brain - Tero Toivanen on Diigo

09 Nov 09

Music Improves Brain Function | LiveScience

Even a year or two of music training leads to enhanced levels of memory and attention when measured by the same type of tests that monitor electrical and magnetic impulses in the brain.

www.livescience.com/...091106-isns-music-brain.html - Preview

music improve brain function training attention memory learning

Laurel Trainor, director of the Institute for Music and the Mind at
McMaster University in West Hamilton, Ontario, and colleagues compared
preschool children who had taken music lessons with those who did not.
Those with some training showed larger brain responses on a number of
sound recognition tests given to the children. Her research indicated
that musical training appears to modify the brain's auditory cortex.
Even a year or two of music training leads
to enhanced levels of memory and attention when measured by the same
type of tests that monitor electrical and magnetic impulses in the
brain.
6 more annotations...
- “We therefore hypothesize that musical training (but not necessarily
  passive listening to music) affects attention and memory, which
  provides a mechanism whereby musical training might lead to better
  learning across a number of domains," Trainor said.
- Trainor suggested that the reason for this is that the motor and
  listening skills needed to play an instrument in concert with other
  people appears to heavily involve attention, memory and the ability to
  inhibit actions. Merely listening passively to music to Mozart -- or
  any other composer -- does not produce the same changes in attention
  and memory.
- Harvard University researcher Gottfried Schlaug has also studied the
  cognitive effects of musical training. Schlaug and his colleagues found
  a correlation between early-childhood training in music and enhanced
  motor and auditory skills as well as improvements in verbal ability and
  nonverbal reasoning.
- The correlation between music training and language development is even more striking for dyslexic children.
  
  "[The findings] suggest that a music intervention that strengthens
  the basic auditory music perception skills of children with dyslexia
  may also remediate some of their language deficits." Schlaug said.
- Shahin's main findings are that the changes triggered by listening
  to musical sound increases with age and the greatest increase occur
  between age 10 and 13. This most likely indicates this as being a
  sensitive period for music and speech acquisition.
- passive listening to music seems to help a person perform certain
  cognitive tests, at least in the short run. Actual music lessons for
  kids, however, leads to a longer lasting cognitive success.

03 Nov 09

Does Vitamin D Improve Brain Function?: Scientific American

And although vitamin D is well known for promoting bone health and regulating vital calcium levels—hence its addition to milk—it does more than that. Scientists have now linked this fat-soluble nutrient’s hormonelike activity to a number of functions throughout the body, including the workings of the brain.

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vitamin D improve brain function

And although vitamin D is well known for promoting bone health and regulating vital calcium levels—hence its addition to milk—it does more than that. Scientists have now linked this fat-soluble nutrient’s hormonelike activity to a number of functions throughout the body, including the workings of the brain.
We know there are receptors for vitamin D throughout the central nervous system and in the hippocampus
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- We also know vitamin D activates and deactivates enzymes in the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid that are involved in neurotransmitter synthesis and nerve growth.
- In addition, animal and laboratory studies suggest vitamin D protects neurons and reduces inflammation.
- The scientists found that the lower the subjects’ vitamin D levels, the more negatively impacted was their performance on a battery of mental tests. Compared with people with optimum vitamin D levels, those in the lowest quartile were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired.
- The data show that those people with lower vitamin D levels exhibited slower information-processing speed. This correlation was particularly strong among men older than 60 years.
- Although we now know that low levels of vitamin D are associated with cognitive impairment, we do not know if high or optimum levels will lessen cognitive losses. It is also unclear if giving vitamin D to those who lack it will help them regain some of these high-level functions.
- So how much is enough vitamin D? Experts say 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily—about the amount your body will synthesize from 15 to 30 minutes of sun exposure two to three times a week—is the ideal range for almost all healthy adults. Keep in mind, however, that skin color, where you live and how much skin you have exposed all affect how much vitamin D you can produce.

26 Oct 09

Deep Brain Stimulation May Be Effective Treatment for Tourette Syndrome

Deep brain stimulation may be a safe and effective treatment for Tourette syndrome, according to research published in the October 27, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Deep Brain Stimulation effective treatment brain Tourette Tourette Syndrome

17 Oct 09

New Light On Nature Of Broca's Area: Rare Procedure Documents How Human Brain Computes Language

"Two central mysteries of human brain function are addressed in this study: one, the way in which higher cognitive processes such as language are implemented in the brain and, two, the nature of what is perhaps the best-known region of the cerebral cortex, called Broca's area," said first author Ned T. Sahin, PhD, post-doctoral fellow in the UCSD Department of Radiology and Harvard University Department of Psychology.

www.sciencedaily.com/...091015141500.htm - Preview

brain Broca's area Wernicke's area language cerebral cortex Sahin

The study – which provides a picture of language processing in the brain with unprecedented clarity – will be published in the October 16 issue of the journal Science.
"Two central mysteries of human brain function are addressed in this study: one, the way in which higher cognitive processes such as language are implemented in the brain and, two, the nature of what is perhaps the best-known region of the cerebral cortex, called Broca's area," said first author Ned T. Sahin, PhD, post-doctoral fellow in the UCSD Department of Radiology and Harvard University Department of Psychology.
3 more annotations...
- The study demonstrates that a small piece of the brain can compute three different things at different times – within a quarter of a second – and shows that Broca's area doesn't just do one thing when processing language.
- The procedure, called Intra-Cranial Electrophysiology (ICE), allowed the researchers to resolve brain activity related to language with spatial accuracy down to the millimeter and temporal accuracy down to the millisecond.
- "We showed that distinct linguistic processes are computed within small regions of Broca's area, separated in time and partially overlapping in space," said Sahin. Specifically, the researchers found patterns of neuronal activity indicating lexical, grammatical and articulatory computations at roughly 200, 320 and 450 milliseconds after the target word was presented. These patterns were identical across nouns and verbs and consistent across patients.

Wires Inserted Into Human Brain Reveal Speech Surprise | Wired Science | Wired.com

This tested only one type of verbal cognition, cautioned Sahin, and the focus was unavoidably narrow, but it was enough to show that Broca’s area is involved not only in translating speech, but receiving it. That role was considered specific to part of the brain called Wernicke’s area.
More broadly, the findings may represent a general rule for Broca’s area, and perhaps other brain regions: Each part plays multiple roles, rather than performing a single task.

www.wired.com/...speaking-brain - Preview

brain verbal cognition Sahin Broca's area Wernicke's area

in’s team benefited from a brain-reading technology called intra-cranial electrophysiology, or ICE, in which electrodes are positioned inside the brain itself. It’s a medical rather than a research tool, used to precisely measure electrical activity in the brains of epileptics who don’t respond to treatment.
This tested only one type of verbal cognition, cautioned Sahin, and the focus was unavoidably narrow, but it was enough to show that Broca’s area is involved not only in translating speech, but receiving it. That role was considered specific to part of the brain called Wernicke’s area.

More broadly, the findings may represent a general rule for Broca’s area, and perhaps other brain regions: Each part plays multiple roles, rather than performing a single task.

Reading, E-Books and the Brain : The Frontal Cortex

Although scientists had previously assumed that the dorsal route ceased to be active once we learned how to read, Deheane's research demonstrates that even literate adults still rely, in some situations, on the same patterns of brain activity as a first-grader, carefully sounding out the syllables.

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brain reading dorsal route Dehaene research E-books

Although scientists had previously assumed that the dorsal route ceased to be active once we learned how to read, Deheane's research demonstrates that even literate adults still rely, in some situations, on the same patterns of brain activity as a first-grader, carefully sounding out the syllables.
This research suggests that the act of reading observes a gradient of fluency. Familiar sentences printed in Helvetica activate the ventral route, while difficult prose filled with jargon and fancy words and printed in an illegible font require us to use the slow dorsal route.
1 more annotations...
- The larger point is that most complaints about E-Books and Kindle apps boil down to a single problem: they don't feel as "effortless" or "automatic" as old-fashioned books. But here's the wonderful thing about the human brain: give it a little time and practice and it can make just about anything automatic.

05 Oct 09

YouTube - Posit Science: The Science with Dr. Merzenich

Dr Michael Merzenich talks about brain plasticity in YouTube video.

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brain plasticity neuropsychology Michael Merzenich change abilities learning neuroplasticity practice language youtube

27 Sep 09

Music as Medicine for the Brain - US News and World Report

Music therapy has been practiced for decades as a way to treat neurological conditions from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to anxiety and depression. Now, advances in neuroscience and brain imaging are revealing what's actually happening in the brain as patients listen to music or play instruments and why the therapy works.

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music therapy Parkinson's Alzheimer's brain neuroscience medicine

19 Jul 09

Visual training to retain driving competence — and your independence! | On the Brain by Dr. Mike Merzenich,Ph.D.

Today, Posit Science announced the release of a new computer-based visual training tool, DriveSharp, specifically designed to improve the performance abilities of adult automobile drivers to a degree that can be expected to very substantially impact their driving safety.

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brain visual training automobile drivers DriveSharp merzenich drive licence

Today, Posit Science announced the release of a new computer-based visual training tool, DriveSharp, specifically designed to improve the performance abilities of adult automobile drivers to a degree that can be expected to very substantially impact their driving safety.
As you get older, you progressively lose the ability to accurately detect and respond to visual events in your far visual periphery.
12 more annotations...
- In our fast-moving world, losing control of one’s peripheral vision is a main cause of driving accidents.
- Ball and Roenker demonstrated that these losses are substantially reversible, through appropriate, intensive training, in almost all older drivers. UFOVs can be re-expanded to relatively youthful ability levels through only a few hours of exercise. The result: About 50% fewer driving accidents in the over-65 population.
- Moreover, once your UFOV is opened up again, you use it!
- You can use DriveSharp repeatedly, over the rest of your days, to keep yourself in fine driving fettle!
- The second training program that is included in DriveSharp is designed to improve your ability to keep track of more than one thing happening at the same time. This fundamental visual skill — called “multiple object tracking” (MOT) — also dramatically declines as you get older.
- Again, with a few hours of intensive training, a youthful MOT performance level can be achieved for most individuals. The result: A still FURTHER increase of driving safety.
- If you’ve reached your 50th birthday, DriveSharp training is especially important for upgrading and sustaining your driving competence. It’s all about maintaining your performance abilities in driving as in all other ways at the highest possible level, throughout the second half of life.
- few other benefits demonstrated by published studies originating with the Ball/Roenker team (including University of South Florida scientist Sherri Willis and a University of Iowa scientist, Fred Wolinsky).
- 1) You’re healthier after DriveSharp training! Five years after training, Physical indices of Quality of Life are more than 30% higher — maybe because you get out more.
- Trainees are much more likely to have retained your driver’s license — and to have sustained their personal independence.
- After DriveSharp, you are a more confident driver, as expressed by gains in the number of times you drive each week, by an increase in average driving distances, and by your driving more often at night, or in the rain or snow.
- Try DriveSharp now: If you are a member of one of the participating AAA clubs, please visit your AAA club’s website for more information and a special offer on DriveSharp. If not, please visit www.DriveSharp.com or call (866)599-6463 to learn more.

YouTube - Health Matters: Behavior and Our Brain

In an interview Ph.D. Terrence Sejnowski from Salk Institute for biological studies explains about many things about brains and behavior.

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youtube Sejnowski learning adaptation interaction brain human abilities environment brain change brain imaging music critical periods neurons fetus brain disorders genes evolution language distincion behavior addiction dopamine stimulus ratification intui

YouTube - Copy a Scene Task (Unilateral Neglect)

Video example about neclect.

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brain neclect youtube

YouTube - Early Split Brain Research Gazzaniga

Left Brain - Right Brain functions

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brain history left brain right brain functions hemispheric

13 Jul 09

YouTube - Music and the Mind

Aniruddh Patel's presentation about: What can music teach us about the brain? What can brain science teach us about music?

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brain music stroke language science presentation amusia aphasia

Brain Map

A traumatic brain injury resource guide with over 1,500 pages of material on brain injury, concussion, rehabilitation, long-term assisted living, research, pharmocology, support, multi-media products, and much more.

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brain injury concussion rehabilitation research pharmacology support multi-media products

11 Jul 09

Selective aphasia in a brain damaged bilingual patient : Neurophilosophy

A unique case study published in the open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions sheds some light on this matter. The study, by Raphiq Ibrahim, a neurologist at the University of Haifa, describes a bilingual Arabic-Hebrew speaker who incurred brain damage following a viral infection. Consequently, the patient experienced severe deficits in Hebrew but not in Arabic. The findings support the view that specific components of a first and second language are represented by different substrates in the brain.

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brain bilingual Arabic Hebrew CT scan frontal lobe parietal lobe crationomy hemorrhage

A unique case study published in the open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions sheds some light on this matter. The study, by Raphiq Ibrahim, a neurologist at the University of Haifa, describes a bilingual Arabic-Hebrew speaker who incurred brain damage following a viral infection. Consequently, the patient experienced severe deficits in Hebrew but not in Arabic. The findings support the view that specific components of a first and second language are represented by different substrates in the brain.
A native Arabic speaker, he learned Hebrew at an early age (4th grade) and later used it competently both professionally and academically.
5 more annotations...
- A CT scan showed that he had suffered a massive hemorrhage in the left temporal lobe, which was compressing the tissue on both sides of the central sulcus, the prominent gfissure which separates the frontal and parietal lobes.
- A craniotomy was performed to relieve the pressure, and afterwards another scan showed moderate hemorrhage and herpes encephalitis in the left temporal lobe, and another hemorrhage beneath the outer membrane (the dura) lying over the right frontal lobe.
- During his 2 month stay there, he developed epileptic seizures which originated in the left temporal lobe, and amnestic aphasia (an inability to name objects or to recognize their written or spoken names).
- After the rehabilitation period, a series of linguistic tests was administered to determine the extent of his speech deficits. M.H. exhibited deficits in both languages, but the most severe deficits were seen only in Hebrew. In this language he had a severe difficulty in recalling words and names, so that his speech was non-fluent and interrupted by frequent pauses. He had difficulty understanding others' spoken Hebrew, and also had great difficulty reading and writing Hebrew. In Arabic, his native language, all of these abilities were affected only mildy.
- The results support a neurolinguistic model in which the brain of bilinguals contains a semantic system (which represents word meanings) which is common to both languages and which is connected to independent lexical systems (which encode the vocabulary of each language). The findings further suggest that the second language (in this case, Hebrew) is represented by an independent subsystem which does not represent the first language (Arabic) and is more succeptible to brain damage.

05 Jul 09

Interactive Movie - How the human brain works - New Scientist

Interactive image of brain and it's functions.

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brain lobes cortex Basal ganglia Thalamus Hippocampus Cerebellum Brain stem Amygdala interactive image scientist

04 Jul 09

Neuroscience For Kids - Explore the nervous system

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03 Jul 09

Neuro Images

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brain images

Naps, Learning and REM : The Frontal Cortex

Taking a nap without REM sleep also led to slightly better results. But a nap that included REM sleep resulted in nearly a 40 percent improvement over the pre-nap performance

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brain learning REM productivity memory

Taking a nap without REM sleep also led to slightly better results. But a nap that included REM sleep resulted in nearly a 40 percent improvement over the pre-nap performance.
The study, published June 8 in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that those who had REM sleep took longer naps than those who napped without REM, but there was no correlation between total sleep time and improved performance. Only REM sleep helped.
3 more annotations...
- Numerous studies have now demonstrated that REM sleep is an essential part of the learning process. Before you can know something, you have to dream about it.
- The breakthrough came in 1972, when psychologist Jonathan Winson came up with a simple theory: The rabbit brain exhibited the same pattern of activity when it was scared and when it was dreaming because it was dreaming about being scared. The theta rhythm of sleep was just the sound of the mind processing information, sorting through the day's experiences and looking for any new knowledge that might be important for future survival. They were learning while dreaming, solving problems in their sleep.
- Wilson began his experiment by training rats to run through mazes. While a rat was running through one of these labyrinths, Wilson measured clusters of neurons in the hippocampus with multiple electrodes surgically implanted in its brain. As he'd hypothesized, Wilson found that each maze produced its own pattern of neural firing. To figure out how dreams relate to experience, Wilson recorded input from these same electrodes while the rats were sleeping. The results were astonishing. Of the 45 rat dreams recorded by Wilson, 20 contained an exact replica of the maze they had run earlier that day. The REM sleep was recapitulating experience, allowing the animals to consolidate memory and learn new things. Wilson's lab has since extended these results, demonstrating that "temporally structured replay" occurs in both the hippocampus and visual cortex.

01 Jul 09

YouTube - Brain Plasticity

Incredible video about a girl with half of her brain operated and now she is quite well.

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brain brain plasticity plasticity youtube Rasmussen's Syndrome seizures

Tero Toivanen's Library tagged brain → View Popular

Music Improves Brain Function | LiveScience

Does Vitamin D Improve Brain Function?: Scientific American

Deep Brain Stimulation May Be Effective Treatment for Tourette Syndrome

New Light On Nature Of Broca's Area: Rare Procedure Documents How Human Brain Computes Language

Wires Inserted Into Human Brain Reveal Speech Surprise | Wired Science | Wired.com

Reading, E-Books and the Brain : The Frontal Cortex

YouTube - Posit Science: The Science with Dr. Merzenich

Music as Medicine for the Brain - US News and World Report

Visual training to retain driving competence — and your independence! | On the Brain by Dr. Mike Merzenich,Ph.D.

YouTube - Health Matters: Behavior and Our Brain

YouTube - Copy a Scene Task (Unilateral Neglect)

YouTube - Early Split Brain Research Gazzaniga

YouTube - Music and the Mind

Brain Map

Selective aphasia in a brain damaged bilingual patient : Neurophilosophy

Interactive Movie - How the human brain works - New Scientist

Neuroscience For Kids - Explore the nervous system

Neuro Images

Naps, Learning and REM : The Frontal Cortex

YouTube - Brain Plasticity

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