- Training the Brain: Cognitive Therapy As An Alternative To ADHD Drugs.
The article focuses on Dr. Torkel Klingberg of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden who trained around 40 kids with ADHD with a software program that addressed “working memory.” After more than 20 days of training parents reported that their children had greatly improved attention and lessened hyperactivity.
- ADHD, Brain Growth and Development
Neuroscientists now generally agree that the brain is always changing and reorganizing (neuroplasticity). If mitigation of ADHD symptoms can be induced by external challenges, we may very well have to rethink its etiology or concede that it a normal characteristic on the spectrum of human traits which can be dealt with, at least in part, by external challenges.
- ADHD: Retrain the Brain
The bottom line is: The brain can be retrained to overcome learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, ADHD, etc. What we now know is that this is done over a vast network in the brain that encompasses many other minor and major networks. You could think of retraining as the confluence of several telephone companies coming together to in order to overcome a limitation. Each has its own network and substructure but can become bigger and stronger (overcoming their respective limitations) by merging with the other network (think AT&T and Cingular). In the brain, this is done over a wide area of networks -- not locally in distinct surface areas as superficial brain imaging might indicate.
- ADHD: The problem is simply diffused attention
Therefore, a new conceptualization of the basic nature and etiology of ADHD behaviors is necessary in which current known research about human potential and learning are incorporated to produce a scientific, systematic approach to teach sustained attention and improve subordinate deficits in related cognitive skills like short-term memory.
- Boston Globe: Playing their Way to Improved Concentration
I synthesized my experience in education, computer education, and psychology to devise a system to optimize human potential. However, at the time I began this journey, my university training was of little help.
- Can we map attention, memory and language links in the human brain?
"ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is probably one of the most over-diagnosed disorders of our time," Christensen said. "The reason for that, I think, is that we really don't know very much about the biological basis of this syndrome. There's a lot of research on it, but there's still a lot of disagreement about what the root cause is, and about whether drugs like Ritalin that are being prescribed to children as young as 2 years old are doing any good, and if we have any business exposing our children to drugs at such a very early age," he added.
- Children and Cognitive Overload
There are more demands on our attention and less training for us to stop and take it all in. This is of particular interest when it comes to children who have grown up in the fast lane where Web pages that take more than five seconds to load are considered lame. Is the speed and ease compromising their attention spans? Their perspective? Their humanity? Even their work ethic? Or are we just threatened that they will lap us old fogies?
Little is understood about the Information Age's effect on this generation, but it is a burgeoning area of research.
- Children Today: Multi-tasking or Multi-distracted?
Children that are exposed to 8 and a half hours of TV, video games, computers and other media a day — often at once — may be losing the ability to concentrate.
- Cogntive Skills Training and ADHD in Children
A University of British Columbia research study has demonstrated that cognitive training can improve attentional control, impulse control, and other executive functions.
Furthermore, the study’s authors cite that practice of cognitive skills in early development years may decrease incidence of ADHD.
I have insisted that this was possible for nearly a decade.
- Does the Brain Have an ‘irrelevance filter’ and Is It Related to ADHD?
Test subjects performed a computer-based task that required them to respond to target visual images with or without distractions. The test subjects were alerted when a target image would contain irrelevant distracters with the target images. Under this circumstance, Klingberg and McNab cited increase blood flow in the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex before the visual display appeared. This, they interpreted as the brain preparing to "filter out" the upcoming distracters. They theorize that these preliminary findings may be related to ADHD.
- For ADHD Children, Mother’s Depression, Early Parenting Predict Conduct Problems
According to a study published in the January 2007 issue of the American Psychological Association's journal, Developmental Psychology, a mother's depression predicts whether children with ADHD will develop behavioral problems.
Psychology professor Andrea Chronis, director of the University of Maryland ADHD Program and lead author on the paper said, "In the real world, this could have important implications, because research has suggested that children with both ADHD and conduct problems are at the greatest risk of becoming chronic criminal offenders."
- He Is Still a Typical Teenager
The following story is from the Scotsman.com. Pay particular attention to the section where ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and dyspraxia are described; they are notably different than our perceptions in the States.
- Is the ADHD Brain Damaged?
...researchers can find numerous parts of the ADHD brain that seem dysfunctional. A major flaw in virtually all of this research is that they use very small groups that cannot depict the vast spectrum brain variability among the human species. This published research confuses many people as it seems the brains of those with ADHD are smaller, have damage in the basal ganglia, putamen, frontal lobes, cerebellum, and brain stem. This amounts to little more than neophrenology. Publication of this neophrenology allows media to portray ADHD individuals as irreparably brain damaged which is both harmful and flagrantly untrue.
- John Ratey: “Train Your Brain”
"Neurons that fire together wire together" means that the more we repeat the same actions and thoughts--from practicing a tennis serve to memorizing multiplication tables--the more we encourage the formation of certain connections and the more fixed the neural circuits in the brain for that activity become.
- Mental Processing is Continuous, Not Like a Computer
Through computerized testing, the researchers essentially confirmed AND disputed work theorized by computer scientist, Marvin Minsky, in his book, The Society of Mind.Once again, the mind seems to have a difficult time describing its own activities.
- Multitasking vs Task Switching Research
By advancing our understanding of the connection between mind, brain and behavior, this research may help in the design of complex devices – such as airliner cockpits – and may help in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders such as ADHD or schizophrenia."
- Neurofeedback training in ADHD children
A study using neurofeedback to control ADHD symptoms was published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions (2007 Jul 26;3(1):35, Controlled evaluation of a neurofeedback training of slow cortical potentials in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ) The researchers compared a group therapy program to a neurofeedback regimen.
- Neurogenesis: Mechanisms of Change
Research at the Salk Institute found that patients as mature as 72 were actually creating new brain cells. The formation of new brain cells is termed neurogenesis. Furthermore, the Salk Institute’s research revealed that mice that were stimulated environmentally – for instance made to run – produced more new cells than did their counterparts who were sedentary.
- Preschoolers’ motivation, temperament relate to attention skills, study finds
“The findings from this study suggest problems that arise from attention
difficulties are not limited to difficulty with concentration and sitting still,
but are related to how children approach challenging or new situations,” said
Chang. “Clearly, it is the case that much more needs to be understood about the
nature and implications of having an attention problem.”
- Re-wiring Your Brain, Meditation & ADHD, A Self-service Guide
"Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries: Mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness.
- Stimulation and Continued Brain Development
Inability to stay focused on a task is a hallmark of the aging brain's decline. Bilingual people also seemed more readily able to filter out distraction or irrelevant data. This suggests that the function, capacity, or neural network involved in bilingual language processing may be the same processing needed to stay attentive. The study appears in the June, 2004 issue of the journal Psychology and Aging.
- The Controversy Over Brain Imaging – Introduction
Has brain scanning become the new phrenology? It's an interesting prospect that may be clarified by an historical perspective.
- Too much TV Lowers Tests Scores
The amount of TV watching certainly has a link with the reduced amount of time reading or doing homework," he said. "The key is the amount of control parents have in limiting the amount of access. Get the TV out of the bedroom; be aware of what is being watched; limit the amount of TV watching."
- Using NASA Technology to Increase Attention and Cognitive Function
Just as NASA astronauts and pilots train to increase attention, Play Attention literally teaches the user to increase concentration, complete tasks, visual tracking, short-term memory, and to filer out distractions -- all the skills necessary to be successful in the classroom. The learner directly observes his mind's ability to command the computer screen in real-time.
- Video Games and Brain Development
Brice Mellen is super proficient in games such as Mortal Kombat and others. The only difference between Brice and his peers is that Brice is blind. The following excerpt is from the article and is an exceptional example of neuroplasticity or Brice’s ability (his brain’s ability) to compensate for his loss of sight.
- What If Einstein Had Taken Ritalin?
The question is whether the Ritalin Revolution will sap tomorrow's work force of some of its potential genius. What will be the repercussions in corporations, comedy clubs, and research labs?
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