Category Archives: Cognitive Neuroscience

Sharing the Results of a HAPPYneuron Study

In March 2009 at the American Society on Aging Conference in Las Vegas, I look forward to presenting the results of a recent HAPPYneuron user study.  The study shows the cognitive improvements experienced by users after a playing series of online cognitive exercises over a period of 18 weeks.  Dr. Croisile presented the results the [...]

Brain Rehabilitation Research

As you may have seen, this week we announced a relationship with the French National Research Center and the Pierre & Marie Curie University (UPMC) at La Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital in Paris. The research program aims to measure the positive effects of HAPPYneuron‘s products on the cognitive rehabilitation of patients suffering from depression and Alzheimer’s disease. [...]

For a Sharper Brain, Stimulation

AMERICANS may worry about heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but they downright dread Alzheimer’s disease, a recent survey found. For good reason. One in eight adults over 65 is affected by the disease.
Those who are spared know they may end up with the burden of caring for a parent or a spouse who is affected. [...]

Brain Cells Work Together

A group of researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland have found that when brain cells in the hippocampus communicate with each other, the signal that travels from an axon to a dendritic spine simultaneously stimulates multiple other spines in the same neighborhood. This multiple transmission of information may help us learn and [...]

Is Your Brain Happy?

As we know, different parts of the brain are involved in different functions. Just as there are parts of the brain involved in depression, there are parts responsible for positive emotion. Further, mounting research suggests that the adult brain is changeable, or “plastic” as opposed to becoming fixed in adolescence. What this means is that [...]

An Interview with Dr. Bernard Croisile, MD.

I thought to share with you a recent interview with Founder Dr. Bernard Croisile, Neurologist, Neuropsychologist and Happy Neuron’s Chief Scientist, about age related brain decline and what can be done.

As we age, what issues do people most complain about?
When we age, certain cognitive difficulties are usually more annoying than really hindering. These difficulties are [...]

Adult brains can change!

Young brains are plastic. This means that they can change and reorganize to adapt to deficits. Is it the case for older brains as well? Recent research suggests that the answer is yes!
Dilks, from John Hopkins University, and his colleagues, studied the brain of a stroke patient (B.L.). Behavioral and brain imaging evidence showed that [...]

Happy Neuron Selected as Finalist in Changemakers Competition

Happy Neuron is proud to be selected, from a pool of 74 amazing entries, as a finalist in a competition entitled Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care facilitated by Changemakers and the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
This is a collaborative venture that showcases innovative and creative solutions that merge computer [...]

Why Emotion Boosts Memory

Have you ever wondered why you remember so vividly that argument you had with your boss 3 months ago or the first time you kissed your husband or wife?
If yes, you may have thought that your memory for these events was vivid because they occurred when you were experiencing a strong emotion: anger or happiness.
And [...]

Dangers or Benefits? The Effects of Mobile Phone Use on the Brain

Late last week, I read an interesting article posted by Mobile Crunch, a blog site focused on trends in the mobile wireless world. They reported on a study by the International Journal of Neuroscience that shares it’s recent finding on a study of 300 mobile phone users and the effects on the brain. [...]