Feeling good to be good may be only natural
MSNBC
“The results were showing that when the volunteers placed the interests of others before their own, the generosity activated a primitive part of the brain…”
Archive for Education
Feeling good to be good may be only natural
A First Glimpse at Healthy Brain and Behavioral Development
A First Glimpse at Healthy Brain and Behavioral Development
Newswise (press release)
“And while basic cognitive skills steadily improve in middle childhood, they then seem to level off – questioning the idea of a burst of brain development in …”
Book explores relationship between body and brain
Book explores relationship between body and brain
Milan News-Leader, MI
“He believes the three are intertwined and has written a book titled, “Brain Fitness – A Recipe for Feeding Your Child’s Dreams and Unlocking Their Maximum Brain Power.” Evans says the book is meant to help parents understand the links between body and
Fortune 500′s to Adopt Serious Games for Staff Learning
Fortune 500′s to Adopt Serious Games for Staff Learning
Newswire Today (press release), UK Mar 13, 2007
“Clive Shepherd, a well-known and respected practitioner and commentator in the field of learning has reviewed the report and said: ’ Serious games provide …“
Related article on Casual Games:
Enhancing Cognition and Emotions for Learning – Learning & The Brain Conference
Alvaro and I had the good fortune to attend a great conference last week called Learning & The Brain: Enhancing Cognition and Emotions for Learning. It was a wonderful mix of neuroscientists and educators talking with and listening to each other. Some topics were meant to be applied today, but many were food for thought – insight on where science and education are headed and how they influence each other.
Using dramatic new imaging techniques, such as fMRIs, PET, and SPECT, neuroscientists are gaining valuable information about learning. This pioneering knowledge is leading not only to new pedagogies, but also to new medications, brain enhancement technologies, and therapies…. The Conference creates an interdisciplinary forum — a meeting place for neuroscientists, educators, psychologists, clinicians, and parents — to examine these new research findings with respect to their applicability in the classroom and clinical practice.
Take-aways
- Humans are a mixture of cognition and emotion, and both elements are essential to function and learn properly
- Educators and public policy makers need to learn more about the brain, how it grows, and how to cultivate it
- Students of all ages need to be both challenged and nurtured in order to succeed
- People learn differently – try to teach and learn through as many different modalities as possible (engage language, motor skills, artistic creation, social interaction, sensory input, etc.)
- While short-term stress can heighten your cognitive abilities, long term stress kills you — you need to find balance and release
- Test anxiety and subsequent poor test results can be improved with behavioral training with feedback based on heart rate variability
- Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a very very enlightening and fun speaker
- Allow time for rest and consolidation of learned material
- Emotional memories are easier to remember
- Conferences like these perform a real service in fostering dialogues between scientists and educators
The sessions were broken into several subtopics:
ENHANCING THE BRAIN, COGNITION & EDUCATION
Topics included: neuroethics, school readiness, “back to basics” versus “discovery learning”, functional neuroimaging, the Six Developmental Pathways of physical, cognitive, language, social, ethical, and psychological skills
Speakers included: Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ph.D., Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D., John D.E. Gabrieli, Ph.D., Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D., Daniel L. Schwartz, Ph.D., Jeb Schenck, Ph.D., Ross A. Thompson, Ph.D., Fay E. Brown, Ph.D., and Mariale M. Hardiman, Ed.D.
MOOD, LEARNING & GENDER DIFFERENCES
Topics included: chronic stress, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, sex differences in learning, and creativity
Speakers included: Robert M. Sapolsky, Ph.D., Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D., Bryna Siegel, Ph.D., Kiki D. Chang, M.D., Michael Gurian, M.A., Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., Lawrence H. Diller, M.D., and Terence A. Ketter, M.D.
ENHANCING MEMORY AND EMOTIONS
Topics included: mirror neurons, stress, anxiety, emotions, pharmacologic manipulations of memory, emotional events, sex differences, and “brain-considerate” learning environments, social functioning, decision making, motivation, achievement, positive-emotion refocusing
Speakers included: Kenneth A.Wesson, Ph.D., Kenneth S. Kosik, M.D., Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., Larry Cahill, Ph.D., Mary Fowler, M.A., Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Ed.D., Ed.M., and Robert Sylwester, Ed.D.
NEUROSCIENCE, LANGUAGE & READING
Topics included: reading disorders, dyslexia, assessment, instructional strategies, the achievement gap, and integration of visual, auditory, and language information
Speakers included: Brian A.Wandell, Ph.D., Connie Juel, Ph.D., and Steven G. Feifer, Ed.D., NCSP.
THE ARTS, MUSIC & COGNITION
Topics included: artistic process versus art content, effects of music on cognitive performance, and the generalizability of of artistic abilities to cognitive abilities
Speakers included: James S. Catterall, Ph.D. and Frances H. Rauscher, Ph.D.
Conference Co-Sponsors:
- Stanford University School of Education
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Mind, Brain & Education Program
- Yale School of Medicine, Comer School Development Program, Child Study Center
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Neuroscience Research Institute
- The Dana Foundation, Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
- Boston University School of Education
- Public Information Resources, Inc. (PIRI)
- National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
Further Reading
- Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg on Brain Fitness Programs and Cognitive Training
- An ape can do this. Can we not? An Interview with Dr. James Zull
- Lifelong learning, literally: neuroplasticity for students, boomers, seniors…
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Education Today
Save the Date! April 28-30, 2007 is the next conference, Learning & The Brain – Molding Minds: How to Shape the Developing Brain for Learning & Achievement, in Cambridge, Mass. We will post more information about this conference shortly.
ADD/ ADHD and working memory training: interview with Notre Dame’s Bradley Gibson
Professor Bradley Gibson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Notre Dame, and Director of the Perception and Attention Lab there. He is a cognitive psychologist with research interests in perception, attention, and visual cognition. Gibson’s research has been published in a variety of journals, including Journal of Experimental Psychology, Human Perception and Performance, Psychological Science, and Perception & Psychophysics.
In 2006 he conducted the first independent replication study based on the Cogmed Working Memory Training program we discussed with Dr. Torkel Klingberg.
A local newspaper introduced some preliminary results of the study Attention, please: Memory exercises reduce symptoms of ADHD. Some quotes from the articles:
- “The computer game has been shown to reduce ADHD symptoms in children in experiments conducted in Sweden, where it was developed, and more recently in a Granger school, where it was tested by psychologists from the University of Notre Dame.
- Fifteen students at Discovery Middle School tried RoboMemo during a five-week period in February and March, said lead researcher Brad Gibson
- As a result of that experience, symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity were both reduced, according to reports by teachers and parents, Gibson said.
- Other tests found significant improvement in “working memory”, a short-term memory function that’s considered key to focusing attention and controlling impulses.
- RoboMemo’s effectiveness is not as well established as medications, and it’s a lot more work than popping a pill.
- Gibson said Notre Dame’s study is considered preliminary because it involved a small number of students. Another limitation is that the study did not have a control group of students receiving a placebo treatment.”
We feel fortunate to interview Dr. Gibson today.
Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Dr. Gibson, thanks for being with us. Could you first tell us about your overall research interests?
Dr. Bradley Gibson (BG): Thanks for giving me this opportunity. Continue Reading
Special Offer: Learning and The Brain Conference, February 15-17th in San Francisco
The organizers of this amazing conference, whose registration is about to expire, just extended their very kind offer to SharpBrains readers: you can register at the reduced price of $475 (right now the normal price is $545) if you do so by February 9nd. You can register here
http://www.edupr.com/reg.html
, making sure to write SharpBrains1 in the comments section.
Click to Learn More about the special offer for SharpBrains readers interested in attending the great conference we highlighted yesterday.
This is what we wrote yesterday about the conference:
Talk about neuroscience applied to education: we will be reporting from a fascinating conference in San Francisco, February 15-17, titled Learning & the Brain: Enhancing Cognition and Emotions for Learning And Student Performance, sponsored by leading universities and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.
- Speakers include a truly “Dream Team” of neuroscientists and educators such as Michael S. Gazzaniga, William C. Mobley, John D.E. Gabrieli, Robert M. Sapolsky, Robert Sylwester, and many many others. You can check the program here
http://www.edupr.com/schedule2.htm
. - The description of the event is: “Use this explosion of scientific knowledge to create new, powerful paradigms for teaching and healthcare. Cutting-edge discoveries in neuroscience may soon transform educational and clinical interventions by enhancing memory and cognition. Discover the influences of emotions, gender and the arts. Explore new ways to enhance cognition and to assess potential benefits and pitfalls of using pharmacology, technology and therapy to boost performance.”
