I was talking to a couple of people recently who had done the Brain Fitness Program.
- One very physically active, social person, who had done the program twice, said that despite being a sceptic about the program (“I am a born sceptic”), he was willing to concede that perhaps he had to give the same attention to conversations with people as he did to his bowling practice…..
All of us want to hold on to our beliefs, particularly those determined in earlier years. It makes us less vulnerable. Think of the public responses to Galileo, Copernicus, Darwin and many others.
The plastic brain
Resistance to change when confronted with new information is just as common in scientists as the rest of us. In the 1970′s and 80′s the prevailing view was that the adult brain was fixed and unable to be changed.When Michael Merzenich (the researcher and founder of PositScience and the BFP) and others, demonstrated scientific results that were completely contrary to the view of a hardwired adult primate brain, the results were greeted with hostility: it was seen as impossible. But now we know and accept that the brain is in fact surprisingly plastic as we age.
We all can change…even the adult brain has the amazing ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections…and new neurons …it is “the brain that changes itself”.
More of that later.
- It’s quite hard to attend to some conversations if, for example you have been around a partner for more years than you care to remember! You think you know what they are going to say before they say it…..or you don’t even listen. One user of the BFP that I talked to had an amazing insight into her own situation. Despite being dismayed by a preliminary medical diagnosis of AD she decided that her slow oral responses and associated memory loss could be largely a function of her everyday life experience over many many years. In searching for answers she became convinced that over time, she had learned to take more and more of a back seat in the company of a highly gregarious partner. In other words she barely got a word in edgeways! She decided to get another medical opinion. She now has done the BFP (several times) and goes back to a different AD specialist in a few months. She feels sure her life has been turned around both by her insight and the BFP, and that she will get a different diagnosis this time.
Her insight and determination will carry her a long way. This is a perfect example of a real life experiment and I wish her success!
Rusty or Fuzzy?
A study in 1986 of a group of aging individuals suffering cognitive decline over a period of 14 years, received a brief training program. Could their general responses be improved? In many instances the answers were “Yes”. The authors concluded that their cognitive skills had become “rusty” from lack of use and the training had reactivated them.
In the “Match-it” exercise, the BFP talks about the importance of discriminating sounds precisely, as the brain’s ability is impeded by these sounds becoming “fuzzy“. “Rusty” or “fuzzy”, scientific studies demonstrate that training can reactivate the brain circuits.
Most people I talk to have been able to fit the Brain Fitness Program into their daily life. Just a bit of planning and choosing the best time of day. The same goes for me, I am off to feed the chooks with help!
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