Saturday, January 31, 2009

Memory Boosting Drugs

There is no doubt that we can now, as a result of modern medical advancement, have access to drugs that improve memory, concentration, planning and reduce impulsive behavior. These are variously termed as smart drugs, smart nutrients, cognitive enhancers, brain enhancers. They are also termed as Nootropics. Studies relating to memory and memory boosting drugs are being carried out all the time as reported in this BBC article here.

This Time article talks about how a 40 year old executive used Adderall, a prescription amphetamine ordinarily used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) very successfully to help him in his continue work and the multitasking and speed that is typically required. The article raises a lot of questions about the safety of such drugs and the moral and the ethical implications that their use involves.

Given that many issues surround the popping of pills for reasons such as boosting the memory or otherwise, one is always on the lookout for safe supplements that are natural or as close to what nature intended as they can reasonably be. Among these, Fish Oil, Gingko Biloba and Gotu Kola are known to be beneficial.

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Physical Exercise and How it Benefits the Brain

We have spoken a lot about the kind of mental exercises that keep the brain agile and keep mental deterioration at bay, such as puzzles, concentration games, online memory tests, crosswords, quizzes and reading of all kinds. But even physical activity and exercise boost the brain’s well being.

In a study conducted by researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center, blood glucose (blood sugar) levels have been shown to be linked with memory loss that occurs with aging. Turns out that one should be careful to control blood sugar levels for reasons other than the obvious ones, obesity, diabetes, etc. According to a web journal, the researchers, using high-resolution brain imaging showed that rising blood sugar levels selectively target a key area of the brain linked to memory decline. According to lead researcher Scott Small,

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mental Exercises for the Brain


Do you know the similarity between an abandoned house and an idle brain? They both deteriorate. The most effective was to keep a mind agile and in good health is to USE it! Stretch your mind, challenge it with puzzles, conundrums, quizzes; read, learn new things, do some Mental Exercise for the Brain so that the inevitable and inexorable march or time has less effect on your brain. It is the principle of “Use it or lose it”!

As you would desire and work towards a fit body, so must one concentrate on constantly stimulating the mind as well! Proactively doing so is said to generate new neurons and strengthen neural connections. So what can you do to put the brain through a good, strenuous work out?

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Famous Victims of Dementia


Former US president Ronald Reagan, and former English Prime Minister Margret Thatcher were among the most powerful people in the world when they held the highest office in their respective countries. The diseases that later befell them, a scant 10 years after they relinquished office, that of different kinds of dementia; are difficult to reconcile with the powerful, and phenomenally influential and successful people that they undoubtedly were.


In August 1994, at the age of 83, Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, an incurable neurological disorder which ultimately causes brain cells to die. In November he informed the nation via a hand-written letter, writing in part,

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