Brain Health: An Update of a New Frontier

Doctor Nussbaum is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist in the state of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nussbaum is an international leader in the area of brain health lifestyle. His books on brain health including his 2009 Your Brain Health Lifestyle: Application to the School, Library, Corporate Setting, and Home are easy to read and informative guides to increasing the health of your brain. He is a national and international lecturer on brain health, lifestyle and brain health, healthy aging, dementia and related disorders. Dr. Nussbaum gave the 2002 Mind Alert Lecture for ASA entitled, "Brain Health from 1 to 100." The purpose of the 2002 lecture was to introduce the audience and the nation to the basics of the human brain and the importance of neural plasticity to health, as well as promoting proactive and lifelong brain health lifestyles. Seven years later brain health has emerged as a major force in our society and a new frontier for health and human development. This lecture reveals current thinking regarding brain health, identifies where brain health has been applied across multiple sectors of society, and attempts to outline trends for the human brain shaping our future. As in 2002, the human brain remains the greatest and most complex system ever designed. Participants will be encouraged to work hard to understand its potential in our rapidly-changing world.

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Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

This MetLife MindAlert lecture delves into Dr. John Ratey’s  groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of physical exercise on the brain. In the area of cognitive performance, moving muscles produces proteins that play roles in our highest thought processes. Exercise stimulates the brain’s gray matter to produce what Ratey calls "Miracle-Gro" for the brain. "I can't understate how important regular exercise is in improving the function and performance of the brain," he says. "It's such a wonderful medicine."

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Intervening with Late-Life Cognition: Lessons From the ACTIVE Study

Cognitive intervention programs hold intriguing promise for improving critical skills in reasoning, memory, and speed of processing among older adults. In this MetLife MindAlert Lecture, Michael Marsiske, PhD, discusses highlights from the Advanced Cognitive Training in Independent and Vital Elders (ACTIVE) study. The study identified effective mental training showing long-lasting improvements in memory, reasoning and speed of processing five years after the intervention. Dr. Marsiske offers a framework for studying brain plasticity and discusses the challenge of transferring skills practiced in formal intervention programs to daily activities.

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Click here to download and print out Dr. Marsiske’s PowerPoint slides to have as a reference while watching!

2007 MindAlert Booklet
Art and Dementia
Lecture by Bruce L. Miller, MD

Building Awareness and Actions to Promote Brain Health

For anyone looking for thought-provoking background to help shape a message about the need for programs that will keep elders’ minds active and healthy, the American Society on Aging announces a new online resource. A streaming video web cast of a session from the 2007 ASA-NCOA Joint Conference presents findings from surveys conducted by ASA, the Alzheimer’s Association and AARP on public perceptions about elders’ brain health. Click here for more information and to register for this FREE video web seminar.