Author: Tom

Source: http://brainblogger.com/2016/11/03/why-sugar-is-so-addictive/

Addiction is a medical condition in which the person has uncontrollable desire to take a substance or engage in an activity, despite knowing that it may lead to adverse effects. Taking that substance or engaging in that activity will make the person feel good. Does sugar fit the bill? Clearly yes, as so many of us cannot control cravings for something sweet.

Sugar is used daily by most of us. Modern food is very rich in sugar and this abundance of sugar is viewed as one of the main reasons for growing obesity epidemics. Overconsumption of sugar does not only results in a flood of extra calories – it can also lead to addiction. Sugar can interact with different substances in the brain, influencing and changing their normal levels. Most notably, it affects the level of dopamine. It can also change the concentration of some receptors in the brain.

The most commo…

Source: http://womensbrainhealth.org/think-outside-the-box/analyzing-paintings-could-help-diagnose-alzheimers-earlier

by Misha Gajewski for CTV News: A new study shows that analyzing paintings could help with early detection of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s. A team of researchers from University of Liverpool analyzed famous artists’ paintings and found that the patterns of……

Source: http://totalbrainhealth.com/?p=5722

“Holiday State of Mind” Challenge

What do you think about when you hear the word “Holiday?” Holidays bring up many different associations and memories. Here’s a quick, fun activity that both gets us in the holiday “state of mind” and offers a way to challenge across multiple cognitive skills including sustained attention, processing speed, verbal fluency and long-term memory. You can easily add this 5-minute exercise to any of your activity’s this week or over the weekend.

The “Holiday State of Mind” Challenge requires each participant to “think fast” and share what first comes to mind when they hear the prompt word you will share. You can…

Source: http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2016/12/28/personalize-brain-health-and-enhancement-combining-new-imaging-methods-and-human-artificial-intelligence/

What kind of one-time or ongoing brain assessments can help pinpoint individual needs, and what role will intelligent assistants, human coaches and experts play in offering and supporting personalized care?

• Chair: Nikhil Sriraman, IP Analyst at SharpBrains
• Margaret Moore, Co-Founder of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital
• Ruth Poliakine Baruchi, CEO of MyndYou</…

Source: http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog/2013/05/welcome-nias-new-blog

I’m excited to announce something new for researchers. Inside NIA, our new blog, begins with this post. If you are a grantee, applicant, trainee, or anyone else in the scientific and advocacy communities please read and share it. Comment freely when an issue grabs you. Let it be your blog, too….

Source: http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog/2013/05/payline-13-nia-reviewed-grant-applications

Buried within our NIA 2013 funding policy is the apparently shocking statement that our payline for NIA-reviewed research grant applications is 13. When the top score is 10 and the lowest possible score is 90, then a 13 is little short of perfect. We worry about this too. We know that we are leaving some truly outstanding work unpaid. How did this happen?…

Source: http://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog/2013/05/why-delay-nias-funding-policy-fiscal-year-2013

Our fiscal year 2013 budget was finalized March 26, but we were unable to post our funding policy until May 8. This year, as in every other year, my team worked hard to get a funding policy published absolutely as fast as we could once we knew our budget. In previous years, we have been able to publish our funding policy more quickly. Why the delay this year?…

Source: http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2016/12/27/ten-suggestions-for-brain-friendly-new-years-resolutions/

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You are enjoying the shopping and holiday season. Great!

Now it’s time to start shifting gears and focus on the year ahead…

Let’s review some good lifestyle options we can all follow to maintain, and improve, our sharp brains. Perhaps they will inspire some New Year’s Resolutions to help make 2017 a year of Brain Health!

1. Thrive on Learning. The point of having a brain is to learn and to adapt to challenging new environments. Once new neurons appear in your brain, where they migrate and how …

Source: http://brainblogger.com/2016/11/09/antidepressant-may-benefit-traumatic-brain-injury/

The prevalence and functional effects of depressive disorder following traumatic brain injury are significant. Now, sertraline may be effective for preventing depressive symptoms after TBI.

A group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine evaluated 94 patients aged 18 to 85 years who had been hospitalized for mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Most of the patients (n=92) were Caucasian and more than half (n=56) were male. The research team randomized the patients to receive either 100 mg daily of sertraline (48 patients) or placebo (46 patients) for 24 weeks or until symptoms of a mood disorder occurred.

Overall, sertraline was effective at preventing the onset of depressive symptoms compared to placebo. Sertraline was also …

Source: http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2016/study-hearing-loss-down-kb.html

5 days ago … Hearing loss has declined among adults under 70 in the past decade, possibly
because of reduced workplace noise, less smoking and better ……