When does cognitive decline really begin?

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D., posted on January 19, 2012 at 11:29 am

Brain decline may begin at age 45We have known for a long time that cognitive decline occurs with aging, however we may have been incorrect about the age it starts. A recent analysis brings new details about it. The study, led by Dr. Singh-Manoux and published in the British Medical Journal was conducted on 7390 persons among them 5198 men and 2192 women. The objective was to estimate the decline in cognitive functions over a 10 year period. Participants were tested on their memory, reasoning skills, vocabulary and phonemic and semantic fluency three times over this period.

In everyone of the five age categories (45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65-70), the results showed a decline in all skills except in vocabulary.

The results of the sudy suggest that the decline in cognitive functions begins around the age of 45, however it does not specify if the outcome is linked to dementia. Still, more studies are necessary to confirm those results.

Source: www.newscientist.com
or British Medical Journal

Posted in brain, Brain Decline, Cognitive Impairment, dementia, Memory | Comments (0)

Are HAPPYneuron’s games too difficult?

By Dr. Bernard Croisile, posted on December 20, 2011 at 10:41 am

Brain training games HAPPYneuronAfter reading some comments sent to us from our customers regarding the levels of difficulty with some of our games, we would like to share with you the rationale that led us to set up the levels.

To achieve an effective brain training, the brain must be challenged with the right degree of difficulty.

- if the level is too easy, there will be no brain modification and playing the games becomes a routine activity, not a brain exercise. If you experience immediate success, there is no victory to achieve, no challenge to overcome.

- if the level is too difficult, your motivation will be negatively impacted because it takes a lot of dedication to persevere at a high degree of difficulty.

The ideal is to work above what we call “the comfort zone”: try and try again and you will be successful.

At Happy Neuron we chose to setup rather challenging levels of difficulty.  If the easy levels seems too hard at first, it is often due to a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the instructions. Do take your time to do the examples of the games, as many times as you need, before really starting to play the game.  Besides it is normal to experience difficulties at the beginning of your brain training.  In our view, the satisfaction is greater when the effort needed to achieve a goal was important.

This is what differentiates our philosophy with a number of our competitors.

The best goals are the ones you set for yourself.

Do not forget that brain training, just like physical training, is a process which takes time and must be maintained. While it is useful to do an intensive program for 3 months, it is really doing the program regularly for several years that will give you the best results.  To maintain interest, you not only need a wide range of activities but also continued challenges.  HAPPYneuron has the most exercises on the market and will keep challenging you.

Posted in Brain exercises, Brain Fitness Online, Brain games, Brain Training, Mental Health | Comments (0)

A New Game for your neurons and your ears too!

By Dr. Bernard Croisile, posted on December 19, 2011 at 10:48 am

The HAPPYneuron’s team is delighted to announce that a new game is already available on www.happy-neuron.com.

This game, named “Sound check” is an auditive game to train your attention and short-term memory. You just have to sit comfortably in front of your computer and listen to series of instrument sounds, then to determine which sound is the highest or the lowest, the loudest or the softest, the longest or the shortest.

By being focused on every particularities of each sound you hear, playing this game will train your ability to differentiate between sounds. This skill is very helpful to interact with the environment in a more efficient way. For example to detect an alarm at a distance or to recognize someone calling you in a crowd.

Posted in Brain exercises, Brain Fitness Online, Brain games, Brain Training, Cognitive Training, Concentration, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Abnormalities found in the brain of psychopaths

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D., posted on December 6, 2011 at 11:09 am

Impulsive, anti-social, lack of empathy and remorse, or eccentric personality; all these characteristics could describe someone who suffers from psychopathy. This mental disease is underlined by brain impairments and it seems that a recent research is helping to understand this disorder.

Brains of psychopaths seem to show differences in their structure and function compared to healthy brains. This is shown by a study led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and published in The Journal of Neuroscience. A mobile functional magnetic resonance images scanner was brought to a prison where 40 inmates participated in the experimentation; 20 of them had psychopathy and 20 did not. Images showed reduced reliability in the connections between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, the two brain areas respectively involved in empathy and guilt, and fear and anxiety. In addition, the activity between these two regions were also affected and showed a lack of coordination. According to Joseph Newman, a psychology professor and one of the researchers who worked on the research, the combination of structural and functional abnormalities in this specific brain circuitry is a constant in psychopaths prisoners.

This study provides good elements to help understand the neuronal basis of psychopath behavior and learn how to treat this type of disorder. Moreover, it could facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of inmates.

Sources:  The Scientist or Newswise

Posted in brain, Brain anatomy and imaging, Brain Research, Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive Neuroscience | Comments (0)

New tip to understand how attention skills work

By Dr. Bernard Croisile, posted on November 10, 2011 at 10:57 am

Stimulate your attention with HAPPYneuronAs surprising as it could be, some of our brain cells have to be deactivated in order to become concentrated in a more efficient way! This observation was made by a team of French neuroscientists who studied different neuron networks. This study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, demonstrated that the default-mode network seems to be permanently active. However, when we need to focus, this network has to stop its current activity in order to leave the attention network work. If this default-network was not deactivated properly, it could create attention deficit and we would be less efficient. For example, it would take us longer to find an object.

Source: www.news-medical.net

Posted in Attention Skills, brain, Brain Research, Cognitive Neuroscience, Concentration, neural connections, Neurons | Comments (0)

70,000 HAPPYneuron games played everyday!

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D., posted on November 3, 2011 at 5:59 am

We are proud to announce that more than 70,000 HAPPYneuron games are played everyday in the world! If you want to join the HAPPYneuron community, sign up now for a free 7-day trial to the program!

Posted in Brain exercises, Brain Fitness Online, Brain games, Brain Training | Comments (0)

MemTrax: The Indispensable Memory Screening Test!

By Dr. Bernard Croisile, posted on October 24, 2011 at 7:53 am

MemTrax memory screening testMemory declines with aging and some memory loss may be an early warning sign for neurodegenerative disease, including some forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. By detecting this type of disease as early as possible, we can act when treatments are the most effective.
MemTrax aims to detect memory impairment. Based on 10 years of research by Dr. Ashford, the test is sensitive enough to be an early warning sign. Fast, easy to use and inexpensive it is accessible to everyone.

Monitor your memory right now in only 3 minutes*! The first test is free and regular monitoring costs less than $1 per month.

*You will be asked to create an account. Creating an account is free and without obligation.

MemTrax, now available on the iPhone and the iPad!
MemTrax iPhone iPad

Maybe you already know the iPad app for MemTrax. Discover now the iPhone app for MemTrax free on the App Store!
Memtrax use the tactile characteristics of Apple devices to provide a more intuitive and user friendly interface. Try it now!

Posted in Alzheimers, Brain Decline, dementia, Memory, memory loss, Memory Screening, mild cognitive impairment, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Brain Training and Alzheimer’s

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D., posted on September 20, 2011 at 10:14 am

Brain training and Alzheimer'sNew evidence has recently been found to support the theory that brain training brings health benefits. A Canadian team of researchers studied the effects of 10 sessions of stimulation exercises 2 hours a week. 30 subjects took part in the study, half of whom with high risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Results were promising, since people at risk improved their memorization capacities by 30% and the onset of first symptoms was delayed by two to three years.

Are you still hesitating to try the HAPPYneuron program?

Check out yourself how a quality cognitive training program can benefit your brain health: You can read the description of the study by clicking here.

Posted in Aging Well, Alzheimers, Brain Decline, Brain health, Brain Training, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

MemTrax is on the iPad!

By Dr. Wes Ashford, posted on August 11, 2011 at 7:26 am

Memory screening test Memtrax
The MemTrax iPad application is now available on the AppStore. Do not wait to test your memory using 10 years worth of scientific research. MemTrax detects memory troubles associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), dementia or Alzheimer’s disease at a very early stage. It is the very first memory screening application available on iPad and the download is free!
Download it on your touch screen tablet and test your memory immediately. With MemTrax you have the ability to monitor your brain 3 minutes per month and receive periodic follow-up including appropriate recommendations.

Discover the MemTrax app by clicking on this link: www.memtrax.com/ipad

See the video presentation here: MemTrax video

Or download the app on iTunes: MemTrax on iTunes

Posted in Aging Well, Alzheimers, Brain Decline, Brain health, memory loss, Memory Screening | Comments (0)

Exercise is beneficial for the brain

By Sandrine Belier Ph.D., posted on August 5, 2011 at 9:54 am

Physical exercise and brain health We often hear advice telling us that doing some kind of physical activity is good to develop muscle, lose weight, or generally to stay healthy. But what if doing exercise was also good for mental abilities?
Last February, we already said that being physically active is very important for our cognitive health. Recently, two teams of scientists confirmed our article.

Their studies, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, show that the practice of physical activities has beneficial effects on the brain.
In the first study, The Canadian team led by Professor Laura Middleton examines the link between energy expenditure and mental faculties. A study was conducted with 197 persons aged 74 for two to five years. The results confirm that active people have 90% lower risk of showing an important cognitive decline. As physical activity was interpreted broadly, walking around the house or even doing household chores may protect us from brain decline observed in dementia!

The French team led by Marie-Noel Vercambre reaches the same conclusion; the study was conducted on a large panel of women with vascular disease or risk of developing heart disease. Researchers followed them for as long as 5 years; physical activity was measured every two years and three or more mental and memory tests were given. The results showed that the more active women were, the less risk they had to develop cognitive trouble. They also added that 30 minutes of daily walking may decrease the risk of developing cognitive impairment.

Do you still hesitate to be physically active?

See a summary of these studies HERE

Posted in Aging Well, brain, Brain Decline, Brain health, Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive Neuroscience, Mental Health, Physical Exercise | Comments (0)