Mark Tommerdahl

53 posts

A modest proposal: the not so secret formula for getting dementia



After watching a few people in my life go down the dementia path, I thought I might share with you the benefits of dementia and the best lifestyle to pursue that elusive formula. After all, after you completely lose it, you don't have to be responsible for anything. You can sit in a wheel chair and watch TV all day. Or just talk to your cats. You don't have to drive because your driver's license will be taken away. Your memory is shot - but with the lifestyle that you


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Can you train to multi-task?



Multi-tasking is something that is difficult to accomplish - unless you train for it - and then it can become a significantly valuable tool. Imagine all the work that you could get done during zoom meetings if you could sort of pay attention to what's being said online while you go about doing something else. For most of our lives (well, for those of us that grew up pre-cell phones and social media), we have been taught to focus on one thing and one thing only. Constant interruptions from emails,


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What is cognitive reserve and how do you preserve it?



When I started to look for images for "cognitive reserve", the majority of photos that popped up were related to preservation - such as preserving different aspects of the environment. Not what I was looking for, but when you think about it, preserving your individual environment has a lot to do with preserving cognitive reserve. I have always been fully supportive of any efforts we make to preserve the environment that we have and in many ways, the same principles apply to preserving our cognitive abilities through the


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How to use the Brain Gauge training platform



The Brain Gauge has a unique training platform and perhaps the best way to introduce it is to simply start using it. If you have been using a Brain Gauge, you are familiar with the screenshot shown belowPicture1-6
Note that under "Testing options" the user can select "Start testing" or "Start training". The "Start Training" option is circled - this is the one you select.

Once you have selected the training option, another screen will appear, as depicted with the screenshot below.


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Treating chronic pain with brain training?



Can the Brain Gauge be used to decrease pain or improve brain function?
For many years, people have found modest success with treating different forms of chronic pain with different types of tactile stimulation (vibration, electrical stimuli, etc.). Results from those studies (and there were quite a few) are both divergent in terms of results obtained from tactile stimulation and inconclusive. In our own work, we demonstrated a reduced effect of high frequency tactile stimulation (this means we delivered 150 Hz vibration to the skin at the same time as


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Parallels between brain fitness and physical fitness



Brain Fitness is not that different from physical fitness and shares many similarities, despite targeting different aspects of health. Here are some ways in which brain training for brain fitness is similar to physical training for physical fitness are similar:

Goal of Improvement: Both brain training and physical training aim to enhance specific aspects of health and performance. Brain training targets cognitive functions like speed, accuracy, attention, and problem-solving, while physical training focuses on improving strength, endurance, and flexibility.

Adaptation: Both types of training rely on the principle of adaptation.


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GABA and lateral inhibition



The brain maintains a balance between two neurotransmitters: GABA, the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter and glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter. GABA, countering the stimulating effects of glutamate, functions to slow the firing of brain cells, inducing a calmed and relaxed state.

There are two types of GABA receptors: GABAa and GABAb. When GABA binds to a GABAa receptor, excited neurons are blocked, which leads to relaxation, sedation, sleep, and reduced anxiety. When GABA binds to a GABAb receptor, a more complex process is triggered, which reduces stress, boosts cognition,


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The importance of detecting the barely detectible...



Following a mild concussion, individuals typically begin to perceive a sense of normalcy within 1-2 weeks. Symptoms gradually subside, and if undergoing professional assessment, patients often exhibit a return to their initial scores on standard evaluations like SCAT and ImPACT during this post-concussion period. However, the question arises: is their brain genuinely fully recovered?
Unlike a fracture that can be directly observed through an X-ray, head injuries are evaluated indirectly by gauging brain function. This comparison is akin to assessing a broken arm's condition by assessing the arm's mobility – a


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New! Brain Training with the Brain Gauge



Brain training 1.0 with the Brain Gauge is no longer in beta testing though versions 2.0 and 3.0 are! If you would like to add brain training to your Brain Gauge, simply contact support@corticalmetrics.com to get the free update.

What is Brain training?
Brain training refers to a range of cognitive exercises, activities, or programs designed to enhance and optimize various mental processes, such as memory, attention, problem-solving, and reasoning. The primary aim of brain training is to stimulate and challenge the brain's neural networks


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What is Grumpy Science?



A year after we launch Grumpy Science, we decide to write about it. After all, we are a couple of curmudgeonly old guys that do whatever we want whenever we want. So what exactly is Grumpy Science? Grumpy Science is a videocast that is co-hosted by Bob Dennis and myself. It evolved from our Friday afternoon impromptu meetings that we could never bring ourselves to call “Happy Hour”. It basically morphed into “grumpy hour” in which we complained about a lot of things and then we realized that we were


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