Brain training, new findings
- Fri, 14 Sep 2007
People who suffer brain damage due to ageing, illness or injury may one day be able to have their brain stimulated to overcome their disabilities. Research at MIT in the US has discovered the brain has a high degree of 'plasticity', meaning it is able to create new pathways around conventional, damaged ones.
In a study of lab mice, scientists re-routed the mice's visual pathways to their hearing pathways. They were then subjected to flashes of light, which normally induce fear in mice. The study found the mice still showed the fear response, even though it was received in the hearing part of the brain. Importantly, this shows that a brain structure responsible for an emotional response can accept information from unusual sources.This has great potential for scientists to one day be able to control and reinstate functions like emotional responses and learning.
Scientists can already adapt and protect our brain's memory pathways by engaging in regular mental exercises, such as brain games. Headstrong's software brain games were developed by leading neuropsychologists. Playing these brain games regularly can ensure you protect your memory, which naturally decreases with age, and stave off age-related brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.