The “Proustian phenomenon” proposes that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories.
A new study shows smells can transport us back to powerful and emotional memories from the past more effectively than sounds, supporting a theory by Marcel Proust.
Our brains are being boggled by Google.
Our main source of memory is coming from the internet instead of our own brains, a study has concluded. In the age of Google, our minds are adapting so that we are experts at knowing where to find information even though we don’t recall what it is.
Continue reading… “Internet is our main source of memory instead of our own brains”
The study revealed that the changes were similar to brain alterations observed in people addicted to alcohol and cocaine.
Changes in the brains of people addicted to the internet are similar to that normally seen in people addicted to alcohol and drugs such as cocaine and cannabis, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “Internet addiction affects the brain like drug and alcohol addiction”
“‘Senior’ moments that people often joke about are true.”
As early as age 45, the brain’s abilities to reason, comprehend and remember may start to worsen, a new study from England suggests.
Continue reading… “Study shows mental decline can start as early as age 45”
Eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young.
Overeating can cause brain aging while eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young. Researchers at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome have discovered that a molecule, called CREB1, is triggered by “caloric restriction” (low caloric diet) in the brain of mice. They found that CREB1 activates many genes linked to longevity and to the proper functioning of the brain.
Continue reading… “Eating less helps the brain stay young: study”
Learning with a zing-zang-zoom!
Remember the Matrix where all you need to do to learn kung fu is to get it uploaded to your brain? Well, that may soon be coming to real life:
New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort. It’s the kind of thing seen in Hollywood’s “Matrix” franchise…
Memorizing 25,000 city streets balloons the hippocampus.
Streets in Manhattan are arranged in a user-friendly grid. Twenty dministrative districts, or arrondissements, form a clockwise spiral around the Seine in Paris. London is a different story. A map of its streets looks more like a tangle of yarn that a preschooler glued to construction paper than a metropolis designed with architectural foresight. Yet London’s taxi drivers navigate the smoggy snarl with ease, instantaneously calculating the swiftest route between any two points.
Continue reading… “London taxi drivers’ brains grow to navigate London’s streets”
Witnessing violence can have a traumatic effect on the brain.
Scientists at the University College of London (UCL) and the Anna Freud Center liken the impact of family violence on the brains of children to the brains of soldiers exposed to combat. Both kinds of combat result in hypersensitivity to danger and put subjects at risk for developing anxiety disorders.
Continue reading… “Brains of children from violent homes function same as combat soldiers”
Violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain functioning.
There could be something to that link between violent video games and aggression. Researchers have bantered back and forth for years with findings that support and then debunk such a link. But Indiana University School of Medicine researchers in Indianapolis found signs via functional magnetic resonance imaging that the brain is affected by violent games.
Continue reading… “Violent video games alter brain function”
Exercise benefits the brain.
Scientists in Ireland recently asked a group of sedentary male college students to take part in a memory test followed by strenuous exercise to learn more about how exercise affects the brain.
Continue reading… “How exercise strengthens the brain”
Air Force operator receiving transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) to accelerate learning.
By running a mild electric current through the brains of pilots during lessons, Air Force researchers have cut their personnel’s learning time in half. Pilots were being taught how to identify targets using drones—the practice is increasingly important to modern warfare and one which, due to its difficulty, is holding back the deployment of drones. Caffeine and other stimulants have been tested to aid learning but none work as well as two milliamperes of direct current for 30 minutes to pilot’s brains during training sessions on video simulators.
Continue reading… “Electrical stimulation to the brain speeds up learning”
Brain scans of psychopaths shows differences in structure and function of brain.
Brain images of prisoners show important differences between who are diagnosed as psychopaths and those who aren’t, according to a new study from University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
Continue reading… “Brains of psychopaths are different”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.