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I talked with my grandparents. I asked them about my great-grandmother who had Alzheimer’s. I grew up with her and also have another grandma who had it as well. When I told her some of the questions I wanted to ask her she wasn’t sure if I had forgotten when she talked about it before but I just explained it was a project. There wasn’t any new information I learned I mostly confirmed some things I was unsure of and everything matched up with what was in my sources.

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This is the comprehensive report about the current state of Alzheimer's disease. It covers fundamentals of the disease including, brain changes, risk factors, and the statistics on Alzheimer's disease. It also covers the daily life of someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The effects, the care that is required, and the costs of care. This was a great source for definitions and numbers. It gave me an in depth explanation of the disease and how it affects people, as well as statistics of the prevalence. "difficulties with memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking skills.”

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The Forgetful Disease That Leaves Unforgettable Marks on the Brain
Central Question: Are there any programs that work to reduce the progression of dementia in people with Alzheimer's disease? This essay investigates whether or not there is a program to reduce the cognitive loss (or progression of dementia) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It specifically looks at how prevention works. In the research, I go in-depth into what Alzheimer’s disease is and how prevalent it is. I go over some instrumental studies that show evidence of preventing dementia. Finally, I cover the current state of Alzheimer’s disease treatment and a program that showed promising results.

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The article Can Alzheimer's Disease Be Prevented? goes over the many parts of whether or not Alzheimer's disease. It goes over the causes and the studies that have been done. It also talks about the many risk factors that could raise the risks and the current state of knowledge on prevention studies. This was a good article that talked a lot about the many different parts of Alzheimer's disease and fills in a lot of gaps of knowledge I didn't have. "Although some risk factors — such as age or genes — cannot be changed, other risk factors— such as high blood pressure and lack of exercise — usually can be changed to help reduce risk. Research in these areas may lead to new ways to detect those at highest risk."

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Researchers around the globe are exploring how to prevent Alzheimer's. While there are no definitive answers at this time, research has shown that we can take action to reduce our risk of developing it.

What causes Alzheimer's?

Experts agree that in the vast majority of cases, Alzheimer's, like other common chronic conditions, probably develops as a result of complex interactions among multiple factors, including age, genetics, environment, lifestyle and coexisting medical conditions. Although some risk factors - such as age or genes - cannot be changed, other risk factors - such as high blood pressure and lack of exercise - usually can be changed to help reduce risk. Research in these areas may lead to new ways to detect those at highest risk.

Prevention studies

A small percentage of people with Alzheimer's disease (less than 1%) have an early-onset type associated with genetic mutations. Individuals who have these genetic mutations are guaranteed to develop the disease. An ongoing clinical trial conducted by the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network ( DIAN), is testing whether antibodies to beta-amyloid can reduce the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque in the brains of people with such genetic mutations and thereby reduce, delay or prevent symptoms. Participants in the trial are receiving antibodies (or placebo) before they develop symptoms, and the development of beta-amyloid plaques is being monitored by brain scans and other tests.

Another clinical trial, known as the A4 trial (Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's), is testing whether antibodies to beta-amyloid can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in older people (ages 65 to 85) at high risk for the disease. The A4 trial is being conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study.

Though research is still evolving, evidence is strong that people can reduce their risk by making key lifestyle changes, including participating in regular activity and maintaining good heart health. Based on this research, the Alzheimer's Association offers 10 Ways to Love Your Brain - a collection of tips that can reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

Heart-head connection

Read Dr. Carrillo's Blog

Several conditions known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease - such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol - also increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's. Some autopsy studies show that as many as 80% of individuals with Alzheimer's disease also have cardiovascular disease.

A longstanding question is why some people develop hallmark Alzheimer's plaques and tangles but do not develop the symptoms of Alzheimer's. Vascular disease may help researchers eventually find an answer. Some autopsy studies suggest that plaques and tangles may be present in the brain without causing symptoms of cognitive decline unless the brain also shows evidence of vascular disease. More research is needed to better understand the link between vascular health and Alzheimer's.

Physical exercise and diet

Regular physical exercise may be a beneficial strategy to lower the risk of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. Exercise may directly benefit brain cells by increasing blood and oxygen flow in the brain. Because of its known cardiovascular benefits, a medically approved exercise program is a valuable part of any overall wellness plan.

Current evidence suggests that heart-healthy eating may also help protect the brain. Heart-healthy eating includes limiting the intake of sugar and saturated fats and making sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. No one diet is best. Two diets that have been studied and may be beneficial to lowering the risk of Alzheimer's are the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet.

The DASH diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, seeds, nuts and vegetable oils. The DASH diet limits sodium, sweets, sugary beverages and red meats.

A Mediterranean diet includes relatively little red meat. It emphasizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and shellfish, and healthy fats like nuts and olive oil.

Social connections and intellectual activity

A number of studies indicate that maintaining strong social connections and keeping mentally active as we age might lower the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's. Experts are not certain about the reason for this association. It may be due to direct mechanisms through which social and mental stimulation strengthen connections between nerve cells in the brain.

Head trauma

There appears to be a strong link between future risk of Alzheimer's and serious head trauma, especially when injury involves loss of consciousness. You can help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's and protect your head by:

Wearing a seat belt.

Using a helmet when participating in sports.

"Fall-proofing" your home by minimizing clutter, loose rugs and poor lighting.

What you can do now

While research is not yet conclusive - partially due to the need for more large-scale studies in diverse populations - certain lifestyle choices, such as physical activity and diet, may help support brain health and prevent Alzheimer's. Many of these lifestyle changes have been shown to lower the risk of other diseases, like heart disease and diabetes, which have been linked to Alzheimer's. With few drawbacks and plenty of known benefits, healthy lifestyle choices can improve your health and possibly protect your brain.

In addition, taking care of your health now may help improve your outcomes in the long term, such as reducing your risk for Alzheimer's and dementia. Research released at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2020 suggests flu and pneumonia vaccination-especially multiple vaccinations over time-is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's in later life. While it is too early to tell if getting a flu vaccination on its own can reduce risk of Alzheimer's, this paves the way for future studies to explore why vaccinations may be protective.

Learn More: Brain Health

You can help increase our knowledge by considering participation in a clinical study. Our free clinical trial matching services, TrialMatch®, can help you find clinical trials in your area that are seeking volunteers.

Understanding prevention research

Here are some things to keep in mind about the research underlying much of our current knowledge about possible prevention:

Insights about potentially modifiable risk factors apply to large population groups, not to individuals. Studies can show that factor X is associated with outcome Y, but cannot guarantee that any specific person will have that outcome. As a result, you can "do everything right" and still have a serious health problem or "do everything wrong" and live to be 100.

Much of our current evidence comes from large epidemiological studies such as the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, the Nurses' Health Study, the Adult Changes in Thought Study and the Kungsholmen Project. These studies explore pre-existing behaviors and use statistical methods to relate those behaviors to health outcomes. This type of study can show an "association" between a factor and an outcome but cannot "prove" cause and effect. This is why we describe evidence based on these studies with such language as "suggests," "may show," "might protect," and "is associated with."

The gold standard for showing cause and effect is a clinical trial in which participants are randomly assigned to a prevention or risk management strategy or a control group. Researchers follow the two groups over time to see if their outcomes differ significantly.

It is unlikely that some prevention or risk management strategies will ever be tested in randomized trials for ethical or practical reasons. One example is exercise. Definitively testing the impact of exercise on Alzheimer's risk would require a huge trial enrolling thousands of people and following them for many years. The expense and logistics of such a trial would be prohibitive, and it would require some people to go without exercise, a known health benefit.

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Researchers around the globe are exploring how to prevent Alzheimer's. While there are no definitive answers at this time, research has shown that we can take action to reduce our risk of developing it.

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The article titled Healthy Aging by The Center for Brain talks about how to maintain a healthy brain. It explains that physical activity is extremely beneficial in keeping the brain healthy. It also referred to many trials and studies that I can refer to. This source gave me a lot of studies and other sources I will be able to use that are related to brain health and aging. Even though the source itself doesn’t have that much information, I will be able to make good use of it. “Scientists documented that the brain training of deeper-level thinking carries over into untrained areas allowing individuals to more effectively assimilate, manage and utilize information. This revolutionary research shows just how tied together brain health and physical health are...”

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Driving a Precision Approach

MEASURING, PREDICTING AND PROMOTING CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

Optimal brain performance is the new frontier of human potential™

We are leading the scientific quest to measure and improve brain health across the lifespan.

Most institutions dedicated to brain health are focused on disease, disorder and decline - and on norms. Center for BrainHealth specializes in finding the markers for continual individual improvement and measuring the brain's optimal state at any given moment.

Established in 1999 as part of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas, our work embodies the university's bold tradition of scientific rigor while exploring the brain's strengths and advancing knowledge of neuroplasticity.

Breakthroughs Fueled by Innovation

Center for BrainHealth is a leading voice in brain health research, working to expand access to tools and strategies that help people thrive.

Enabling Large-Scale Access to Personalized Brain Health

Leveraging automation to drive our research in how to effectively track, measure and improve brain health at scale, our unique BrainHealth Platform features the first holistic measure of brain health, customized brain training and live virtual coaching. Automation in this context strengthens accessibility, ensuring participants have more options to benefit from support.

At the heart of our platform is the assembly of the world's largest human brain health data set, powered by participants, machine learning and ongoing collaborations. BrainHealth Platform

Developing the World's First Validated Measure of Brain Health

Our BrainHealth Index measures brain health and performance, using a proprietary algorithm that uniquely charts one's upward (or downward) holistic brain health trajectory. Taken once, the Index provides a snapshot of a person's current brain fitness level. Taken periodically, our research is demonstrating that the Index can show change and improvement. BrainHealth Index

Translating Research Into Better Cognitive Performance

Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™) is our proprietary brain training methodology grounded in over three decades of research and supported by a growing body of evidence. Our approach teaches cognitive exercises that prime the brain, calibrate mental energy, reinforce strategic thinking and ignite innovation. Cognitive Strategy Training That Works

In this image, Director of Programs Jennifer Zientz, MS, CCC-SLP, facilitates SMART brain training with partners from Virginia High Performance.

Assembling the World's Largest Human Brain Data Set

Scientists and researchers across the country are working together within a growing BrainHealth Network, accelerating analysis of the world's largest human brain health data set (collected via the BrainHealth Platform) and promoting new discoveries to benefit society and human health through increased transparency, reproducibility and collaborative innovation.

Tens of thousands of participants contribute data across multiple domains - accelerating discovery, and enabling precision brain health interventions at both individual and population levels. BrainHealth Network

The Science of Improvement and Preservation

"Center for BrainHealth research is aimed at better understanding neural plasticity - how the brain adapts to new challenges. Our cutting-edge work is helping us discover new markers of brain health and performance improvement."

In this video, Deputy Director of Research Dan Krawczyk, PhD, introduces Center for BrainHealth, sharing how the right tools and technology equip our researchers to track, measure and improve brain health.

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Center for BrainHealth specializes in finding the markers for continual individual improvement and measuring the brain's optimal state at any given moment.

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The article Keep Your Brain Healthy As You Age by Dr. Eric B. Larson talks about the different things you can do to keep your brain healthy. It lists out the many ways you can take care of your brain and also lists a few studies and tests used to come to these conclusions. his source is exactly what I was looking for. It gave me concise habits that can be made to keep the brain healthy. It comes from a source with a good reputation. It gives me 9 different ways to keep the brain healthy and also provides me with references as well. “...we can prevent memory loss by focusing on mental, physical, and social activities that promote healthy brain development”

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By Dr. Eric B. Larson
What's the key to keeping your mind sharp and your brain healthy as you grow older? Online puzzles? Nutritional supplements? Mall walking? Pickle-ball tournaments? Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
The truth is, there's no single "miracle cure" for memory problems or other brain changes that come with aging. But there is cause for optimism. Science points to a combination of social factors and healthy habits that-taken together-can help you build, preserve, and protect your brain's function over time.

Preventing memory loss

Experts used to think brain development peaked in late adolescence and it was all downhill from there. They believed if a person lost brain cells due to problems like a head injury, stroke, or substance abuse, nothing could be done to restore memory and brain function. Now, thanks to discoveries in neuroscience, we know that the brain can grow new cells and form new neural connections. Like our muscles and other body parts, the brain can rebuild itself through repeated use and exercise.

This is great news for people who intend to live a long time. It means we can prevent memory loss by focusing on mental, physical, and social activities that promote healthy brain development. Even people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias can benefit from a healthy lifestyle.

It may help to think about your brain as a reservoir, gathering rainfall for use over time. The process starts before birth as the brain begins to develop, collecting "reserves" to spend later on. The exchange continues throughout life, as your brain responds to your experiences and environment.

How to maintain brain health

Here are some tips for filling-and not draining-your reservoir of brain power:

1. Exercise regularly.

Daily physical exercise has been shown to prevent or postpone your risk for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. As little as 15 to 30 minutes a day can make a difference.

2. If you smoke, quit.

Tobacco use can harm all your organs, including your brain. But stopping now improves your chances for healthier brain function in the future, even if you've smoked for many years.

3. Take care of your heart.

A healthy brain requires a good cardiovascular system. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or atrial fibrillation, follow your doctor's advice.

3. Avoid a high-sugar diet.

High blood sugar can increase your risk for dementia, even without diabetes. So avoid highly sweetened foods like sodas and candy.

4. Keep your mind stimulated.

Games and puzzles are great. But also consider volunteer and social activities that keep you independent and engaged with friends and family. For example, learn new computer skills; participate on a board, in a book club, or dance group; or try gardening, crafts, or cooking.

5. Avoid certain drugs.

Talk to your doctor about your medication -both prescription and nonprescription. For brain health, you want to avoid dangerous interactions or being over-medicated.

6. Moderate or avoid alcohol.

Drinking has a stronger effect on our bodies as we age. Experts advise a limit of one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

7. Prevent falls.

Falls can cause a head injury, broken bones, or other harm that triggers gradual or sudden loss of function. To avoid falling, practice balance and strength exercises. Beware that drinking and drugs can affect balance. And be careful: watch for uneven walking surfaces and cords that can trip you. Wear shoes or slippers with good soles. Avoid going barefoot or walking in stocking feet. If you bike or ski, wear a helmet.

8. Minimize stress.

Hormones secreted when you're under stress have a stronger effect on older brains, challenging your ability to recover from emotional upset. So take change slowly and learn ways to cope with anxiety or tension.

9. Sleep well.
Dr. Eric B. Larson is executive director of Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, where he leads research on healthy aging, including the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study.
Inadequate sleep is linked to slower thinking and risk of dementia. Seven to nine hours a night is best. But be wary of sleep medications that can make cognitive problems worse. Instead, talk to your doctor about "sleep hygiene"-that is, habits to help your body settle down at bedtime.

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How to keep your brain healthy as you age

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By Dr. Eric B. Larson What's the key to keeping your mind sharp and your brain healthy as you grow older? Online puzzles? Nutritional supplements? Mall walking? Pickle-ball tournaments? Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute The truth is, there's no single "miracle cure" for memory problems or other brain changes that come with aging.

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This a study to delve deeper into the practice of dementia prevention with health professionals (not specialties). This study analyzes the knowledge of dementia prevention and cross references it with the knowledge of healthcare professionals. It asks what they know, how confident they are in their knowledge, and how they talk about it with patients. It discusses the findings and what could possibly be done. I liked this study because it goes in depth about the practices that are being done in prevention. It talks about what health practitioners are doing right now and cross referencing with the knowledge already known. “While most participants were able to identify strategies to reduce dementia risk, the average confidence level in perceived knowledge was only a little over 50%.”

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This article covers a study titled Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability and it’s findings. This study wanted to see the effects of an intense treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Dietary, exercise, and skill recommendations were made to patients to try and reduce the amount of cognitive loss they experienced.I thought this would be a great source to use because most of my other sources were studying how it was possible that someone could have a brain disease but not lose cognitive function while this study looks at a regimen. This study also is from a well known source and would be a better way for my research to end. “...an 83 percent improvement over the control group in executive function, a 150 percent better score in speed of processing (time required to perform mental tasks) and a 40 percent performance increase in complex memory tasks (remembering long lists, for instance).”

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The Brain: The Story Of You by David Eagleman takes the reader through the many facets of the functions of the brain. It begins with a general overview of how our brain develops and what happens in different stages of our life. He then goes to talk about our perception and the relationship between our unconscious and conscious mind. He segues to how our brain makes decisions. The last two chapters are about the need for our brain to be social and where developments in neuroscience are taking us. This book is an amazing book. It explains complex functions of the brain in layman terms more or less and gives me an insight into the basic functions of the brain. This allows me to better understand my subject.
“The participants with diseased neural tissue--but no cognitive symptoms--have built up what is known as “cognitive reserve.” As areas of the brain have degenerated, other areas have been well exercised, and therefore have compensated or taken over these functions."

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This is a very subjective question. Meaning it always depends on who you're asking. Because none of this has yet to be "proven" people will argue for This is a very subjective question. Meaning it always depends on who you're asking. Because none of this has yet to be "proven" people will argue for whoever's research and theories they agree with. I can give you some of my own personal (and I try really hard to be objective and steer clear of opinions, but that will always have a role so that's just my warning label of sorts, ha) but because this is such a big topic today it'd help if you were more specific... do you mean subconscious mind just basically like how we make decisions, fears, etc or do you want to go deeper meaning the abnormal subconscious mind and/or subconscious mind of trauma, etc. there are so many good out there. If you want recs let me know, but another good way to find is to do a bit of research online and/or going to a book store and looking at several books that deal with your specific questions... I hope this helps! ...more (less)

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This is a very subjective question. Meaning it always depends on who you're asking. Because none of this has yet to be "proven" people will argue for This is a very subjective question. Meaning it always depends on who you're asking.

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The article, Lifelong Learning: Times Ideas and Resources for Keeping Your Brain Sharp by Katherine Schulten, talks a lot about ways to keep your brain healthy. While there were a lot of different ways to do this they all mainly included learning or trying something new. It also listed activities that would work your brain, such as puzzles and riddles. It also came with a lot of hyperlinks. I really enjoyed this article. I thought it was very informative and gave me an immense amount of sources. It’s organized in a very easily readable fashion. It will also give me a basis for a lot of things to look into the way it helps keep the functioning of your brain. "Piecing together the information I got from Chapter 2 of The Brain and the information from Lifelong Learning, it seems to be the way to keep your brain the healthiest is to keep your mind making connections. Learning something new would create new neural pathways. Doing puzzles will also create new ones while strengthening old ones. It also tells me that a lot of how we keep our brains healthy is the same for everyone because the brain needs to make connections to not prune the stuff that it needs."

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Margaret Riegel

A much-e-mailed article in the most recent issue of Education Life looks at research on why and how challenging the brain - whether via reading, getting a college degree, attending lectures, writing or doing puzzles - can keep one's mind sharp for a lifetime:

...one essential element of mental fitness has already been identified. "Education seems to be an elixir that can bring us a healthy body and mind throughout adulthood and even a longer life," says Margie E. Lachman, a psychologist at Brandeis University who specializes in aging. For those in midlife and beyond, a college degree appears to slow the brain's aging process by up to a decade, adding a new twist to the cost-benefit analysis of higher education - for young students as well as those thinking about returning to school.

The article's findings inspired us to list ideas that round up a range of Times resources from recent years on keeping the brain in shape at any age - and gave us an excuse to highlight interesting Times multimedia that can help, from online tests of focus and memory to interactive Rock-Paper-Scissors and trivia games.

Whether you use these ideas for your own learning or with your students, let us know how it goes!
Learn Something New Every Day
A short Education Life piece about a young "Renaissance man" describes how he has learned something new every day since his junior year in high school:

For two and a half years, Jeremy Gleick, a sophomore majoring in bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, has devoted an hour a day to learning something new. His rule: It can't be related to schoolwork, or merely reading a novel. Even if he's sleeping at a friend's house, he squeezes in his hour. "At some point in the evening, I just excuse myself and go do it." He recently passed his 1,000th hour of self-study, most of it done online.

What would you like to learn if you challenged yourself the way Mr. Gleick has? Create a list, perhaps by first considering Mr. Gleick's own favorites for ideas.

Update: Students can now answer our related Student Opinion question based on this article, What Would You Like to Learn on Your Own?"
List What You've Already Learned - or Set a 100-Day Challenge
No. 1 on our 100 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Day of School is "List 100 things you've learned this year, whether academic or personal."

The next 99 ideas might be useful, too, since each describes a way to challenge yourself - by listing 100 books you've read or 100 places you'd like to visit, doing the Pilates "Hundred," making 100-year predictions, writing 100-word poems, interviewing centenarians, and...well, 93 more.
Tease Your Brain With Puzzles and Games
Brain studies suggest reasons for both the pleasures and payoffs of doing puzzles, according to "Tracing the Spark of Creative Problem-Solving," an article from a Special 2010 Science Times devoted to puzzles.

You can find a host of puzzles from that special linked from this Well blog post, including:

For new brain teasers every day, however, bookmark the Times's
Games page. It includes:

Of course, we also have our own Student Crosswords, created by Frank Longo, the Times puzzle master.

And we have a lesson plan about learning with puzzles in general, another about solving math puzzles and one specifically on KenKen.

Finally, some Times puzzle and game videos and slideshows:
Improve Your Memory
Quick! You have three minutes to memorize this chart of random numbers.

In "Secrets of a Mind Gamer: How I Trained My Brain and Became a World-Class Memory Athlete," Joshua Foer explains how to make a task like this manageable. You might want to first test your memorization abilities by playing games from the World Memory Championship via the interactive "Total Recall," however.
Test Your Focus
The 2010 series, "Your Brain on Computers," looked at the costs of our wired world:

Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.

To illustrate one article, "Attached to Technology and Paying a Price," The Times created two interactive tasks you can try at home:
Test Your Focus and Test How Fast You Juggle Tasks.

If all this makes you want to go on a "digital detox," here is a related Room for Debate post about how.
Strengthen Your Vocabulary
As we say on our blog regularly, just reading the front page of The New York Times every day can introduce you to scores of SAT-level words in context.

But we also, of course, have a Word of the Day feature, three weekly English language "Test Yourself" questions and weekly "fill-in-the-blank" exercises in which words are removed from Times articles on everything from Twinkies to space tourism.

In short, it can behoove you not to fritter your time, but instead to read more and become facile with language.
Challenge a Computer and Learn About Artificial Intelligence
Computers mimic human reasoning by building on simple rules and statistical averages. Test your strategy against the computer in this rock-paper-scissors game illustrating basic artificial intelligence.

Or, play against I.B.M.'s question-answering supercomputer in The Watson Trivia Challenge.

Finally, check out the Learning Network's lesson ideas around artificial intelligence - or suggest your own.
Exercise and Eat for Brain Health
Gretchen Reynolds, a Times health reporter, looks at how exercise affects brain health in " How Exercise Can Strengthen the Brain" and " Phys Ed: Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter?" while Tara Parker-Pope looks at how the " Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Mental Decline."
Consider Different Kinds of Intelligence
The article that inspired this post, "A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond," raises the notion of "multiple intelligences," a concept familiar to most teachers:

Despite continuing emphasis on SAT-type testing, in recent decades researchers have become much more aware of the range of abilities that constitute intellectual muscle. The Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner called his version of this theory "multiple intelligences" in his seminal 1983 book, "Frames of Mind."

...Many researchers believe that human intelligence or brainpower consists of dozens of assorted cognitive skills, which they commonly divide into two categories. One bunch falls under the heading "fluid intelligence," the abilities that produce solutions not based on experience, like pattern recognition, working memory and abstract thinking, the kind of intelligence tested on I.Q. examinations. These abilities tend to peak in one's 20s.

"Crystallized intelligence," by contrast, generally refers to skills that are acquired through experience and education, like verbal ability, inductive reasoning and judgment. While fluid intelligence is often considered largely a product of genetics, crystallized intelligence is much more dependent on a bouquet of influences, including personality, motivation, opportunity and culture.

Read the article to learn more, visit the Times Topics page on Howard Gardner to read about his work, or try our 2007 lesson plan, What's Your Style? in which students assess their learning styles using Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, consider teaching strategies for different learning styles and create study aids for course content tailored to different intelligences.
Search The Times for Games That Interest You
If none of the brain teasers and research we've listed so far interests you as much as, say, playing Angry Birds, don't worry: the vast archives of The New York Times will very likely have an article, interactive, review or essay on a brain-building game or pastime you enjoy.

If you love video games, for instance, you might start with scrolling through the video games part of the Arts section, read about "What Makes Gamers Keep Gaming," learn about Video Games in the Classroom or read a Q. and A. with James Paul Gee on video games and learning.

Or go to New York Times search and put in the name of a game, sport or hobby you enjoy, whether Sims Social on Facebook, the classic hand-held Rubik's Cube or seasonal corn mazes.

My own personal favorite Times article about a puzzle? "Mystery on Fifth Avenue," a story about how an architectural designer embedded clues into a Fifth Avenue apartment, leading the family who lived there on a scavenger hunt through the rooms of their home.

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Lifelong Learning: Times Ideas and Resources for Keeping Your Brain Sharp

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Margaret Riegel A much-e-mailed article in the most recent issue of Education Life looks at research on why and how challenging the brain - whether via reading, getting a college degree, attending lectures, writing or doing puzzles - can keep one's mind sharp for a lifetime: ...one essential element of mental fitness has already been identified.