Six ways to boost your brainpower

[shoshin]

For those of us who need all the help we can get with our brainpower these days, check out this article at

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=six-ways-to-boost-brainpower

The main points are

1. Exercise (even 20 minutes of walking per day can have an effect)

2. Diet (lots of fruits and veggies and the right fats, particularly omega-3 fats from fish, nuts, and seeds, but not saturated fats; they note that the brain is mostly fat)

3. Stimulants (caffeine and some that have more downsides than upsides like cocaine; these rev up the CNS and boost arousal and alertness)

4. Video games

5. Music

6. Meditation

[shoshin]

Yes, I think brain plasticity is fascinating (and hopeful). I think the exercises the PT gave me to try to retrain my brain have been very helpful, although, of course, I can't prove anything.

I do have weird little cognitive things, too, like typing a word that's totally unrelated to what I've intended. I'm also horrible at proofreading anymore. And then I start worrying not only about the things I catch, but what I might be missing.

There was another article on that site called "How to Save New Brain Cells" at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=saving-new-brain-cells. This seems to be just talking about the hippocampus and memory, but they do say that apparently only certain kinds of effortful learning prevent the new neurons from just dying off. So I guess we just have to keep challenging ourselves.

sho

[shoshin]

That's an interesting question. I didn't know the brain is made of saturated fat (well, I guess I never thought about it that way). Anyway, I don't know the answer to your question and was only quoting the article, which said

"Rats fed diets high in saturated fat underperformed on tests of learning and memory, and humans who live on such diets seem to be at increased risk for dementia.

"Not all fat is bad news, however. The brain is mostly fat—all those cell membranes and myelin coverings require fatty acids—so it is important to eat certain fats, particularly omega-3 fats, which are found in fish, nuts and seeds. Alzheimer’s disease, depression, schizophrenia and other disorders may be associated with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids."

They don't really say why, though. I found a couple 2007 reviews on pubmed that seem to back this idea up, but it hardly seems proven.

IANA task force on nutrition and cognitive decline with aging.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17435956

"Results of epidemiological studies may sometimes appeared conflicting; however, certain associations are frequently found. High intake of saturated and trans-unsaturated (hydrogenated) fats were positively associated with increased risk of AD [Alzheimer's disease], whereas intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats were protective against cognitive decline in the elderly in prospective studies. Fish consumption has been associated with lower risk of AD in longitudinal cohort studies."

Dietary influences on cognitive function with aging: from high-fat diets to healthful eating.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17986600

"Diets high in fat, especially trans and saturated fats, adversely affect cognition, while those high in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and fish are associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of dementia. While the precise physiologic mechanisms underlying these dietary influences are not completely understood, modulation of brain insulin activity and neuroinflammation likely contribute."

This last seems to say they don't know the mechanisms by which diet affects the brain so maybe nobody knows.

sho

[doublevision1]

Good info in that article.  Brain plasticity is amazing.  When I saw my neuro a couple of weeks ago, I told him I was having some minor cognitive things like mixing up words in conversation; thinking one word but typing another completely different word; completely losing my train of thought during a discussion; etc.  He acknowledged could be due to brain changes related to my condition; could be side effect of meds; could be stress-related; or all of the above.  He said that the best approach is to keep doing the stuff that is challenging, as doing so may help to rewire the brain to compensate for loss of function.  He also explained this is probably a large part of why I have recovered normal vision, after over a year of severe double vision.  He said there was probably a small degree of remyelination of the cranial nerves that were affected, but most of the recovery was more likely due to brain plasticity.   Pretty neat.

[Eyesnlegs]

Interesting - I am always curious about these reports especially when current practise seems to be to report to the media about findings from only one study often with no controls or taking into account any counter -studies.

I also want to pose a question to all to think about - The brain is mostly fat but that fat is saturated so why do we need to eat Omega 3 fats which are polyunsaturated?  I've been curious for a while about this but not found an answer.

Thanks for the link though - its a great thought provoker this one.

Pat
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