NEURO

Researchers at the  Center for BrainHealth  at The University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with co-leading authors at George Washington University and Yale, have demonstrated in a pilot study that a clinician-driven virtual learning platform, tailored to young adults on the autism spectrum, shows improved social competency. Findings published in  Autism Research  reveal that increases in socio-emotional and socio-cognitive abilities correlate with brain change. Results included increased activation in the brain’s socio-cognition hub with gains linked to improvement on an empathy measure. “Many individuals with autism spend months and years in different forms of trainings with limited measurable gains,” explained principal investigator Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth. “A major contribution of our study is the results challenge the outdated view that social cognition issues are difficult to remediate after chil...

WFAA – Getaway opens tiny cabins outside Dallas, hoping people disconnect from city life   Start at 2:23 A company called Getaway just opened 44 tiny cabins in Larue, Texas, hoping to provide a break for busy people with hectic lives. North Texans can now escape to 44 tiny cabins in the middle of the woods about 90 minutes from Dallas. Getaway Piney Woods just opened a new location in Larue, Texas, to provide a break for busy people with hectic lives. “It’s all about getting off the internet, away from your job, away from the craziness of city life,” said Jon Staff, founder and chief executive officer of Getaway. The company tells guests that cellphone service could be spotty, which is intentional in the secluded locations. There are landlines in case of emergency. Staff said his business started in 2015 as “three cabins in the woods” outside Boston and has expanded to locations outside nine U.S. cities. His goal was to get out of the city but remain close enough to go r...

The British government famously encouraged citizens to “keep calm and carry on” during wartime. New research shows, however, that “keep calm and grow stronger” might be more useful advice. Ian Robertson, PhD, discussed on KERA Think how adversity can steer us toward success. He writes about the topic in his book  “The Stress Test: How Pressure Can Make You Stronger and Sharper.” Listen to the full conversation with host Krys Boyd February 19, 2020 The post What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger – Here’s Why appeared first on Center for BrainHealth . from News Coverage – Center for BrainHealth https://ift.tt/3a4Q4gX

In a major new project, Sarah Schleuning, who championed the Dallas Museum of Art’s blockbuster Dior retrospective, brings together artists who play with our senses. Sarah Schleuning’s 6-year-old son, Vaughn, has an expressive language disorder, and “for a long time really didn’t speak much,” she says. Schleuning became the Margot B. Perot Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Dallas Museum of Art last spring. “I work in the visual, cultural world. I’m a hyper-verbal person. And I had a child who wasn’t really able to form words,” she says. Vaughn’s sister Zuzu, 10, approached his disorder in a way that only a child could. She listened to him without judgment — she’d never known any other way — and at times, translated his vocalizations into clear language that Schleuning and her husband could understand. “It just really felt like: What a magical thing to watch. You know, the both of them, as they navigate this,” she says. There was no preordained syntax for what they ...

This week I was privileged to be among remarkable leaders who are working in concert to double brain health and performance over the next decade. I am speaking of the October 21 preview event for The BrainHealth Project, conceptualized and led by Dr. Sandi Chapman, Director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas. It was humbling to be in a room filled with giants in the field of neuroscience, whose painstaking scientific inquiry decades ago challenged then prevailing understanding of the brain. Walking along the Embarcadero overlooking San Francisco Bay post event, my mind wandered to medieval scholars of millennia past, who proved beyond doubt that the world was indeed not flat. I thought about the turning point marked by the day’s event, and how these tangible results of neuroplasticity science will yield equally profound change for us all. The BrainHealth Project unites an unparalleled, international group of neuroscience leaders to advance the common g...

Take a walk down the hall of any typical middle or high school, and you will see the dynamic complexity of social interaction. Peers gather around lockers and classrooms looking to connect between classes. Conversations start about after-school activities, popular video games, and yes—relationships. Students feel a sense of inclusion, community, and social support as their brains produce little doses of dopamine that serve as a reward for being social, motivating kids to continue engaging socially. For Aiden, a teenager who is trying to discover his social self, the story is a little different: “I don’t really put effort into making and keeping friends…but I do want to know how to show others that I am interested in getting to know them.” Like many other young people with high-functioning Asperger’s syndrome, being social doesn’t feel natural for Aiden. Being part of a group takes quite a lot of skill and savvy. During one particularly difficult year in a traditional public school, Ai...

As the CEO of one of the largest housing specialty firms, much of my day is spent reviewing economic data and financial reports. Yet even though I have a mathematical bent, I know what’s most important to my firm: Making sure the minds of my employees stay in top shape. Researchers have found that improving brain structure and cognitive function can help you perform better at work. And you can actually engage in brain exercises to make your mind more agile. For example, every morning during my commute, I try to recall and say aloud a list of my most important tasks, so that I can maintain focus on them throughout the day. If you want to enhance your mental capacity, it can be difficult to know which brain exercises to adopt. Thankfully, the experts at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas came up with a useful exercise. They call it the “2 + 5 + 7 = Improved Brain Health.” It’s not a scientific formula, but more of a mental mnemonic, which y...

A group of Amarillo Police Department officers gathered at the Panhandle War Memorial Center on Wednesday to gain insight regarding bolstering focus, creativity and mental efficiency via enhanced cognitive performance. Officials said the endeavor is part of a two-day initiative offered by the Brain Performance Institute’s High Performance Cognitive Training program, under the umbrella of the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health. “This training is about teaching you how to improve your brain health by the way you use your brain every single day,” Katie Hinds, lead clinician at the Brain Performance Institute’s Warrior Initiative, said. “Similar to the manner in which we can improve our bodies through physical fitness, it’s important to do the same cognitively. We want to help you boost your cognitive abilities and put in the practice those habits that can help you capitalize on your brain’s untapped potential.” Officials said the High Performance Cognitive Training p...

Participants in this 45-day study will track their emotions in real time using the Mindcurrent app and Apple Watch data We all deal with emotions during busy days. Sometimes we’re happy—sometimes not. But what affects our emotional state? That’s what a new study involving university students hopes to find  out. The Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas is teaming up with Mindcurrent, a Portland, Oregon-based wellness startup, on a 45-day study that utilizes new artificial intelligence technology to chart human emotions in real time.   The study is expected to follow 30 to 50 participants—mostly UTD students—to track their emotions as they occur using Mindcurrent’s app. Participants will correlate their input with behavioral, biometric, environmental, and activity data drawn from Apple Watch products. Combining AI with biometric data The Center for BrainHealth is a research institute aimed at enhancing, protecting, and restoring brain health acro...

DALLAS (1080 KRLD) – A collaboration between The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth and UT Southwestern Medical Center has resulted in a new way to look at the brains of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) which could greatly enhance doctors ability to select the best therapy for each person. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroimaging, researchers were able to examine brain lesions using a patent-pending technique employing 3 Tesla MRI, allowing doctors to see the lesions in 3D instead of 2D. Previously, doctors were only able to look at lesions in 2D, forcing doctors to make educated guesses on the status of each lesion. Having a 3 dimensional view of the lesions allows doctors to see the harm done to the tissue surrounding the lesions and allows doctors to give a better estimate on how long the lesion has existed. “It is exciting because prior to this development, doctors have had to rely on trial and error therapy. So they just look at the lesion...

A RECENT NIDA-SUPPORTED STUDY UNDERLIES THE FACT THAT DRUGS USED IN COMBINATION CAN PRODUCE EFFECTS THAT DIFFER FROM THE SUM OF THE DRUGS’ INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS. Researchers showed that users of either nicotine or cannabis had reduced connectivity in several brain networks, but that users of both drugs had connectivity similar to that of users of neither. This research: Adds to research showing that nicotine and cannabis have interactive effects on brain structure and function. Suggests that specialized treatment interventions may be appropriate for people who use both drugs. Dr. Francesca Filbey  of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas, Dallas, and  Dr. Bharat Biswal  of the New Jersey Institute of Technology conducted resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to assess network connectivity in 28 nicotine users, 53 cannabis users, 26 users of both drugs, and 30 nonusers. In rsfMRI, subjects are asked to relax and let their minds w...

HEAR “HEALTHY HEART” AND YOU MIGHT THINK CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD PRESSURE…OUGHTA HIT THE GYM. NOW, QUICK: WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR YOUR BRAIN? “People spend more time thinking about their toenails than their brains,” says former Houston Oilers linebacker  Al Smith . As board chair of the NFL Alumni Association and a baby boomer, he knows firsthand that the brain is usually completely ignored until something goes wrong. Like concussions. Or forgetfulness. “When I have a headache or forget where I parked my car, I think, is that my age? Or from playing a rough sport? Is it Alzheimer’s?” Smith says. His growing concern led him to be among the first guests at the only resort focused exclusively on brain health, Montana’s new  LifeWorks Health and Neuroscience . Yes, there is such a thing. Because…now we know. “We’re having a brain-health revolution,” says  Sandra Bond Chapman , Ph.D., founder of the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. “What we’ve known a...

STRESS. WE ALL FEEL IT. WE KNOW IT’S AFFECTING US, BUT DO WE TRULY KNOW HOW MUCH? CONSIDER THIS: WE KNOW THAT STRESS CREATES TENSION IN OUR BODIES, AFFECTS OUR MOOD AND EVEN OUR SLEEP. What few people are aware of is that although some stress can be important for survival, unnecessary and constant stress that is not managed well can adversely impact our brains over time. Research has even shown that chronic stress actually accelerates brain aging. Many professions, especially high-risk professions like police officers, firefighters and first responders, experience extreme stress that often leads to higher rates of depression, anger and burnout, and can impact life-or-death decisions made on the job. However, chronic stress and burnout is not limited to those professions. The good news: We all have within us the tools needed to manage our physiological response to stress. We also now know through research that our brains can be repaired and renewed. Just like our hearts, we have the ...

THE 5TH ANNUAL DALLAS FESTIVAL OF BOOKS IDEAS PROMISES A LOT OF MOVING PARTS, INVOLVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE ELDERLY, CULTURAL AND RACIAL DIVERSITY AND DALLAS AS A BEACON OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. But that’s not all. This year’s festival also promises a candid look at Dallas’ present and future as a literary city. The 2019 version, which opens May 28 and runs through June 1, looms as a first for the festival, which is now a partnership, shared with  The Dallas Morning News , the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, the Dallas Public Library, Friends of the Dallas Public Library and the Dallas Museum of Art. Here’s a look at the topics the festival will cover: 1)  “The Physical City”  will consider the elderly and how Dallas can address “its elders’ needs and benefit from the wisdom and experience.” Its keynote speaker will be professor Emi Kiyota, an environmental gerontologist who directs the nonprofit Ibasho, whose motto is: “Creating socially integrat...

A SIGHT THAT STOOD OUT TO JUDSON BREWER DURING HIS FIRST TRIP TO PARIS WITH HIS WIFE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO: THE TOURISTS. Brewer, a psychiatrist who studies behavioral change, noticed visitors snapping photographs, posting on social media, and then spending the rest of their time checking their phones for likes and comments instead of enjoying the Louvre Museum. So, what’s going on there? It turns out that talking about ourselves is rewarding – much like eating a cupcake makes us happy or smoking a cigarette helps us destress. This cyclical pattern of reward-based habit is about as primitive as it gets for humans, explained Brewer, who was in Dallas recently to speak during the  Center for BrainHealth ’s annual lecture series. For example, let’s talk about those cupcakes. We see food that looks good, and our brain says, ‘Calories! Survival!’ So, we eat the food, and our brain remembers how good it made us feel and uses the same process to deal with emotions like being bored o...