ElastiBrain - Your Brain's Potential

Your brain is a superhero! If you have seen the movie “The Incredibles” then you know about Elastigirl. She can stretch and conform in many different ways. Your brain is even more incredible than this character. New scientific research (neuroplasticity and the brain) is proving that our brains can change and reorganize throughout our entire lives.

Our brain is much more of a muscle than we previously thought. While our brains may not grow bigger like a muscle, our brains are capable of making many more electrical connections even into our later years. Like a muscle our brain is definitely a use it or lose it organ.

Here is a small list of materials that will help you understand and take great care of your wonderfully elastic brain.  On September 17 we will be viewing the DANA Foundation's panel discussion of Successful Aging and the Brain and a Q&A with Dr. Paul Morte, a retired neurologist.

In The Brain Bible one of today's leading experts on brain health, Dr. John Arden tells it straight: There is no single remedy for maintaining sharp-mindedness into old age. But there are a lot of things you can do that, over the course of time, will work wonders. It's not about adding one activity or breaking one habit--it's about making many small, simple changes in your everyday routine.

Historically researchers have thought that once the brain's neurons were destroyed they could not be replaced. However, in the latest work from Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself, the author shares numerous case studies on how elastic the brain can be.

In Nurturing the Older Brain and Mind two noted researchers explain scientific evidence that shows why certain factors may promote and maintain cognitive vitality in older adults.  They report that many adults maintain a high level of cognitive function into old age and that certain experiential and lifestyle factors including education, exercise, diet and opportunities for new learning contribute to the preservation of cognitive abilities.