Description

While most of us have heard the phrase “use it or lose it,” very few understand what “it” means, or how to properly “use it” in order to maintain brain function and fitness. The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness is an invaluable guide that helps readers navigate growing brain research and identify the lifestyle factors and products that contribute to brain fitness. By gathering insights from eighteen of the world’s top scientists and offering tools and detailed descriptions of over twenty products, this book is an essential guide to the field of brain fitness, neuroplasticity and cognitive health. An accessible and thought-provoking read, The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness educates lifelong learners and professionals in healthcare, education, business, etc., on emerging trends and forecasts of what the future will hold.

Products Reviewed (we reviewed scientific studies published before January 2009, when the manuscript text was closed):

- Overall brain maintenance: Brain Age series (Nintendo), BrainWare Safari (Learning Enhancement Corporation), FitBrains.com (Vivity Labs), Happy-Neuron.com (Scientific Brain Training), Lumosity.com (Lumos Labs), MindFit (CogniFit), (m)Power (Dakim)

- Targeted brain workout: Classic and InSight (Posit Science), Working Memory Training JM and RM (Cogmed), DriveFit (CogniFit), Earobics (Houghton Mifflin), Fast ForWord (Scientific Learning), IntelliGym (Applied Cognitive Engineering), Vision Restpration Therapy (NovaVision)

- Emotional self-regulation: emWave PC and Personal Stress Reliever (HeartMath), Journey to the Wild Divine (Wild Divine), RESPeRATE (InterCure), StressEraser (Helicor)

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Alvaro Fernandez is co-founder and CEO of SharpBrains, a leading market research firm covering applications of neuroscience and cognitive science in education and healthcare. He received masters in education and business from Stanford University, and teaches at UC-Berkeley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. A member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils, he is often quoted by the media including recently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN.

Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg is internationally renowned for his clinical work, research, and teaching in neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of SharpBrains, he is also a Clinical Professor of neurology at New York University School of Medicine and Diplomat of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology. He is the author of The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and The Civilized Mind and The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger as Your Brain Grows Older.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Gloria Cavanaugh
Introduction: Debunking 10 Brain and Brain Fitness Myths
Chapter 1. The Brain and Brain Fitness 101
1.1. Brain structures
1.2. Brain functions
1.3. The aging brain
1.4. Neuroplasticity
1.5. Lifelong learning
1.6. What is brain fitness?
1.7. Interviews
• Dr. Mike Posner: What is attention and how to train it.
• Dr. James Zull: What is lifelong learning?.
• Dr. Eric Jensen: Learning and the brain.
• Dr. Robert Sylwester: Cognition and Brain development.
• Lee Woodruff: Recovering from traumatic brain injury.

Chapter 2. The 4 Pillars of Brain Maintenance
2.1. Why your lifestyle matters
2.2. Pillar 1: Nutrition guidelines
2.3. Pillar 2: Stress management
2.4. Pillar 3: Physical exercise
2.5. Pillar 4: Mental stimulation
2.6. Brain maintenance: Alzheimer’s prevention or cognitive enhancement?
2.7. Brain maintenance: summary and guidelines
2.8. Interviews
• Dr. Yaakov Stern: The connection between building a cognitive
reserve and delaying Alzheimer’s symptoms.
• Dr. Larry McCleary: A multi-pronged approach to brain health.
• Dr. Art Kramer: Why we need both physical and mental exercise.
• Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski: Healthy aging enhanced with computer-based programs.

Chapter 3. Mental Exercise vs