Adult Neurogenesis | Hippocampus
Working Memory Training | Hippocampal Neurogenesis in the Dentate Gyrus
Adult Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus | Fred Gage 1998
Until Fred Gage published his revolutionary findings on adult hippocampal neurogenesis in 19981, it was widely accepted that the adult human brain did not produce new neurons. By marking adult human brain cells Fred Gage and his colleagues demonstrated that the human brain generates new neurons thoughout life:
[New neurons] are generated from dividing progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of adult humans. Our results further indicate that the human hippocampus retains its ability to generate neurons throughout life.
Nature Medicine 4, 1313 - 1317 (1998) doi:10.1038/3305
Advances in stimulating, testing, and monitoring brain change have shown that carefully designed interventions, such as intensive working memory training can enhance adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Brain Fitness Pro stimulates new neural growth to increase fluid intelligence (intelligence training), improve memory, and elevate all around mental sharpness with a research-tested brain exercise.
Adult Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus
The Three Conditions for Targeted Brain Change
Targeted brain exercise that will stimulate hippocampal neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus requires three essential conditions: Focus, Challenge, and Reward.
||When we focus our attention on a particular task or problem, the nucleus basalis, a deeply-nestled region of the brain's dentate gyrus, secretes a substance called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine triggers the hippocampus to hold on to the memories being formed. The more we focus, the more we remember.
||By focusing on a challenging task for a sufficient period of time we encourage the brain to devote more resources to the brain functions being tested.
||Success at a challenging task creates a sense of achievement and satisfaction, triggering the release of dopamine (the "happy" chemical). Acetylcholine and Dopamine together stimulate new neural growth (neurogenesis) and brain plasticity.
Brain Fitness Pro stimulates targeted neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus by training brain functions that we use for every conscious mental task - working memory and attentive focus. The benefits of neurogenesis training for the adult hippocampus are therefore practically unlimited. Customers training with Brain Fitness Pro find that its intensive working memory training tends to benefit them most in cognitive areas where they feel they need a boost (e.g., a particular test or restoring short term memory function), and in activities that they regularly focus on for work or leisure (e.g., diligence, or musical aptitude and appreciation).
Brain Training Report – Eric – Session 12
Session number: 12 Average n-back: 5.05 I am glad my average N has increased from 4.85 to 5.05! I felt like N=5 was beyond me, but surprisingly, I stayed at N=5 for almost my entire session today. It feels great to think that neurogenesis really seems to be taking place in my brain. MindSparke Brain [...]
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While we generally accept and understand that our life experiences help shape who we are, the fields of psychology and neuroscience have til now take rather separate paths in explaining how and why this happens. But at a recent conference in New York, Francois Ansermet, a psychoanalyst from Geneva university, and Pierre Magistretti, a neuroscientist [...]
Working Memory Research: Brain In A Dish
In novel working memory research, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh used neural cultures from rats’ brains to create a functioning neural network in the laboratory. With just 40 to 60 neurons the researchers were surprised to find that the ad hoc neural network had a working memory span of up to 12 seconds. Atop [...]
Brain Fitness Update: Neurogenesis And Depression
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Brain Fitness: Neurogenesis, Mood, PTSD
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Neurogenesis Restores Brain Fitness After Brain Injury
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Brain Fitness, Neurogenesis, And Social Contact
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Brain Fitness from Strength Training
Recent research suggests that resistance training or weight training can activate neurogenesis, indicating that it could be a good method of brain fitness training. In one study resistance training and aerobic exercise improved spatial memory and activated neurogenesis. And in a similar study resistance training acted as brain training, activating neurogenesis in rat brains. Human studies support of the hypothesis that resistance training in the form of weight lifting or loaded resistance exercise can improve brain function.
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In addition to brain training and aerobic exercise, diet is critical to brain fitness: The 10 best brain fitness foods are Beets, Sage, Beef, Sardines, Egg Yolks, Oats, Lentils, Flaxseed, Walnuts, and Vegetables.
Fred Gage | Neurogenesis
Fred H. Gage, Ph.D., professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute, studies cell growth in the central nervous system; he is one of the most original thinkers and productive researchers in the neuroscience field.
Gage achieved international renown in 1998 for his groundbreaking experiments demonstrating adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Virtually overnight his discovery of new brain cell growth in adults paved the way for the possibility of brain repair.
Gage is currently working to find ways to induce brain growth in the adult brain and spinal cord. His findings indicate that environmental enrichment and physical exercise can enhance neurogenesis and cell growth.
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