, unlike training, which could produce fitness gains and thus be used as an intervention to improve cognitive performance (35). Fabre et al. (2002) compared the effects of physical training and mental training in cognitive function and sought to determine the association of techniques could show better results. The authors studied 32 elderly between 60-76 years who were divided into four groups (aerobic training, mental training, combined aerobic and mental training and control). Aerobic training was conducted in the intensity of heart rate related to the individual ventilatory threshold; have mental training was compounded by Israel's method, the combined group was made up of the activities of aerobic and mental groups and the control group did leisure activities for a period of two months. The aerobic exercise program using the individualized intensity at the ventilatory threshold, and the mental training program resulted in the same degree of improvement in cognitive function, suggesting that the combined use of the two methods can enhance the results because of the improvement of the memory coefficient was higher than that using only one technique. However, the lack of comparison of the results to a group without any type of activity imposes barriers towards definitive conclusions.
Intense exercise and cognitive functions
The protocols developed to investigate the effects of intense exercise on cognitive functions are characterized by the maximal anaerobic demand, causing a state of fatigue and therefore a cognitive decline. These kinds of protocols are short and intense, lasting from a few minutes, usually the cognitive assessment performed immediately after the exercise. Some studies did not succeed in showing the relationship between exercise and comprehensive processes involving perception, sensory or discriminating integration. This is because exercise with high intensity can temporarily slow processes that control the preparation of the response, such as the decrease in cognitive performance.
However, there is some evidence that intensive exercise could facilitate certain aspects of cognition. The exercise performed on a treadmill produced a selective effect on the performance of participants with regard to the analysis and interpretation of maps, because individuals showed reduced ability in interpreting the global information presented on the map; however, short-term memory was significantly improved, leading the authors to conclude that intense physical exercise affects differently the cognitive processing be it high or low level. In addition, associated with the exercise intensity seems that the fitness level plays an important role in determining the impact of intense physical exercise on cognitive function.
Fleury et al. (1981) show that run to exhaustion did not influence the visual perception of young men in a similar way to that observed by Fleury and Bard (1987), for whom there was no influence of exercise with progressive intensity on visual tasks. These results support the hypothesis Wrisberg and Herbert (1976), suggesting that exercise influence of mild, transient processes that control the preparation of the response. This would result possibly due to the rapid recovery of physiological fatigue after the end of the year, as compared to acute and long exercise, which causes decrease in cognitive functioning because of dehydration and depletion of energy reserves.
Alertness induced by physical exercise and cognitive functions
The alert state induced by the exercise is based on the Yerkes-Dodson Law. This law proposes the existence of a relationship between cognitive performance and exercise, similar to what occurs with the alert level, as could occur an initial improvement in performance followed by a decline with increased alert above the resting state. Thus, there is clear evidence of the relationship in inverted "U" between cognition and performance.
However, the results on the alert produced by exercise and cognitive performance are still contradictory. The work conducted by Levitt and Gutin (1971) followed the reaction time and movement in choice-response tasks while subjects walked at equivalent intensities to the heart rates of 115, 145 or 175 beats per minute. The reaction time decreased when the heart rate reached 115 beats returned to baseline at 145 beats and reached lower values to 175 beats. The movement time improved linearly as a function of heart rate.
Other more recent studies confirm the observations of Levitt and Gutin: Salmela and Ndoye (1986), Reilly and Smith (1986) investigated in two steps perceptual-motor and cognitive performance after six minutes of exercise on a cycle ergometer with intensity corresponding to 25, 40 55 to 85% of O2max. In the first, subjects performed perceptual-motor tasks at the end of each exercise intensity; in the second stage, the subjects performed arithmetic tasks using a computer. For both tasks, there was a behavior in inverted "U", with improvement in psychomotor performance every workload increase to approximately 40% of O2max. From this intensity the behavior of this relationship becomes reverse. In relation to cognitive performance, there was a positive result with loads related to 25 and 70% of O2max, but 85% of O2max was perceived deficit in this performance.
Studies McMorris and Graydon (1997) and McMorris et al. (1999) show that the alert state induced by the exercise is limited to information processing speed and has little impact on complex types of decisions encountered during a sporting event. Most of the review studies reports that the alert induced by physical exercise can influence cognition, but not necessarily follows function of inverted "U", as described in other studies, showing the lack of consensus on the matter. In this sense many factors such as type of task to be employed, experience and fitness level of the person must be observed before the comparison and interpretation of results.
By the time the data in the literature can be inferred that physical exercise can, under some conditions, facilitate decision making and solving complex problems; however, there are many mechanisms that act in the interaction between cognitive performance and alertness induced by stress, resulting in wide range of results. With the advent of technology it is expected that new methodologies can help clarify this complex relationship.
Exercise in "steady state" and cognitive functions
The effects of exercise on cognitive function can be divided into acute and chronic (49). Many studies have shown the effects of exercise with intensity between 40 and 80% of O2max and duration of up to 90 minutes in the mood, cognitive function and feelings of well-being. The results so far suggest that aerobic exercise improves the operation of specific stages of information processing, which processes are involved in solving complex problems and processes of care and seem to be more influenced by the submaximal exercise, unlike the initial mechanisms information processing.
Some of these effects in relation to acute exercise of long duration, can be negative, citing dehydration and stress of passive temperature as harmful to the response speed of performance and memory, although not clear the rehydration of the performance impacts cognitive.
The study Simonsick (2003) suggests that low fitness level and low cognitive performance are manifestations of the same disease process and may or may not be changed by the improved physical condition promoted by training.
Nevertheless, several studies have positively associated cardiorespiratory fitness with cognition, especially in measures of attention, executive and visuospatial function.
Because of the lack of consensus on the results in our laboratory investigated the possible physiological, cognitive and mood status and blood viscosity of the elderly before and after a six-month program of aerobic training on a cycle ergometer three times / week with intensity equivalent to LV1. Were used 46 sedentary men aged between 60 and 75 years (66.97 ± 4.80 years). The results showed significant improvement in mood scales, cognitive performance, aerobic capacity and decreased blood viscosity after training period. An important fact in the complex relationship between physical exercise and cognition was reported by Richardson et al. (1998), as reported a case of transient global amnesia (TGA) after an incremental exercise test. After completion of the test the patient in good health for his age, reported confusion, ignorance about how he had come to the site and fluctuation in the mood for four hours after the end of testing. Later, it was revealed, through neurological examinations, an inability to learn and remember verbal material and non-verbal, beyond recall inability to events dating from several hours to several years before the incremental test he underwent. This episode could be related to a temporary dysfunction of the medial temporal lobe, a very important structure for the memory, including the hippocampus. The proposal was that this dysfunction starts in an ischemia caused by vascular changes in the vertebrobasilar arteries.
This work, in contrast to others who have been presented so far, seems to show the role of oxygen as a possible key elements in the relationship exercise and cognition. This would be more evident in light of the conclusions of several studies suggest that neurotransmission as special for cognitive processes. It should be remembered that neurotransmission processes need oxygen for biochemical reactions in the synthesis and degradation of its contributors, demonstrating that the effects of exercise on cognitive function are multifactorial and are associated with changes promoted by exercise in several systems.
MECHANISMS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN THE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS
The action of physical exercise on cognitive function can be direct or indirect. The mechanisms which act directly increasing the speed of cognitive processing would be an improvement in cerebral circulation and change in neurotransmitter synthesis and degradation. In addition to direct mechanisms, others, such as decreased blood pressure, decrease in LDL and triglyceride levels in the blood plasma and inhibition of platelet aggregation appear to act indirectly by improving these functions and also the overall functional capacity, reflecting in this way increase quality of life.
In addition, scholars have suggested some mechanisms that would be responsible for mediating the effects of exercise on cognitive functions. For synthesis, action and metabolism of neurotransmitters, it is essential to supply adequate amounts of substrates for these reactions. Thus it is believed that physical exercise could increase cerebral blood flow and therefore oxygen and other energy substrates, thus providing improved cognitive function. Another hypothesis that has been formulated with regard to the effects of oxidative stress on the CNS, so that the aerobic physical exercise could increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes in a manner similar to what happens in other tissues such as skeletal muscle, increasing defense capability against damage caused by reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, it can not be ruled out the possibility that exercise in itself, increases the release of several neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine increases in concentrations and their precursors, increasing the concentration of serotonin and b-endorphin after an acute session exercise.
Even after a training period, an acute exercise session increases the concentration of norepinephrine in humans and other animals. These findings are important, since studies in rodents have shown that elevated plasma norepinephrine concentration is related to a better memory. In addition, dopaminergic and noradrenergic synapses appear to be important elements to mnemonic processes.
Moreover, it is possible that regular physical activity influence brain plasticity. Studies such as Isaacs et al. demonstrated that exercise increases vascular density in the cerebellar cortex of rodents subjected to exercise. In addition to maintaining cerebrovascular integrity (avoiding the decrease in cerebral blood flow due to adverse effects) increases the capillarity (68) and the number of dendritic connections.
Spirduso proposed that the exercise could increase the oxidative capacity of the brain, developing a trophic effect on brain centers involved in sensorimotor function. Recent studies have suggested that the central executive function of the type associated with the frontal lobe and hippocampal brain regions can be selectively maintained or improved, in humans, with higher fitness level.
In addition to the assumptions made, others try to explain the mechanisms by which exercise could act improving cognitive functions. Some are related to humoral and neuroendocrine changes caused by exercise, increases as adrenaline, norepinephrine, ACTH, vasopressin and, especially, b-endorphin, which is among the opioids is considered a physiological modulator of memory. These changes could in the long run change the biosynthesis, secretion and / or metabolism of the central systems, working mainly in regions such as the hippocampus, amygdala, medial septum and entorhinal cortex (important regions related mnemonic processes, such as consolidation, storage and recall of information) . With the exception of b-endorphin, catecholamines, vasopressin and ACTH are secreted in proportion to the amount of stress caused by exercise. Therefore, these substances may, by reflex mechanisms to improve the consolidation of memory, thus causing a situation of "dependency state". As the hormones released peripherally present difficulties transferring the blood-brain barrier, the effects of these substances in the memory would be conditioned to the activation of peripheral receptors and / or activity in brain regions weakly protected by the barrier, while some studies suggest that during exercise the barrier blood brain becomes permeable to the action of catecholamines, thus affecting brain metabolism. However, it seems unlikely that these neuromodulators events are solely responsible for the cognitive improvement obtained with the practice of exercise, it is possible that the improved mood and physical conditioning reflect in improved quality of life, helping to obtain the benefit.
Although the mechanisms of exercise on cognitive function have not been clearly elucidated, it can not be left to chance that this improvement is involved in nerve growth factors such as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) or other neurogenic stimulators which act in maintenance of brain function and promoting neuronal plasticity.
Brain training is great ally for the pre-university study and tenders
Technical Neurofeedback, popular in the US, provides greater power of concentration and learning through brain stimulation
Decorate texts and formulas, understand and exercise calculations, have discipline, remain calm in times of trial ...Student Life is not easy, no? Who need to have a high yield as for college or for tenders usually dream of having something that can increase your brain performance and strengthen your memory to the time of trial.
Old acquaintance of Americans for at least 40 years and in constant evolution, the brain training technique, called Neurofeedback, is considered one of the most innovative procedures in the field of neurological and psychological rehabilitation also used for this purpose and promises to make life easier for those who is facing a tough time to get good results in studies.
Designed to enhance brain function, Neurofeedback helps the attention, concentration, memory, emotional issues and decrease the level of stress and anxiety that are causing difficulties in learning and performance on tests.
With Neurofeedback, these irregular electrical brain waves that are triggering the learning difficulties and / or other harm to health of the individual are corrected. "Many people come to the point of not believing they can learn particular material or do well on a test," says the expert.
According to expert, when there is a dysfunction in general waves of some brain regions present very rapid or too slow. The work of Neurofeedback is to regulate and balance these waves. "During the neurological training the brain learns to function properly, balancing the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine [linked to mood, sleep, appetite, attention, concentration, learning, emotions]," explains experts.
Because the technique works
To detect the dysfunction, brain mapping is carried out by means of an electroencephalogram. With the results in hand, the professional defines which patches of brain activity will be needed for that client. Establishes a neurological training protocol for a settlement of brainwave patterns and the correction of impairments found thus enabling a high brain performance.
In this technique, there is the aid of hands to do workouts. The commands are given directly from the customer's brain to the computer by means of electrodes attached to his head. This is how the brain waves are re-educated and learn the way to a high-performance operation.
Disorders with indication for Neurofeedback:
anxiety;
insomnia;
Panic syndrome;
depression;
Disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder;
Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
Post-traumatic stress;
phobias;
Learning difficulties;
Dyslexia and Dyscalculia;
stuttering;
fibromyalgia;
migraine;
Chronic fatigue;
Brain damage due to stroke or traumatic brain injury.
Decorate texts and formulas, understand and exercise calculations, have discipline, remain calm in times of trial ...Student Life is not easy, no? Who need to have a high yield as for college or for tenders usually dream of having something that can increase your brain performance and strengthen your memory to the time of trial.
Old acquaintance of Americans for at least 40 years and in constant evolution, the brain training technique, called Neurofeedback, is considered one of the most innovative procedures in the field of neurological and psychological rehabilitation also used for this purpose and promises to make life easier for those who is facing a tough time to get good results in studies.
Designed to enhance brain function, Neurofeedback helps the attention, concentration, memory, emotional issues and decrease the level of stress and anxiety that are causing difficulties in learning and performance on tests.
With Neurofeedback, these irregular electrical brain waves that are triggering the learning difficulties and / or other harm to health of the individual are corrected. "Many people come to the point of not believing they can learn particular material or do well on a test," says the expert.
According to expert, when there is a dysfunction in general waves of some brain regions present very rapid or too slow. The work of Neurofeedback is to regulate and balance these waves. "During the neurological training the brain learns to function properly, balancing the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine [linked to mood, sleep, appetite, attention, concentration, learning, emotions]," explains experts.
Because the technique works
To detect the dysfunction, brain mapping is carried out by means of an electroencephalogram. With the results in hand, the professional defines which patches of brain activity will be needed for that client. Establishes a neurological training protocol for a settlement of brainwave patterns and the correction of impairments found thus enabling a high brain performance.
In this technique, there is the aid of hands to do workouts. The commands are given directly from the customer's brain to the computer by means of electrodes attached to his head. This is how the brain waves are re-educated and learn the way to a high-performance operation.
Disorders with indication for Neurofeedback:
anxiety;
insomnia;
Panic syndrome;
depression;
Disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder;
Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
Post-traumatic stress;
phobias;
Learning difficulties;
Dyslexia and Dyscalculia;
stuttering;
fibromyalgia;
migraine;
Chronic fatigue;
Brain damage due to stroke or traumatic brain injury.
What is Brain Training?
What is Brain Training? What Happens When We learned?
Brain Training is a simple and powerful way to increase the capacity of a person learn better, more easy and fast way. The brain processes the information through a complex network of nerve cells, called neurons. As we learn, groups of neurons work together to learn and think. Research shows that additional neurons are recruited to this process when the task is new or intensity of learning demand increases. When the task is mastered, the neurons that were borrowed are released for other activities, but the gains in efficiency and speed required for this new task are kept and make learning of similar activities easier.
The Key to a Better Learning
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and modify the activities and connections of neurons due to the increase of the learning demand. The gray matter may decrease or increase neuronal connections and can be reinforced or weakened and refined according to the necessity. Brain training is used neuroplasticity through exercises designed to promote growth and rapid strengthening of neuronal connections.
Learning skills such as memory, attention, sensory processing and reasoning, can be improved with the proper training, increasing brain function: memory more accurate, faster processing and ease of learning.
The Brain Training Strengthens Learning Skills
Information becomes knowledge through a path that depends on the individual learning skills such as memory and visual and auditory processing. Different skills are required for each type of learning challenge. If the necessary skills are underdeveloped, learning will suffer. The power of brain training is to identify (through testing) and strengthening of these specific skills, which makes fast and easy learning.
Research shows that the brain never stops changing. If you or your child (a) has trouble learning or reading, brain training can be the most effective option to eliminate the cause of these difficulties and lead to success in these areas.
Brain Training is a simple and powerful way to increase the capacity of a person learn better, more easy and fast way. The brain processes the information through a complex network of nerve cells, called neurons. As we learn, groups of neurons work together to learn and think. Research shows that additional neurons are recruited to this process when the task is new or intensity of learning demand increases. When the task is mastered, the neurons that were borrowed are released for other activities, but the gains in efficiency and speed required for this new task are kept and make learning of similar activities easier.
The Key to a Better Learning
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change and modify the activities and connections of neurons due to the increase of the learning demand. The gray matter may decrease or increase neuronal connections and can be reinforced or weakened and refined according to the necessity. Brain training is used neuroplasticity through exercises designed to promote growth and rapid strengthening of neuronal connections.
Learning skills such as memory, attention, sensory processing and reasoning, can be improved with the proper training, increasing brain function: memory more accurate, faster processing and ease of learning.
The Brain Training Strengthens Learning Skills
Information becomes knowledge through a path that depends on the individual learning skills such as memory and visual and auditory processing. Different skills are required for each type of learning challenge. If the necessary skills are underdeveloped, learning will suffer. The power of brain training is to identify (through testing) and strengthening of these specific skills, which makes fast and easy learning.
Research shows that the brain never stops changing. If you or your child (a) has trouble learning or reading, brain training can be the most effective option to eliminate the cause of these difficulties and lead to success in these areas.
For a better brain
Brain training to sharpen memory. Aerobic exercises to preserve gray matter. Meditation to sharpen the links between reason and emotion. It all sounds wonderful, but there is something frustrating the growing number of studies that identify ways to burnish the brain: they do not go very far. Of course exercises to improve memory are better for the brain than, say, watch reality shows on TV, but the most you get is a more reliable access to knowledge already spread by the cerebral cortex. If the information is not there, there is training the brain that tells you how the Central Bank system, for the southern United States lost the Civil War, what is the importance of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Picasso, or by that Word just hang. Not to mention the type of information that could significantly improve the everyday life: it would not be wonderful to understand and remember more of what we read and hear, learn and retain new skills to improve the chances of employment and link knowledge to, say, see what does your boss react?
That's what we all want - know more, understand more deeply, giving greater creative leaps, save what we read, see invisible links in the eyes of others - and not just enjoy what we have between the ears. That is, in a nutshell: we want to be smarter. By improving our mental game, we would be able to see immediately when a marketer misleads us, understand important medical studies for what bothers us realize the importance of the euro crisis for our retirement fund and make better decisions at work, in love and in life.
So when we dive on the results of the latest research in neurobiology and cognitive science, a recent discovery stood out more than any other: IQ, which has long been thought to be unchangeable after early childhood, may actually increase. And not just one or two points. According to a groundbreaking study published last year in Nature, IQ can climb amazing 21 points in four years - or fall 18.
How to increase your Q.I.
The Q.I. higher not only serves to get into Mensa, the international association of 2% of the world population with IQ higher, and to brag about on dating sites on the internet. The Intelligence Quotient - measured with a set of tests that assess, among others, working memory, spatial ability and pattern recognition - represents a wide variety of cognitive skills: oral, analytical and other. Twenty points are "a huge difference," says Cathy Price, cognitive scientist at University College London, who led the research. "The individual who passes the Q.I. 110 for the Q.I. 130 is no longer median and becomes gifted. And if falling from 104 to 84, will go from average to below average! The study was done with people between 12 and 20 years, but given the recent findings on the ability of the brain has to change - the so-called neuroplasticity - up to 60 and 70 years, the scientist believes that the result fits all. "My guess is that the performance on IQ tests can also change significantly in adulthood, "she says. "The same degree of plasticity (found in young adults) may be present for life."
In this recent study, Cathy Price and colleagues have documented the changes as IQ correspond to structural changes in the brain. In 39% of participants whose Q.I. verbal changed significantly, imaging tests of the brain before and after showed a corresponding change in the density and volume of gray matter (number of neurons) in the left motor cortex region activated when naming, reading and speaking. In which 21% Q.I. nonverbal (troubleshooting not related to language, such as spatial reasoning) increased or decreased, so did the gray matter density in the anterior cerebellum, associated with hand movements. While most of us think that motor and cognitive skills have nothing to do with each other, several studies have found that refine sensorimotor ability can promote cognitive skills. No one knows exactly why, but maybe the two brain systems are more interconnected than you think. So learn to knit or listen to classical music and increase your IQ
The importance of short-term memory
Although it has long been considered that the short-term memory - Notepad brain, basically - is just one component of IQ Overall, recent research shows that, in fact, it can be the lever capable of raising intelligence as a whole. In one of the biggest surprises of the research on intelligence, the group of scientists led by Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl of the University of Michigan, found that short-term memory can be the foundation of intelligence in a higher degree than previously suspected. They trained adult volunteers a difficult task for the short-term memory: you had to listen to a series of letters and see at the same time a series of computer screens with a blue square in different places. And it was necessary to identify when the spoken letter or square position combined with several previous screens. The more exercised the short-term memory, more increased the purest form of brain power, fluid intelligence - the ability to reason and solve problems independently of existing knowledge so. (A test of reasoning part wore calls Progressive Matrices:. See three geometric configurations and choose which of the many options follow the default) In June, the Michigan team achieved the same result in schoolchildren and confirmed that the training memory improves performance on intelligence tests and thus may be the safest way to an IQ higher.
"There is controversy as to whether the brain training enhance cognition," says neuroscientist Eric Kandel of Columbia University, one of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2000 for discoveries about the molecular and cellular basis of memory. "But when you really exercise memory, memorizing poetry, for example - Shakespeare's sonnets serve - probably aspects of cognitive function better."
Neuroimaging studies give clues as to how the training of memory enhances the pure intelligence. During training of memory tests show that several regions of the brain (prefrontal cortex, lateral, inferior parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, and basal ganglia) are more active, indicating that these regions are involved in memory. Interestingly, these same regions also come into play when the brain thinks and reasons. "With cautious optimism, it seems that there are real effects on those memory training studies," says psychologist Jason Chein of Temple University. In his studies, he found that adults who trained a complex task of working memory for four weeks also felt significant improvements in reading comprehension.
Kandel states that the explanation of such gain is the "intensive training" - very different from easy solutions like eating blueberries or take pomegranate juice, they say. It turns out that the intelligence comes from having more synapses (connections between neurons). The creation of new neurons (neurogenesis) and synapses makes learning possible.
Pay attention, be smart
The other element that we can train the brain to raise the IQ is attention. Neuroscientists have shown several times that attention is the sine qua non condition of learning. Only those who pay attention to who is presented at a party remember the name of that person.
The effect on the improvement of care may explain why stimulant medications help some people to remember (and is hence the popularity of these drugs among students preparing for exams). Both stimulants increase brain levels of dopamine, neurochemical substance that produces the motivation and the feeling of reward and that makes it more likely that the job will attract our attention. Similarly, it has been shown that action games like Space Fortress, and games with a lot of strategy, as Rise of Nations, improve memory and the ability to pay attention.
Another way of achieving the same thing is passion, according to Cathy Price. Who does not care about what you read, see or listen does not save anything.
Increase brain power: the most important habits
Although improving brain requires work, the good thing is that there are affordable ways to achieve.
Aerobic Exercise - Walking 45 minutes a day three times a week stimulates the production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, its acronym in English), which feeds the creation of new neurons and synapses, which is behind the learning. Scientists led by Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois, and Kirk Erickson of the University of Pittsburgh showed that exercise increases the gray matter in the hippocampus region that processes new knowledge, especially the link between different information that form complex memories. This can not raise IQ, but it should make us more services by filling the cortex information.
Naps - In a 2010 study, psychology professor Matthew Walker and colleagues at the University of California found that a nap in the middle of the day not only restore as increases brain power. Students who took a 90 minute nap at two in the afternoon after a task that forced the hippocampus - learn the names of some 120 new faces, for example - associated more easily the name to the face after the nap and had a better performance those who do not napped.
"Who was agreed, there was deterioration of memory capacity, but the nap restored the ability to even higher level than before the nap," says Walker. (So congratulations to those Nike and Silicon Valley companies such as Google, offering rooms for employees naps.) The EEG to record brain activity show how it happened. The number of discharges of electrical activity called "sleep spindles" experienced during naps predicts as the ability to learn will improve when the person wakes up. Walker suspects that sleep spindles indicate the hippocampus of information transport activity for permanent storage in the cortex. It is how to transfer data from a USB drive to a hard disk, which "consolidates the long-term storage the downloaded information and leaves us with renewed capacity in the key (hippocampus) to absorb new information," says Walker. The better transfer hippocampal information (initial storage location) to the cortex (long-term storage location), we can access more information when we need.
Downtime - With functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists at Tohoku University in Japan measured the cerebral blood flow of 63 volunteers who asked them to keep the mind empty. Those who had increased blood flow in the white matter that connects the neurons among themselves scored higher on a task that required them to rapid generation of new ideas, as the researchers explained in the journal PLoS One. Creativity comes when we note that other links do not see, and so it makes sense that the increase in white matter activity with the rest of the brain promotes creativity. So put the phone aside and let the brain idle.
Caffeine - A good dose of coffee can make the sharpest mind, according to a 2011 study published in Nature Neuroscience that found that caffeine strengthens brain connections. Serena Dudek and colleagues at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, its acronym in English) found that rats given doses of caffeine comparable to two cups of coffee showed stronger electrical activity between neurons in the hippocampus called CA2 of those who have not received caffeine. The most intense connectivity means learning and better memory.
A second language - A strategy with more evidence is also the most difficult. When the brain fluent in two languages choose, say, between English and French, the cortical circuits that keep the two languages are enabled. The prefrontal cortex then have to step in to choose the right word: man or homme? As noted cognitive scientist Ellen Bialystok of York University of Canada, the year that the prefrontal cortex is in bilingualism is transmitted to other functions and improves skills that increase IQ, as the solution of problems and the shift of attention. It seems that it comes to postpone dementia within five years.
Certain foods and spices - Although a healthy diet is associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and stroke, which affect brain health, there is no proof that certain vitamins or foods rich in antioxidants increase intelligence. But scientists hopes are in some exotic ingredients. For example, studies indicate that turmeric and pomegranate juice can improve memory and other aspects of cognitive function.
That's what we all want - know more, understand more deeply, giving greater creative leaps, save what we read, see invisible links in the eyes of others - and not just enjoy what we have between the ears. That is, in a nutshell: we want to be smarter. By improving our mental game, we would be able to see immediately when a marketer misleads us, understand important medical studies for what bothers us realize the importance of the euro crisis for our retirement fund and make better decisions at work, in love and in life.
So when we dive on the results of the latest research in neurobiology and cognitive science, a recent discovery stood out more than any other: IQ, which has long been thought to be unchangeable after early childhood, may actually increase. And not just one or two points. According to a groundbreaking study published last year in Nature, IQ can climb amazing 21 points in four years - or fall 18.
How to increase your Q.I.
The Q.I. higher not only serves to get into Mensa, the international association of 2% of the world population with IQ higher, and to brag about on dating sites on the internet. The Intelligence Quotient - measured with a set of tests that assess, among others, working memory, spatial ability and pattern recognition - represents a wide variety of cognitive skills: oral, analytical and other. Twenty points are "a huge difference," says Cathy Price, cognitive scientist at University College London, who led the research. "The individual who passes the Q.I. 110 for the Q.I. 130 is no longer median and becomes gifted. And if falling from 104 to 84, will go from average to below average! The study was done with people between 12 and 20 years, but given the recent findings on the ability of the brain has to change - the so-called neuroplasticity - up to 60 and 70 years, the scientist believes that the result fits all. "My guess is that the performance on IQ tests can also change significantly in adulthood, "she says. "The same degree of plasticity (found in young adults) may be present for life."
In this recent study, Cathy Price and colleagues have documented the changes as IQ correspond to structural changes in the brain. In 39% of participants whose Q.I. verbal changed significantly, imaging tests of the brain before and after showed a corresponding change in the density and volume of gray matter (number of neurons) in the left motor cortex region activated when naming, reading and speaking. In which 21% Q.I. nonverbal (troubleshooting not related to language, such as spatial reasoning) increased or decreased, so did the gray matter density in the anterior cerebellum, associated with hand movements. While most of us think that motor and cognitive skills have nothing to do with each other, several studies have found that refine sensorimotor ability can promote cognitive skills. No one knows exactly why, but maybe the two brain systems are more interconnected than you think. So learn to knit or listen to classical music and increase your IQ
The importance of short-term memory
Although it has long been considered that the short-term memory - Notepad brain, basically - is just one component of IQ Overall, recent research shows that, in fact, it can be the lever capable of raising intelligence as a whole. In one of the biggest surprises of the research on intelligence, the group of scientists led by Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl of the University of Michigan, found that short-term memory can be the foundation of intelligence in a higher degree than previously suspected. They trained adult volunteers a difficult task for the short-term memory: you had to listen to a series of letters and see at the same time a series of computer screens with a blue square in different places. And it was necessary to identify when the spoken letter or square position combined with several previous screens. The more exercised the short-term memory, more increased the purest form of brain power, fluid intelligence - the ability to reason and solve problems independently of existing knowledge so. (A test of reasoning part wore calls Progressive Matrices:. See three geometric configurations and choose which of the many options follow the default) In June, the Michigan team achieved the same result in schoolchildren and confirmed that the training memory improves performance on intelligence tests and thus may be the safest way to an IQ higher.
"There is controversy as to whether the brain training enhance cognition," says neuroscientist Eric Kandel of Columbia University, one of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2000 for discoveries about the molecular and cellular basis of memory. "But when you really exercise memory, memorizing poetry, for example - Shakespeare's sonnets serve - probably aspects of cognitive function better."
Neuroimaging studies give clues as to how the training of memory enhances the pure intelligence. During training of memory tests show that several regions of the brain (prefrontal cortex, lateral, inferior parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, and basal ganglia) are more active, indicating that these regions are involved in memory. Interestingly, these same regions also come into play when the brain thinks and reasons. "With cautious optimism, it seems that there are real effects on those memory training studies," says psychologist Jason Chein of Temple University. In his studies, he found that adults who trained a complex task of working memory for four weeks also felt significant improvements in reading comprehension.
Kandel states that the explanation of such gain is the "intensive training" - very different from easy solutions like eating blueberries or take pomegranate juice, they say. It turns out that the intelligence comes from having more synapses (connections between neurons). The creation of new neurons (neurogenesis) and synapses makes learning possible.
Pay attention, be smart
The other element that we can train the brain to raise the IQ is attention. Neuroscientists have shown several times that attention is the sine qua non condition of learning. Only those who pay attention to who is presented at a party remember the name of that person.
The effect on the improvement of care may explain why stimulant medications help some people to remember (and is hence the popularity of these drugs among students preparing for exams). Both stimulants increase brain levels of dopamine, neurochemical substance that produces the motivation and the feeling of reward and that makes it more likely that the job will attract our attention. Similarly, it has been shown that action games like Space Fortress, and games with a lot of strategy, as Rise of Nations, improve memory and the ability to pay attention.
Another way of achieving the same thing is passion, according to Cathy Price. Who does not care about what you read, see or listen does not save anything.
Increase brain power: the most important habits
Although improving brain requires work, the good thing is that there are affordable ways to achieve.
Aerobic Exercise - Walking 45 minutes a day three times a week stimulates the production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, its acronym in English), which feeds the creation of new neurons and synapses, which is behind the learning. Scientists led by Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois, and Kirk Erickson of the University of Pittsburgh showed that exercise increases the gray matter in the hippocampus region that processes new knowledge, especially the link between different information that form complex memories. This can not raise IQ, but it should make us more services by filling the cortex information.
Naps - In a 2010 study, psychology professor Matthew Walker and colleagues at the University of California found that a nap in the middle of the day not only restore as increases brain power. Students who took a 90 minute nap at two in the afternoon after a task that forced the hippocampus - learn the names of some 120 new faces, for example - associated more easily the name to the face after the nap and had a better performance those who do not napped.
"Who was agreed, there was deterioration of memory capacity, but the nap restored the ability to even higher level than before the nap," says Walker. (So congratulations to those Nike and Silicon Valley companies such as Google, offering rooms for employees naps.) The EEG to record brain activity show how it happened. The number of discharges of electrical activity called "sleep spindles" experienced during naps predicts as the ability to learn will improve when the person wakes up. Walker suspects that sleep spindles indicate the hippocampus of information transport activity for permanent storage in the cortex. It is how to transfer data from a USB drive to a hard disk, which "consolidates the long-term storage the downloaded information and leaves us with renewed capacity in the key (hippocampus) to absorb new information," says Walker. The better transfer hippocampal information (initial storage location) to the cortex (long-term storage location), we can access more information when we need.
Downtime - With functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists at Tohoku University in Japan measured the cerebral blood flow of 63 volunteers who asked them to keep the mind empty. Those who had increased blood flow in the white matter that connects the neurons among themselves scored higher on a task that required them to rapid generation of new ideas, as the researchers explained in the journal PLoS One. Creativity comes when we note that other links do not see, and so it makes sense that the increase in white matter activity with the rest of the brain promotes creativity. So put the phone aside and let the brain idle.
Caffeine - A good dose of coffee can make the sharpest mind, according to a 2011 study published in Nature Neuroscience that found that caffeine strengthens brain connections. Serena Dudek and colleagues at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, its acronym in English) found that rats given doses of caffeine comparable to two cups of coffee showed stronger electrical activity between neurons in the hippocampus called CA2 of those who have not received caffeine. The most intense connectivity means learning and better memory.
A second language - A strategy with more evidence is also the most difficult. When the brain fluent in two languages choose, say, between English and French, the cortical circuits that keep the two languages are enabled. The prefrontal cortex then have to step in to choose the right word: man or homme? As noted cognitive scientist Ellen Bialystok of York University of Canada, the year that the prefrontal cortex is in bilingualism is transmitted to other functions and improves skills that increase IQ, as the solution of problems and the shift of attention. It seems that it comes to postpone dementia within five years.
Certain foods and spices - Although a healthy diet is associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and stroke, which affect brain health, there is no proof that certain vitamins or foods rich in antioxidants increase intelligence. But scientists hopes are in some exotic ingredients. For example, studies indicate that turmeric and pomegranate juice can improve memory and other aspects of cognitive function.
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