Mapping the brain - MIT News Office

Brain mapping and large scale brain networks, IMHO, are a fundamental new key to understanding cognitive functioning and neuro technologies

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/brain-mapping.html

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Educational Psychologist

Smart People Really Do Think Faster : NPR

Conceptually this is consistent with Jenson's neural efficiency hypothesis and Rammsayer's temporal resolution hypothesis.

http://www.npr.org/tablet/#story/?storyId=102169531

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Educational Psychologist

Article: Technology for psychologists

Technology for psychologists
http://sylvainroy.blogspot.com/

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Ten Brain Science Studies from 2011 Worth Talking About - Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2011/12/27/ten-brain-science-studies-from-2011-worth-talking-about/

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Educational Psychologist

Exploring the Musical Brain at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network

Research on music and the brain is hot.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/11/15/exploring-the-musical-brain-at-the-society-for-neuroscience-annual-meeting/

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Article: Neuroscience Applied to Learning, Mental Health, Healthy Aging

Neuroscience Applied to Learning, Mental Health, Healthy Aging
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2011/12/28/news-neuroscience-applied-to-learning-mental-health-healthy-aging/

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Educational Psychologist

Interactive Metronome and meditation both quiet the wandering mind?

Is there similarity between the controlled attentional focus required by the Interactive Metronome (IM) neurotechnology training and that attained by experienced meditators?  Emerging scientific evidence suggests the answer is "yes."  

In a prior post I suggested that the requirement to quiet my unquiet or busy mind, via controlled focus on the IM auditory feedback cow bell tone, might be similar to the sense of being "in immediate awareness" as described by those who meditate.  Furthermore, I hypothesized that both IM and meditation training might be training the mind to silence the ever-present random self-talk of the default brain network.  By silencing this network, it becomes possible to attain singular focus on a stimulus or immediate experience.  The constant wandering of our minds, which can be focused on both positive and negative thoughts and ideas, can be trained to disappear by invoking certain executive functions (our personal brain manager) and high levels of attentional control.   The video of an experienced meditator (see link above) watching identical visual images in both non-meditative and meditative states provides clear evidence that the networks of the brain function differently during these two different states.  

In this context, I was excited to read an article in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Science consistent with my hypotheses and experience.   In Brewer et al.'s Dec 13, 2011 PNAS article "Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity", the author’s state:  

Many philosophical and contemplative traditions teach that 'living in the moment' increases happiness. However, the default mode of humans appears to be that of mind-wandering...and with activation in a network of brain areas associated with self-referential processing. We investigated brain activity in experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls as they performed several different meditations (Concen-tration, Loving-Kindness, Choiceless Awareness). We found that the main nodes of the default-mode network (medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices) were relatively deactivated in experienced meditators across all meditation types...Our findings demonstrate differences in the default-mode network that are consistent with decreased mind-wandering. As such, these provide a unique understanding of possible neural mechanisms of meditation.  

These authors suggest that we spend approximately 50% of our time in the mind-wandering default mode! I believe that individuals differ in their amount of spontaneous mind wandering.  For those who want to read the original article, I have provided access to an annotated version via IQs Reading feature.        

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Article: On line sports concussion library

On line sports concussion library
http://braininjury.blogs.com/braininjury/2011/12/on-line-sports-concussion-library.html

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Good ADHD overview video

Brain Science

(@TheBrainScience)

Posted at 9:37 AM December 30, 2011

 on Twitter

"ADHD: Your Brain On Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (VIDEO) http://t.co/HYCevNv5"

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Article: How Realistic is fMRI?

How Realistic is fMRI?
http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-realistic-is-fmri.html

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Awesome brain images from Human Connectome Project

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Can brain science enhance living@AlvaroF, 12/29/11 11:50 AM

Alvaro Fernandez (@AlvaroF) 12/29/11 11:50 AM Update: Can Brain Science Enhance Living?: Spon­sored Ad (How to Adver­tise on SharpBrains.com) Time for our... bit.ly/vWtd2m

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Brain cells and self regulation @TheNeuroScience, 12/29/11 12:27 PM

Neuro Science (@TheNeuroScience) 12/29/11 12:27 PM Brain's connective cells are much more than glue; they also regulate learning ... sns.mx/qri8y2

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All in the mind@TheBrainScience, 12/28/11 4:34 PM

Brain Science (@TheBrainScience) 12/28/11 4:34 PM All in the mind sns.mx/Yufoy1

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The most awesome quantoid XMAS gift ever - for the geeks (me)

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Fifth Graders Make Significantly Greater Gains than a Comparison Group Across Multiple Subjects Afte

VIDEO: After using Fast ForWord for 30 minutes a day, students made significantly greater improvements on a state-aligned computerized adaptive test than students who did not use Fast ForWord.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheScienceOfLearningBlog/~3/hBGiCcwsRwo/fifth-graders-make-gains-across-multiple-subjects.php

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Dueling old and young brains@brainfitness, 12/27/11 4:44 PM

Brain Fitness (@brainfitness) 12/27/11 4:44 PM Aging Brains Match Youth in Some Mental Tasks: bit.ly/vmFWX5

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LinkDots mind game app@TheBrainScience, 12/26/11 4:36 PM

Brain Science (@TheBrainScience) 12/26/11 4:36 PM A New app Called LinkDots hits the App Stores Worldwide -- A "Mentally Tough ... sns.mx/YSfny0

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Some evidence for real multi-tasking@ELSneuroscience, 12/26/11 9:05 AM

Elsevier Neuro (@ELSneuroscience) 12/26/11 9:05 AM A cognitive neurophysiology specialist shows evidence that we can focus on more than one thing at a time. ow.ly/88Ssn

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The Four Regions of the Thinking Brain Made Simple - Part Two | Building Personal Strength

http://www.buildingpersonalstrength.com/2011/07/four-regions-of-thinking-brain-made_11.html

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Brain Clock "Times" now more comprehensive

New and more comprehensice version now available. See subscription box on right blog sidebar





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Smart Guide to 2012: Mapping the human brain - health - 23 December 2011 - New Scientist

The human connectome project. This is important and is related to recent posts made at this blog regarding large scale brain networks.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228444.700-smart-guide-to-2012-mapping-the-human-brain.html

http://www.brainclock.net/2011/12/brain-as-set-of-networks-fine-tunning.html

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Educational Psychologist

Brain training fMRI study

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20111218/NEWS01/112180326/Students-brain-power-will-light-up-MRIs-cognitive-training-study?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

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Study demonstrates crucial advances in ‘brain reading’

I saw this article when reading leading brains on the Paper.li Mobile Edition and thought you might be interested:

Study demonstrates crucial advances in 'brain reading'

At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology, researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity. They then employ comp...
Read the full article on therapytoronto.ca

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Internet Changes How We Remember: Scientific American

I saw this article when reading The NeuronClub Daily on the Paper.li Mobile Edition and thought you might be interested:

Internet Changes How We Remember: Scientific American

Head Lines | Mind & Brain See Inside Knowing we can retrieve facts online later alters memory By Anne Casselman  | December 24, 2011 Image: Mike Kemp/Corbis Four years ago Columbia University psych...
Read the full article on scientificamerican.com

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Educational Psychologist

Brain Fitness training checklist@AlvaroF, 12/23/11 11:44 AM

Alvaro Fernandez (@AlvaroF) 12/23/11 11:44 AM Checklist to Evaluate Brain Training and Brain Health Claims: To assist those looking for ideas, products and se... bit.ly/tGBEVw

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Video games won't make you smarter@TheBrainScience, 12/23/11 4:29 AM

Brain Science (@TheBrainScience) 12/23/11 4:29 AM Researchers: video games won't make you smarter sns.mx/Ytfly0

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PEBS Neuroethics Roundup (JHU)

http://kolber.typepad.com/ethics_law_blog/2011/12/pebs-neuroethics-roundup-jhu-3.html

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Quieting the unquiet wandering mind

My recent post regarding large scale brain networks and how neurotechnology and mediation may facilitate the silencing of the default brain network, to allow better on-demand controlled focus, has been reposted at the IM-HOME blog.

Unborn brain growing connections@Neuroscience_WB, 12/20/11 3:45 AM

Neuroscience (@Neuroscience_WB) 12/20/11 3:45 AM An unborn brain flowering connections goo.gl/EKr7Y [research] #neuroscience

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