A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF YOUR MIND

V.S. Ramachandran is Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego. In a wide-ranging talk, Vilayanur Ramachandran explores how brain damage can reveal the connection between the internal structures of the brain and the corresponding functions of the mind.
I consider this is an interesting talk, since Ramachandran's suggestions provide us with a wider perspective on how the brain works. It could give us insight on Alzheimer communication.

I recommend you his excellent book: Phantoms in the Brain. New York: William Morror, 1998.

(CLIP)

THE COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATING INTIMATELY WITH NATURE

New study finds that short-term memory is improved 20% by walking in nature, or even just by looking at an image of a natural scene. Marc G. Berman and colleagues at the University of Michigan wanted to test the effect of a walk's scenery on cognitive function (Berman, Jonides & Kaplan, 2008; PDF). These results replicated a previous study by Berto (2005) who found that just viewing pictures of natural scenes had a restorative effect on cognitive function.

What is it, then, about being immersed in real natural scenes that allows the mind to unwind?

Kaplan (1995) provides a nice explanation based on the idea that attention is split into two types: Involuntary attention and Directed attention. Natural scenes only engage our involuntary attention modestly: it's enough to stop us getting bored, but not so much we need to engage our directed attention to work out where to put our focus. Effectively gazing at the sunset gives our directed attention a rest and we can let our minds wander.

It would be interesting to test how other natural areas provide even greater benefits not only in memory but in perception, communication, executive function...

EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS

Yoga has played a role in relaxation and gentle exercise for some people with Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Association Massachusetts/New Hampshire chapter. A study released last year during the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia in Washington, D.C., found that regular meditation can bolster cognitive function for people with memory loss. In this regard, Patrice Flesch (South End Yoga) has been teaching yoga classes at the Boston Alzheimer's center for eight years. She is a pioneer in this area. Patrice alters poses and movements from her traditional yoga to make them more cognitive.
More research is needed to determine how Yoga techniques can reliably be used to improve cognitive performance and possibly aid in treating and even preventing Alzheimer's Disease.

Information available in Spanish
Reference (The Boston Globe)

PASSION FOR SCIENCE

- The ESOF 2010 (the next Euroscience Open Forum) will take place in Torino, Italy, on 2-7 July 2010, under the slogan Passion for Science. http://www.esof2010.org/

MORE INTERESTING ARTICLES AND BOOKS

- Hughes, J.C.; Louw, S.J.; Sabat, S.R. (2006). Dementia: Mind, Meaning, and the Person. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Robbins, P. & Aydede, M. (2009). A Shor Primer on Situated Cognition. In P. Robbins & M. Aydede (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of situated cognition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Tomasello, M. (2008). Origins of Human Communication. MIT Press.

TALK: DISCOURSE AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

I would like to share this talk that I gave last year at the Advanced Seminar in Discourse Studies led by Professor Teun A. van Dijk.
It focuses on:
1) a panoramic view of Alzheimer's Disease;
2) a literature review over Alzheimer Discourse approaches;
3) a cognitive perspective to study this issue.

Download (.ppt) (Spanish version)

INTERESTING ARTICLES

- Arkin, S. (2007). Language-Enriched Exercise Plus Socialization Slows Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias, 22 (1), 62-77.
- Arkin, S. M., Mahendra, N. (2001). Discourse analysis of Alzheimer's patients before and after intervention: Methodology and outcomes. Aphasiology, 15(6), 533-569.

- Chapman, S. B., Ulatowska, H. K., King, K., Johnson, J. K., & McIntire, D. D. (1995). Discourse in early Alzheimer’s disease versus normal advanced aging. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 4(4), 125–129.
- Fromm, D., & Holland, A.L. (1989). Functional Communication in Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders Vol.54, 535-540.

- Joanette, Y., Ansaldo, A.I., Carbonnel, S., Ska, B., Kahlaoui, K., Nespoulous, J.L. (2008). Communication, language and the brain: from past anterior to near future. Revue Neurologique, 164 (S3), 83-90.

- Mahendra, N., & Arkin, S. (2003). Effects of four years of exercise, language, and social interventions on Alzheimer discourse. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36(5), 395-422.
- Orange, J. B., & Kertesz, A. (2000). Discourse analyses and dementia. Brain & Language, 71, 172–174.
- Sherratt, S. (2007). Multi-level discourse analysis: A feasible approach. Aphasiology, 21 (3/4), 375-393.
- Stemmer, B. (1999). Discourse Studies in Neurologically Impaired Populations: A Quest for Action. Brain Language, 68, 402-18.

- van Dijk, T. A. (1997). Context models and text processing. In M. Stamenow (Ed.). Language Structure, Discourse and the Access to Consciousness . Amsterdam: Benjamins, 189-226.

- van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Discourse, context and cognition. Discourse Studies, 8(1), 159-177.