A Few Brain Stories

Those that follow the blog know that I like to comment on brain studies. There are three recent ones I found fascinating:

Anticipating the Future to ‘See’ the Present by Benedict Carey
Summary – The brain estimates items in motion. It does this because it takes a fraction of a second to interpret the image information, so for survival reasons the brain estimates where the object will be.

Brainpower May Lie in Complexity of Synapses by Nicholas Wade
Summary – It is logical that the size of the brain translates into higher cognition ability. But that isn’t the only determining factor. The connections, synapses, are also players in that role. What was originally thought as simple currents has revealed something more. Different protein exchanges for different connections exist in organisms thought to be more evolved, at least using the criteria of learning.

Take a new tack to sharpen your brain by Melinda Beck
Summary – Excerising your brain is a good method to stave off brain degeneration diseases like Alzheimer’s. The brain never loses the ability to create new brain cells and new connections (synapses). The larger the mental reserves the better.