BPR3 - Blogging about Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting

I just stumbled across BPR3 (Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting). GREAT idea. As readers of my blog know, the majority of my posts deal with comments about published journal articles.

Count me in. I'm going to try to get into the habit of using the BPR3 icon in such posts...hopefully their system will do what it says it will.

Kudos to the BPR3 concept.

Mental timing and dyslexia - another study

Another article (Jamkowski & Rusiak, 2008; Psychological Research journal) investigating the role of temporal processing in reading and reading disabilities (click here for prior related posts). The literature review (intro) is worth a read just to get a quick overview of the potential role of temporal processing in a number of clinical disorders and human cognitive functioning.



Abstract (italics added by the Time Doc blog dictator)

• Hari et al. (Brain 174:1373–1380, 2001) demonstrated that dyslexics showed a sluggish attention capture in both visual hemiWelds. Additionally, they indicated a left–right asymmetry in the perception of temporal order of two visual stimuli (they performed worse than controls only if the stimulus in the left hemiWeld preceded that in right hemiWeld). They suggested that a left-sided minineglect is associated with dyslexia. We hypothesized that if a kind of neglect syndrome is responsible for the asymmetry they found, dyslexics should not only show a left–right asymmetry in temporal order judgment of two laterally presented stimuli but also perform equally well as controls when the stimuli are vertically aligned. Our results indicated that in both tasks dyslexics performed generally worse than normal readers. The results suggest that dyslexics suffer from a more general problem of order discrimination.

Technorati Tags: psychology, education, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, temporal processing, brain clock, reading, dyslexia, learning disabiilities, reading disability, intelligence, IQ, brain clock, mental time keeping

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IQ's Corner random tidbits from mind blogosphere 12-21-07

Check out my semi-consistent "random tidbits from the mind blogosphere" over at my sister blog...IQ's Corner.

The important brain clock strikes again: RAS training and Parkinsons

I recently made a post about the impact or RAS (Rhtymic Auditory Stimulaltion) on improved gait (check out this link for a great animation of walking gait) performance in patients with CP. Someone just sent me a link to a boat-load of similar article abstracts, most dealing with the positive benefits of RAS with individuals with Parkinson's disease. The references and abstracts can be found by clicking here.

As I've blogged before, there is a considerable body of evidence linking temporal processing (mediated by the internal brain clock) and Parkinson's disease. RAS is clearly dealing with underlying temporal processing/brain clock mechanisms.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, rehabilitation, neuropsychology, neuroscience, RAS, rhythmicity, rhythm, gait, Parkinsons, brain clock, mental time keeping, temporal processing

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Improved brain clock improves student performance: Media coverage

Today's edition of the Daytona Beach News-Journal includes an interesting report on a private schools use of a synchronized metronome tapping (SMT) intervention (viz., Interactive Metronome) with elementary school-age children. The article speaks for itself, with the staff reporting positive improvement in behavior and academics for students using the IM method.

As you will notice, myself, and my friend/colleague (Dr. Gordon Taub) were interviewed for the article. We were interviewed as the reporter read our recent journal publication in Psychology in the Schools, an article that reported positive reading improvement after the IM intervention.

This is one of my handful of experiences in being interviewed by a reporter. After spending at least one hour on the phone with the reporter, and sharing all kinds of information, it is interesting to see what comments I (we) made the survived the final cut. I'm pleased that the information attributed to Dr. Taub and I was accurate.

Be sure to watch the video that accompanies the article...it will give you a good feel for the basics of the IM (SMT-based) intervention.

As I've reported before, my involvement in the IM study with Dr. Taub was the impetus for my recent interest in temporal processing, mental/interval time-keeping, and the concept of an internal brain clock. It is why I started the IQ Brain Clock blog.

[See conflict of interest disclosure statement re: my role as a Scientific Advisor to IM]

Just in case this on-line article is ever pulled from the net, I've made a pdf copy available for viewing.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain clock, Interactive Metronome, mental time keeping, temporal processing

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Can brain games prevent Alzheimer's?

The GNIF Brain Blogger has made an interesting pro/con post on the potential benefits of the brain fitness "brain game" (neurotechnology) market.

If readers want more information, I recommending visiting what I think is the best web resource on the whole brain game/fitness market/research. Check out one of my favorite blogs at Sharp Brains.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, school psychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain fitness, brain games, Alzheimers, aging

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More on basal ganglia

The basal ganglia have been implicated to play a major role in the internal (temporal processing) brain clock. The Mouse Trap just had a nice post that explains more about the bg.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, basal ganglia

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Brain Blogging blog carnival # 23

Brain Blogging blog carnival #23 is up.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain carnival, brain blogging

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Brain clock misc.--nice overview of select concepts

• Temporal processing
• Frontal-striatal circuits
• Scalar Timing Theory
• Internal Pacemaker.
• Interval timing and Parkinson's Disease
• Dopamine

What do these terms have in common? They have all been mentioned, at one time or another, in my blog posts and brain clock related presentations for being involved and/or related to the idea of a central temporal processing internal brain clock (check out term index for this blog for these terms and links to prior posts). Also, they are all mentioned in a very nice literature review in an article dealing with mental timing and Parkinson's Disease. Although the guts of the article was not that important to my current activities, I found the introduction to this article to be a very nice overview of some of the central constructs/concepts in the brain clock literature. Readers might want to check out this article for the same reason. Those with a specific interest in Parkinson's and temporal processing may find the entire article of great interest. The article is by Smith et al. (2007) and was in a recent issue of Brain and Cognition.

Technorati Tags: psychololgy, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, Parkinsons, brain clock, dopamine, scalar timing theory, pacemaker model, temporal processing, temporal g

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Controlled attention, working memory and brain clock

Central to my thinking regarding the temporal brain clock is the notion of working memory. A number of models of working memory have been proposed, with the first and most prominent being the working memory (WM) model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974).

Myself....I've been very interested in the controlled executive attention (CEA) model of WM of Engle, Kane, and Conway. For readers who have kept up with this blog, and/or those who have heard me present on the IQ Brain Clock (see on-line viewable PPT slide section of this blog page), it is clear that I believe that there is a strong link between the brain clock's temporal processor and the construct of working memory....esp. the shared link in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the central role that CEA plays in the brain clock, working memory, and temporal processing based timing interventions.

Today I skimmed a very nice and concise explanation/definition of the CEA model of WM. The following was in the introduction of an article by Colflesh and Conway (2007) Psychonomic Bulletin and Review:

• According to the CEA model of WM "there is a domain-general component of WM responsible for guiding attention as well as domain-specific components responsible for maintenance of task-relevant information. Individuals who score high on tests of working memory capacity (WMC) therefore may do so because of greater controlled attention and/or because of better use of domain-specific skills and strategies to aid maintenance. Engle and colleagues have argued that the domain-general controlled attention ability is related to both higher-level cognition, such as fluid intelligence, reading comprehension, and problem solving, and lower level cognition, such as performance of simple visual and auditory attention tasks that require cognitive control."

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, mental timing, interval timing, brain clock, temporal processing, Gsm, working memory, attention, executive function

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Mental timing and dyslexia

Yet another research study suggestive of a link between mental/temporal timing/processing and dyslexia. This time fMRI evidence that suggests changes in brain function due to a timing-based letter-sound program. Check it out. Click here for other dyslexia related posts at this blog and here for posts at my sister blog---IQ's Corner.


Technorati Tags: psychology, education, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain clock, mental timing, fMRI, temporal processing, dyslexia, reading, learning disabilitiies

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XMAS shopping - Serotonin t-shirts

Thanks to Mind Hacks for the tip re: the YAY Serotonin t-shirts that are now available for purchase. Just in time for my holiday shopping

Technorati Tags: psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, neuropsychology, serotonin, depression, gifts, t-shirt

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More on brain training for the eldery

Sharp Brains has a more detailed post regarding the topic I blogged about yesterday....new research demonstrating positive effects for brain training in the elderly. Check out SB's post....I consider SB to be the "Ralph Nader" or "Consumer Reports" regarding the growing brain fitness industry.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, education, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, Sharp Brains, brain fitness, elderly, aging, intelligence, cognition

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Brain training for elderly - one hour a day?

NPR has a report of a recent study that suggests that one hour a day of intensive brain exercise can improve thinking and memory. Thus study used the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program. The sample size looks to be quite decent (n=400). Caveat...the study was funded by the developers of Posit Science. That aside, I'd like to review the empirical research report when it is published.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain fitness, Posit Science, Ga, auditory processing

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The brain clock temporal resolution (g) power hypothesis--more evidence

[Double click on image to enlarge]

My first post to the IQ Brain Clock was re: an article published in the journal Intelligence that suggested the human brain may have an underlying domain-general brain clock. I was very excited about the possibility of a "temporal g" (general intelligence) brain mechanism, a mechanism that may explain a diverse array of research findings regarding the importance of temporal processing and human performance in many domains. This first article (by Rammsayer and Brandler, 2007), in large part, was the impetus for me starting this humble specialized blog.

I am excited to report that Rammsayer and colleagues have followed up this original study with one based on a larger sample (including the sample in the 2007 publication). The new, and IMHO very important, article is:

• Helmbold, N., Troche, S. & Rammsayer, T. (2007). Processing of temporal and nontemporal information as predictors of psychometric intelligence: A structural-equation-modeling approach. Journal of Personality, 75 (5), 985-1006. (click here to view)
  

Abstract

• Recent research suggests a functional link between temporal acuity and general intelligence. To better understand this relation, the present study took advantage of a large sample (N5260) and structural equation modelling to examine relations among temporal acuity, measured by various tasks, speed of information processing as measured by the Hick reaction time task, and psychometric intelligence. Temporal acuity and the Hick task showed common variance in predicting psychometric intelligence. Furthermore, timing performance was a better predictor of psychometric intelligence and mediated the relation between Hick task performance and psychometric intelligence. These findings are consistent with the idea that temporal acuity reflects a basic property of neural functioning that is relevant to intelligence-related aspects of mental activity including speed of information processing.

A few comments (some exact quotes..others paraphrased and edited) from the article (with emphasis by the blogmaster):

• There is a large literature demonstraing a relation between higher mental ability and faster speed and of efficiency of processing on simple sensory, memory,and decision tasks. The most frequently used elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) in this field include inspection time, simple and choice reaction time following the rationale of Hick (1952).

• Current explanations for the observed relationship between psychometric intelligence and measures obtained from ECT's usually refer to the concept of "neural efficiency" as being responsible for faster and less error-prone information processing in individuals with high mental abilities.

• The authors base their research on the Temporal Resolution Power Hypothesis (TRPH) which, in essence, is based on the idea that temporal accuracy as assessed by psychophysical timing tasks--in analogy to on ECT's---might reflect basic processes related to neural efficiency. A theoretical context for this notion is affored by the master clock hypothesis....where the oscillation rate of a general clock mechanism in the human central nervous system (CNS) is responsible for the coordination of a wide range of mental activities. According to this view a high temporal resolution power or a high oscillation rate of a general timing mechanism should influence information processing by leading to shorter task completion times and less interference from distracting sources of information.
  

• According to the TRPH...finer temporal resolution would be associated with better abilities in both speeded and unspeeded mental ability tests....this, in turn, is a fundamental contributor to psychometric intelligence.

• These results from this new study are consistent with the idea that temporal acuity is the more important variable in relation to psychometric intelligence and indeed appears to be sufficient to account for the well-replicated effects linking speed of information processing to the general Intelligence-related abilities of the individual.

• The results presented provide a strong case for the idea that temporal abilities, relative to mere mental speed, are a more important predictor of performance on general intelligence tests

A few final comments. First, the importance of these findings, IMHO, can't be overstated. The reaction time g research is based on a massive literature base and is the dominant theoretical explanation of a possible neural basis for general intelligence (g). The fact that two studies now suggest the temporal g may be more explanatory than reaction time g is a huge deal! Conversely, the presence of only two research studies argues for caution in making too much of these findings. However, as I've written elsewhere, there is a large body of research across disciplines that continues to point to the importance of temporal processing and the possibility of an internal brain clock. Check out the IQ Brain Clock EWOK for a sample of this body of literature.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, intelligence, general intelligence, g, reaction time, temporal processing, brain clock, pacemaker-accumulator model

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Rhythm training may improve gait in cerebral palsy

Another article suggesting a link between interventions that improve mental timing (the brain clock) and rhythmicity (check out "rhythm perception and production" branch at IQ Brain Clock temporal processing EWOK) and important human outcomes---this time, improved gait performance in children with spastic CP. Although different, the essence of the RAS (Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation) training seems to overlap with the essence of syncrhonized metronome tapping (which I have written about, primary in the context of the Interactive Metronome product).

Kwak, E. (2007). Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Gait Performance in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Journal of Music Therapy, XLIV (3), 2007,198-216.

Abstract

• The purpose of this study was to use Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) for children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) in a clinical setting in order to determine its effectiveness in gait training for ambulation. RAS has been shown to improve gait performance in patients with significant gait deficits. All 25 participants (6 to 20 years old) had spastic CP and were ambulatory, but needed to stabilize and gain more coordinated movement. Participants were placed in three groups: the control group, the therapist-guided training (TGT) group, and the self-guided training (SGT) group. The TGT group showed a statistically significant difference in stride length, velocity, and symmetry. The analysis of the results in SGT group suggests that the self-guided training might not be as effective as therapist-guided depending on motivation level. The results of this study support three conclusions: (a) RAS does influence gait performance of people with CP; (b) individual characteristics, such as cognitive functioning, support of parents, and physical ability play an important role in designing a training application, the effectiveness of RAS, and expected benefits from the training; and (c) velocity and stride length can be improved by enhancing balance, trajectory, and kinematic stability without increasing cadence.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, Interactive Metronome, brain clock, mental timing, rhtyhmicity, auditory, Ga, cerebral palsy

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The brain clock in children: How early?

Again, more from my reading of Meck's edited text on the brain clock and interval timing. This time from Sylvie Droit-Volet's chapter on "Temporal experience and timing in children." Dr. Droit-Volet has published extensively on the developmental aspects of the brain clock in children. [I've got at least a half dozen of her articles in my "to read" folder....I just don't have enough time]

Below are some select quotes/conclusions. The bottom line (from my reading) is that the human temporal processing unit (aka. the brain block) is present in young children and research suggests it functions, in most respects, similar to the adult brain clock. One similarity is that auditory information appears to be processed more efficiently by the human brain clock. Also, attention is a critical ability in temporal processing. Below are some tidbits from the chapter (emphasis added by the Time Doc blogmaster).

• These findings suggest that the clock-based system underlying time perception in animals and human adults is functional at an early age.
  

• Our study was then a clear demonstration that the pacemaker-accumulator system is functional at an early age
  

• There is ample evidence that auditory stimuli are judged longer than equivalent visual stimuli, and visual stimuli shorter than auditory ones....Thus, for the same the same objective duration, more pulses are accumulated for auditory signals than for visual signals, and the subjective time seems longer.
  

• However, it has been argued that differences in pacemaker speed are not the main source of variability in a timing system...In fact, according to scalar timing theory, the main source of variance is in the memory-encoding process.

• The greater sensitivity to duration for auditory than for visual stimuli in younger children suggests a sort of primacy of audition over vision in the processing off temporal information. This is an old idea, already put forward by studies in infants perception of temporal characteristics of speech sound and rhythms.
  

• The most critical process in children's abilities to time events is probably the encoding of duration.

• Difficulties in the encoding of duration can also account for the high variability in the memory representation of the standard duration in young children. Indeed, the memory representation is the result of how it has been encoded. Among the cognitive processes involved in the encoding of duration, we have specifically investigated the of attention. 202

• Psychologists agree that the amount of attentional resources increases with age durring early development.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, developmental, intelligence, cognition, brain clock, pacemaker accumulator, scalar timing theory, children, auditory, visual, Ga, Gv, memory encoding

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Stopping age-related cognitive decline

Thanks to Mind Hacks for the post "Tuning the ageing brain".


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, developmental, ageing, brain fitness

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Top 50 brain teasers from Sharp Brains

The Sharp Brains blog, for which I provide automatic topic feeds (to this blog--check out right hand side of this blog page), has another specific post worth mentioning.

Check out their Top 50 Brain Teasers and Games for Adults (with a neuroscience angle).

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, intelligence, cognition, brain teasers, Sharp Brains, brain fitness

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Time Doc Byte # 4 - Brain clock and attention

Bingo! As I've hypothesized in my ramblings and recent presentations, attention (more specifically, what I believe to be executive controlled attention) is viewed as crucial to an efficient internal brain clock.

Again, quoting from from Meck (2003); Introduction to edited book - Functional and Neural Mechanisms of Interval Timing). [Underline or italic emphasis added by blogmaster.]

• A number of researchers have presented psychophysical data suggesting that duration judgments depend on the amount of attentional resources allocated to a temporal processor or internal clock.

• These data provide strong and convincing evidence for the role of attentional time-sharing in interval timing.
  

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, interval timing, brain clock, attention, executive function, executive attention, mental time keeping, temporal processing

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Time Doc Byte # 3 - Brain clock importance and clinical groups

Here is my third Time Doc Byte. Categories - "importance" of the human brain clock and mental time-keeping; relevance to clinical groups/populations

This time the quotes come from a chapter from Meck (2003); Introduction to edited book - Functional and Neural Mechanisms of Interval Timing - yep, I've got the book and am hoping I can get through the technical and deep material - the book is listed as a "recommended book" on the right side of this blog).

Underline or italic emphasis added by blogmaster.

• The term interval timing is used to describe the temporal discrimination processes involved in the estimation and reproduction of relatively short during the seconds-to-minutes range that form the fabric of our everyday existence and unite our mental representations of actions and rhythmical structures.

• Human learning and memory is highly sensitive to temporal factors, and oscillator-based models have been proposed for the coding of serial order in memory...In addition, deficits in learning, memory, set shifting, and interval timing have been observed in a variety of patient populations with damage to the basal ganglia, including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease patients, as well as other cortical and subcortical brain structures affected by Alzheimer's disease, injury, and stroke.

• ...understanding temporal integration by the brain will be among the premier topics to unite systems, cellular, computational, and cognitive neuroscience over the next decade.

• It is interesting to note that some researchers have argued that a primary function of the internal clock is to allow for the efficient transfer of information from one stage of information processing to another at regularly spaced intervals.
  

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, interval timing, brain clock, mental time keeping, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, Alzheimers, stroke, brain injury, temporal processing, Time Doc Byte

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Metronome training improves reading achievement

I previously blogged (a self-serving plug) about an "in press" research article that demonstrated that a mental-timing based intervention (Interactive Metronome; IM) improved reading achievement in elementary school children. The research summarized in this article suggests that a brain-based intervention may improve the resolution of a school child's internal brain clock and, in turn, produce positive reading achievement outcomes. [Check out my prior post for a necessary conflict of interest disclosure.] Also...click here for additional IM-related posts (@ the IQ Brain Clock) and mental time-keeping posts at my sister blog (IQ's Corner).

Below is the reference citation (with link to pdf copy of the article) and abstract.

This is exciting stuff. If the reader wants additional information regarding possible reasons for the success of this intervention, check out the Time Doc's recent IM Keynote PowerPoint presentation.

In addition, I've added this article to the "key research articles" section of this blog.

• Taub, G., McGrew, K. & Keith, T. (2007). Improvements in interval time tracking and effects on reading achievement, Psychology in the Schools, 44 (8), 849-863. (click here to view)

• This study examined the effect of improvements in timing/rhythmicity on students’ reading achievement. 86 participants completed pre- and post-test measures of reading achievement (i.e., Woodcock-Johnson III, Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Test of Word Reading Efficiency, and Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency). Students in the experimental group completed a 4-week intervention designed to improve their timing/rhythmicity by reducing the latency in their response to a synchronized metronome beat, referred to as a synchronized metronome tapping (SMT) intervention. The results from this non-academic intervention indicate the experimental group’s post-test scores on select measures of reading were significantly higher than the non-treatment control group’s scores at the end of 4 weeks. This paper provides a brief overview of domain-general cognitive abilities believed effected by SMT interventions and provides a preliminary hypothesis to explain how this non-academic intervention can demonstrate a statistically significant effect on students’ reading achievement scores.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, education, neuropsychology, IQ, intelligence, reading, reading achievement, dyslexia, mental time keeping, brain clock, temporal processing, Interactive Metronome

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Encaphalon # 33 brain carnival

Encephalon #33 has been posted.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, cognition, brain, Encephalon, brain carnival

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Brain radiator

Thanks to the ever great Mind Hacks for the post re: the "brain radiator" technology concept.


Technorati Tags: psychology, neuropsychology, educational psychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology

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Time Doc 2007 Brain Clock keynote slideshow posted

My 2007 Interactive Metronome "Brain Clock" keynote presentation (brief version) is now available on-line. Check "on-line PPT" link section of this blog (right hand side of blog page). Click the link and enjoy the show.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, mental time keeping, interval timing, brain clock, IQ Brain Clock, sychronized metronome tapping, Interactive Metronome, intelligence

Geekipedia @ Wired Magazine

[Double click on image to enlarge]

I'm just returning from a trip to Calgary, Canada. Prior to jumping on the plane I picked up a copy of Wired Magazine. I found a very cool extractable insert called Geekipedia. I must be a "geek" as I enjoyed reading the alphabetically listed definitions and explanations of important people, places, ideas and trends, primarily related to the internet and technology. I'm going to add this to my RSS feeds to keep up on new additions.

I particularly liked the visual-graphic for "neurologism"


Technorati Tags: technology, psychology, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, brain fitness, Geekipedia, Wired, Wired magazine, brain

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Brain augmentation technology

Thanks to the Frontal Cortex for the FYI post regarding comments (at the MIT Tech Review site) by neuroscientist Ed Boyden addressing issues surrounding the use of technology to augment human abilities.


Technorati Tags: psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain augmentation, MIT

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Brain Blogging carnival #18 available

The 18th edition of the Brain Blogging brain carnival is now available.

Time Doc Byte #2: Importance of the brain clock

Here is my second Time Doc Byte. Category - "importance" of the human brain clock and mental time-keeping. This time quotes from Lewis and Walsh (2005; see "Components of the brain's clock" in the Key Research Articles section.) Emphasis added by the Time Doc blogmaster.

Clearly Dr. Lewis et al believe that some kind of internal brain clock exists, but our understanding how it works, the brain mechanisms involved, etc., is still in a stage of formative development.

• We know the human brain contains some kind of clock, but determining its neural underpinnings and teasing apart its components have proven difficult.

• The holy grail of timing research is to understand the ‘time-dependent process’: a mechanism equivalent to a piezoelectric crystal in a man-made clock or the movement of a shadow on a sundial. This has proven an elusive goal, to the extent that ideas about how this mechanism might work remain near the level of conjecture. Researchers have had great difficulty in pinning timing-related activity in the brain to any specific type of function. This is largely because most time measurement tasks draw upon more than one process, making it difficult to tease the various components apart.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, cognition, intelligence, brain clock, mental timing, mental time keeping

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Time Doc Byte # 1: Historical mental timing note

In preparation for my keynote presentation at this last weekends Interactive Metronome conference, I found myself rereading many of the key mental timing articles that I've recommended for reading (see "Key Research Articles" section of this blog for some of these articles). In the process, I realized a personal need to revisit some of the basic information, facts, concepts, etc. in these articles, some of which have been mentioned in posts at this humble blog. As I do this I plan to share some of these key bits of information and/or my musings in some brief posts. This is the first "Time Doc Byte" --- it is a brief historical note.

The recognition that temporal processing is an important dimension of behavior is not new. In his chapter “The Problem of Serial Order in Behavior,” Karl Lashley (1951) was among the first neurophysiologists to broach the issue of temporal processing. Lashley stated (emphasis added by the Time Doc blogmaster:

• Temporal integration is not found exclusively in language; the coordination of leg movements in insects, the song of birds, the control of trotting and pacing in a gaited horse, the rat running the maze, the architect designing a house, and the carpenter sawing a board present a problem of sequences of action which cannot be explained in terms of succession of external stimuli.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, mental timming, mental clock, brain clock, temporal processing, Karl Lashley

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Encephalon neuroscience carnival 32 posted

The 32 edition of the Encephalon neuroscience blog carnival is now available.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain, Encephalon, intelligence, IQ, cognition

Neurotechnology industry NASDAQ tracking index

Thanks to Brain Waves for the FYI re: the new NASDAQ NeuroInsights Neurotech Index.....an index intended to track the performance of the neurotechnology industry.


Technorati Tags: neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, NeuroInsights, NASDAQ, brain fitness

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Random tidbits from the mind blogosphere 9-19-07

• Thanks to Happy Neuron for the FYI re: an article in the International Journal of Neuroscience on the effects on mobile phone use on the brain.
• The LD blog has more on the Dore cerebellum-based treatment program (click here for prior background posts)
• Thanks to Mind Hacks for the link to an annotated guide to widely praised books on the brain.
• Positive Technology Journal has an interesting post on the use of virtual reality technology to help MS patients improve their walking skills.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, school psychology, cell phones, brain, Dore, multiple sclerosis, MS, virutal reality, neurotechnology

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Neuroscience book reviews

Thanks to the Neuroetchics and Law Blog for the post with links to a number of reviews of books dealing with various topics in the neurosciences.

Technorati Tags: pscyhology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, books, book reviews

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Second Chance to Live Blog

I received a personal email from Craig J. Phillips, a person with a personal TBI story. He shares his experiences and thoughts at his blog---Second Chance to Live. Check it out.

Technorati Tags: psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, TBI, brain injury, Second Chance to Live

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Refocus on Sharp Brains

Although I provide an online feed of all Sharp Brain blog posts at this blog (as well as IQ's Corner), which allows readers to monitor this important brain fitness blog every time they check my blogs, I thought I'd remind readers of the importance of this blog via this reminder post.

Sharp Brains recently had a nice post (Feed your brain with fun neuroscience) where they summarize their favorite top-10 quotes from their Neuroscience Interview Series. Check it out....and remember to keep an eye on the topic feed I provide to their site.

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Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain fitness, Sharp Brains

Brain Blogging 15th edition

The 15th edition of the Brain Blogging brain blog carnival is now available.

Neuromatrix video game teaches about the brain

Thanks to Mind Hacks for the FYI regarding the soon to be released action-adventure video game (Neuromatrix) that is intended to teach kids about the function of the brain. Very cool !


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, education, intelligence, cognition, neuroscience, neuromatrix, video games, instructional technology, neuroscince, neuropsychology

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More on the controversial Dore Dyslexia treamtent program

Check out the LD Blog for new information regarding the controversial Dore treatment program for dyslexia


Technorati Tags: psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, Dore, dyslexia, educational psychology, education, school psychology

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Brain fitness training can deter age related cognitive decline

Thanks to Happy Neuron for bringing to our attention a recent study in Neurology that indicates that elderly adults who engage in brain fitness activities are 2.6 times less likely to Alzheimer's.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain fitness, Alzheimers

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Brain injury conferences

Thanks to the Brain Injury blog for providing a list of upcoming brain injury conferences


Technorati Tags: psychology, neuropsychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuroscience, brain injury, conferences, workshops

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Encephalon brain carnival #28 is up

The Encephalon # 28 brain carnival is now available.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain, Encephalon, brain carnival, blog carnival, cognition, cognitive, intelligence

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Vacation - why I've been neglecting my blogs

I should have made this post a few weeks ago.

Regular readers will have noted that I have been MIA from blog posting. Why? Well......I've been busy the past month (and esp. the past two weeks) helping my lovely fiance pack and move out of her house of twenty years, finally get my house sold (just yesterday), and deal with CONSTANT decisions/frustrations/stress that comes with building a new house the Diane and I will move into next Tuesday. On top of that my father and his lovely wife moved to this area and I've needed to help him with some computer set-up issues. Finally, there has been the small matter of planning a "small" wedding on August 18.

With all that has been going on I've found zero time for my hobby....posting to my two blogs. I simply should have notified all readers that I was on vacation....but it really is not a vacation.....I'm physically and mentally drained.

Regardless, I hope to return to nurturing my two blogs sometime soon. I may make some easy FYI posts....but don't expect any creative new stuff (unless some of IQs Corners Virtual Community of Guest Scholars provide some material).

When I shall return to regular posting is not yet known. I'm living the "one day at a time" mantra at this point in time.

Rest assured...once settled into my lovely new house and life I will be back as a regular blogmaster.

Thanks