We’ve long heard about the brain-boosting powers of things like blueberries, nuts, wine, and chocolate – but is milk the newest brain food? A new study of nearly 1,000 people suggests that it may be.

The study, a collaboration between researchers from the University of Maine and the University of South Australia, found that “participants who consumed dairy products at least once per day had significantly higher scores on multiple domains of cognitive function compared with those who never or rarely consumed dairy foods, adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle and dietary factors.” They also found that, in general, “…frequent dairy food intake is associated with better cognitive performance but underlying causal mechanisms are still to be determined.” In other words, people who consume more dairy do better than non-dairy consumers, but it’s not 100% clear why.

The study showed that the relationship between dairy consumption and healthy cognition was linear – so the more dairy consumed, the better the cognitive outcomes. That is, people who consumed dairy every day did better than people who consumed it weekly, and those people did better than those who consumed dairy very infrequently.

The researchers plan to take the next step of testing specific dairy products, taking into account fat and vitamin content of each, and enhance the breadth of the neuropsychological testing battery involved. Nonetheless, this early finding is certainly exciting to those of us who are interested in the brain-boosting effects of certain foods.

I recently saw a research finding from 2009 that was pretty interesting. Canadian scientists studied people who self-identified as “morning people” or “night people” and found striking differences in brain activity patterns between the two groups. They noticed that neuronal excitability started high and decreased throughout the day for morning people, and started low and increased for night people.

They also measured spinal cord response, which they found increased throughout the day in everyone. They posited that this might mean that night people are able to increase strength to its maximum potential better than morning people, because their brain and spinal cord activity are in sync, whereas the brain and spinal cord activity of morning people are off-kilter with one going up while the other goes down.

The researchers are hoping these findings could help find ways to help shift workers or others who have to adjust their schedules contrary to their natural inclinations. You can learn more about the study here.

A new study has found that dogs learn to read the body language of humans in much the same way that human infants do. The study, conducted in Hungary, showed that dogs behaved in a way that is “functionally similar to a 6-month-old, to a 1-year-old,” according to the lead researcher.

First, dogs watched a human who looked them in the eye while addressing them, then shifted their gaze. The dogs followed the human gaze. When the human didn’t look them in the eye while addressing them, the dogs didn’t follow the gaze. Previous studies in human babies have shown the same behavior. The researchers noted that this behavior was not found in other domesticated animals, like goats.

You can see the abstract from Current Biology here.

A new study published in Neurology has found that older people with higher concentrations of vitamins B, C, D, and E may have better mental functioning. The study was conducted in people who had an average age of 87, and noted that the more vitamins found in the subjects’ bloodstream, the better they performed on mental exercises and tests.

The study yielded two other preliminary findings: first, that Omega-3s were associated with better executive functioning, and second, that people with more trans fats in the blood had lower cognitive scores overall.

It’s important to note that this was a relatively small study, involving only 104 people, so a larger study (ideally with thousands of people) will be necessary to bear these findings out.

You can read more about these findings from the National Institutes of Health website.

With all of the complex brain science findings out there, I really enjoyed this TED talk from neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert that goes back to one of the most fundamental questions about brains: why do we have them at all? Wolpert argues that the only reason we evolved our brains is because we had to move, not because we had to think or feel. This is a fun and thought-provoking talk that may get you thinking about your brain in a markedly different way! Incidentally, Wolpert is a compelling and humorous speaker, too.

For the past two holiday seasons we have partnered with OneSight—a terrific charity organization that provides eye care to those in need through outreach, research and education. Our previous holiday donations have allowed OneSight to recycle thousands of pairs of glasses for people in need. This holiday season we hope to match that—or do even better!

For each brain fitness purchase made between now and December 14, we’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to OneSight, a charity that provides eye care for people who can’t afford it. To learn more about our partnership, you can visit this page.

Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from poor vision simply because they do not have access to or cannot afford care. Poor, uncorrected vision can inhibit a child’s ability to learn and can rob adults of independence and quality of life. One of our scientists, Dr. Peter Delahunt, has written on this blog before about the problems of having incorrectly prescribed glasses and discusses a study that shows that correctly prescribed glasses can improve quality of life. In some countries, a pair of eyewear costs more than a month’s salary.

Over the past 23 years, OneSight’s volunteers have provided free eyewear and vision care to more than seven million people. In addition to our monetary donation, we host an ongoing eyeglass drive at our office – with almost 100 pairs of eyeglasses donated and counting! Those old glasses in the back of your drawer can be recycled into a life-changing gift for someone in need. To learn more about where to donate your old glasses, or to find resources to help you set up a drive to collect eyeglass donations, visit the glasses donation page on OneSight.org or see this article for other organizations that recycle used glasses.

Happy holidays to everyone from Posit Science!

“Chemobrain” or “chemofog” is a condition that affects cancer survivors who have undergone chemotherapy. Dozens of studies have shown that post-chemotherapy, patients may experience a decline in cognitive performance and memory, and many doctors have long believed chemobrain to be a significant problem for cancer patients. (To learn more about chemobrain, I recommend this in-depth article.) Despite this significant body of evidence, though, some medical professionals continue to dismiss patient claims of cognitive decline as exaggerated or unrelated to their condition.

However, a new study from Stanford University has used brain scans to definitively show that post-chemotherapy, many women show cognitive deficits in the areas of attention, memory, and planning.

The good news about chemobrain: researchers agree that the brain’s plasticity means that it’s largely reversible, with the right kind of intervention. A study from 2008 found that people experiencing chemobrain were successfully rehabilitated after using the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program. The active participants’ speed of processing, listening, and overall quality of life improved significantly after training.

We have additional  information about chemobrain, including survivor stories and links to science studies, on this page.

Do long, dark winter nights get you down? For those affected with the form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the winter can be a difficult time. The National Health Service of the UK estimates that 7% of Britons are affected by SAD, and U.S. estimates hover between 4% and 6%. According to Mayo Clinic, SAD occurs most commonly during the winter months and happens because of an imbalance of melatonin production, which can disrupt the body’s internal clock and lead to depressive symptoms like anxiety, lack of concentration, irritability, and hopelessness.

The most common therapy to date involves prolonged exposure to bright light (30 minutes at 10,000 lux – with the average office lighting being around 400 lux, and a bright sunny day being between 10,000 and 25,000 lux.) However, a new study from a Finnish medical company has found that a 12 minute session of light focused in the ear canal may be just as effective in treating SAD. The researchers channel the light into photosensitive areas of the brain via the ear canal via a headset device for 12 minutes a day. You can learn more about the device and the corresponding clinical trials in this article.

Previous studies have shown that being bilingual may delay dementia, but for the first time, a Canadian study has used brain scans to offer additional proof of bilingualism’s protective effects on the brain.

Research conducted up to this point has compared older people that speak either one or two languages to gauge the age at which Alzheimer’s symptoms begin to show. Based on this kind of research, there is solid evidence that bilingual people have a later onset age for cognitive decline. The new study, published in the journal Cortex, added results from CT scans of the brains to further bolster this kind of finding.

The researchers scanned the brains of bilingual and monolingual people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and who had comparable cognitive skills and education levels. What they found was that bilingual people with twice as much Alzheimer’s-related brain damage were cognitively at the same level as monolinguals with much less brain damage. They concluded that despite the physical brain being destroyed by Alzheimer’s, the cognitive function of the bilingual people was significantly better preserved than that of the monolinguals.

Continue reading "Brain Scans Show that Being Bilingual Can Ward Off Alzheimer’s Effects" »

I’ve recently noticed several studies related the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on brain function and longevity. The research shows that air pollution may harm the brain and affect cognitive processes negatively.

One study looked at people over the age of 51 and found that those who lived in areas with a lot of air pollution had lower cognitive scores than people who had lived in unpolluted areas. The results were normed to take social status and education level into account. According to Melinda Power, one of the researchers involved in the study, “Traffic-related air pollution appears to cause inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain.” You can listen to Melinda Power speak more about the research on air pollution and cognition in this podcast.

In a second study, conducted at Ohio State University, the research team looked at the effect of pollution particulates in the brain of mice. They found that exposure to pollutants affected the hippocampus- the brain area responsible for learning and memory formation. The exposed mice’s hippocampi had less neuronal growth than those who were not exposed.

Continue reading "Air Pollution May Harm the Brain" »