Friday Freebie: What I'm Reading in Ten Minutes or Less: Brain Training

www.humanconnectomeproject.org

Did you ever wonder if all those claims about Lumosity and similar brain training games were true? Yeah, me too. As a matter of fact, I wrote a blog about it last month for CatholicMom.com -- one that was motivated by my free subscription to Lumosity coming to a close at the end of October.

Lumosity and its ilk make a lot of claims based on the science surrounding neuroplasticity -- the brain's ability to form new networks, and even reassign tasks to a new part of the brain when the area specific to a particular task is somehow damaged. It's pretty miraculous stuff.

But can playing a few games on your phone encourage this neuroplasticity? Seems difficult to believe.

So, I was very interested in an article I found yesterday at ScientificAmerican.com that talks about the research behind the claims -- warts and all. If you've ever thought about paying for games that promise to train your brain, it's worth a read.

I only wish this article had existed when I was researching that blog.

Friday Freebie: What I'm Reading in Ten Minutes or Less: ADHD and Brain Connections

The Human Connectome Project

I've been reading a lot about brain development lately, partly because I'm teaching it in both of my classes, but partly because it fascinates me. The fact that technology has reached the point where we can examine working, living brains non-invasively and create maps of them that de-mystify their inner workings has such amazing (and, according to my students, scary) potential. Not only can we create stunning images of what's going on inside our heads, but through research like the BRAIN Initiative and the Human Connectome Project, we're learning how the brain communicates within and outside of itself. Researchers hope that this information will put us closer to understanding and treating diseases like Alzheimer's, depression and autism.

Earlier this week, some of those stunning images, along with an article from NPR about some research breakthroughs in ADHD, landed in my inbox. Immediately friends and former students ran through my head as I considered how this new information could impact them, particularly as I read about treatment implications.

npr.org

For those who want to dig deeper, the article links to a research abstract that's a decidedly more challenging read, along with a brief podcast about the study. To hear President Obama talk about the BRAIN Initiative, click here.