Did you know that when you become an expert in a specific domain, the areas in your brain that deal with this type of skill will grow? There are even parts of your brain that relate to particular professions.

For instance, London taxi drivers have a larger hippocapus (in the posterior region of their brains) than London bus drivers (Maguire, Wool lett, & Spiers, 2006)…. Why is that? It is because this region of the hippocampus is specialized in acquiring and using complex spatial information in order to navigate efficiently. Taxi dri­vers have to navigate around London whereas bus drivers follow a limited set of routes. Taxi drivers also have a highly tuned ability to remember jokes, and exaggerate about who they have had in the back of their cab, but scientists have yet to track down the Joke/Exaggeration centres of our brains.

Brain “plasticity” can also be observed in the brains of bilinguals (Mechelli et al., 2004). It looks like learning a second language is possible through functional changes in the brain: the left inferior parietal cortex is larger in bilingual brains than in monolingual brains. Sacre Bleu!!

As we have mentioned in one of our earlier newsletters, plastic changes also occur in musicians brains com pared to non-musicians. Gaser and Schlaug (2003) compared professional musicians (who practice at least 1hour per day) to amateur musicians and non-musicians. He found that they were better. ALSO, He found that gray matter (cortex) volume was highest in professional musicians, intermedi­ate in amateur musicians, and lowest in non-musicians.

So for bigger brains, jump in a taxi with a violin and ask to go to the Eiffel tower.

Make sure you are getting proper sleep: Sleep deprivation can adversely affect the brain and cognitive function. A 2000 study, by the UCSD School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in San Diego, used MRI technology to monitor activity in the brains of sleep-deprived subjects performing simple verbal learning tasks. The study showed that regions of the brain’s prefrontal cortex displayed more activity in sleepier subjects. Depending on the task at hand, the brain would sometimes attempt to compensate for the adverse effects caused by lack of sleep.

Adjust your environment: Create a study spot where all you do is study, for instance a secluded desk of some kind. Remove distractions by turning off the ringer on your phone.

Colour: A study from the journal ‘Science’ provided some intriguing results about how colours affect concentration. The study suggested that green lights improve concentration, and also claim that that the colour blue can wreck your concentration!

Play brain games: If possible, for at least 10 minutes each day play some brain games. They will prove a good habit that helps you have fun and get the benefits of staying alert too.

Set a time limit: Be honest with yourself, you know best what your limitations are and establish a time limit for activities.  This strategy will really help you stay focused on the material.

Motivate yourself with rewards: If concentration is a hard thing to achieve, it may be due to a lack of interest or dislike towards the task you have. It may help you to set up a reward system, be it your favourite show or something nice as soon as you complete your task,  like a lovely orange to gobble down from your lunchbox.

Enjoy!

The “Food for Thought” Lunchbox also comes with two pots, so you can put other treats in there…maybe some grapes, nuts, seeds or yogurt.

2. Instead of more unhealthy snacks, try fruit or vegetable snacks. You don’t have to have them by themselves, why not combine them with some proteins (like a piece of cheese, a cup of yogurt, or a tablespoon of peanut butter), you will benefit from the energy of the carbohydrates from natural sources. Research show when children’s blood-sugar levels go down, stress hormones kick in to raise it up again, which can cause behavioral problems and diminished concentration. We even have a cool Lunchbox to put your snacks in!

3. Try something new. A trip to your local greengrocer may uncover seasonal or undiscovered fruit and veg that break up your routine choice. Why not try out something new!

4. Double up your portion. When preparing your meal, try beefing up the quantities of fruit and veg you use.

5. Get creative and introduce more fruit and veg into new areas of your cooking. For example, bread can be made with vegetables like zucchini or olives. After all, homemade recipes usually taste best, and you may even be able to rival Heston Blumenthal with your wacky and mouth watering creations.

You may remember us looking at some of our design heroes, including Philippe Starck and Marc Newson, this week we concentrate on the design brains behind Apple Computers.

Jonathan (Jony) Ive is an English designer who’s been the head of the design department at Apple inc. since 1997 and is responsible for the iMac, MacBook, unibody MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone, and the current iPad.

Before joining the Apple Jonathan studied Industrial Design studies at Northumbria University (Newcastle Polytechnic at the time) and then went on to co-found design company Tangerine.

He describes his style as offering  “fanatical care beyond the obvious stuff”

His story with Apple began when they approached Tangerine to help redesign some of their computers. After a frustrating few years, the man who claims to have had real problems with existing computers began to innovate Apple products. At the time, Apple was in decline, but both Jony and the company itself began to see success with the return of Steve Jobs as CEO.

Jony Ives is notoriously camera shy and generally tries to avoid public speaking.  On the rare occasion that he is interviewed he appears genuinely humble about his achievements. He expresses concern that his designs have to be as well considered as possible, as he feels responsible for all the effort that the rest of the company have to expend to realise the products that he has envisaged. What a hero!

It would be great if you can tell us some of the design heroes that you think have made a difference to your lives. You can even tell us about some good ideas you have seen or thought of yourself on our Product Ideas page.

2. Chronic Stress cannot:
a. Prevent you from being creative
b. Kill brain cells
c. Prevent you from sleeping
d. Kill liver cells

3. What type of phys i cal exercise is the best for your brain health?
a. Weight lifting
b. Aerobic exercises
c. Flexibility exercises

4. Pick the ability, if any, that can not be improved as we age:
a. Con centration
b. Memory
c. Language
d. None

5. Which of these does NOT affect your risks of developing Alzheimer’s?
a. Your family history
b. Your education
c. Your head size

6. What type of brain training has been shown to help people who are afraid of spiders?
a. NovaVision
b. Cognitive Therapy
c. EmWave Stress Relief

Answers will be revealed in the next newsletter!

If your not already a subscriber, sign up now for your Newsletter.

You can also take the entire Brain quiz by Dr. Pascale Michelon on www.sharpbrains.com

There is a plethora of food that purport to enhance brain function. Here is some advice we stumbled upon.

Most people are familiar with the fact that oily fish are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are essential for brain function. Incorporating fish into your diet, especially at breakfast, is a good move.

Your “ Power” breakfast could also incorporate with a cup of green tea. Studies have shown that polyphenols – the potent antioxidants green tea is rich in – help fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves that can be seen in both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Studies in the US have shown that fruits like avocados (that contain monounsaturated fat) can fire up brain cells by enhancing blood flow.

Like green tea, blueberries are said to be able to protect the brain form oxidative stress and may even reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Studies have also shown that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging rats, making them mentally equivalent to much younger rats.

Whole grains, like popcorn and whole wheat, are also labelled as “smart” foods, providing rich dietary fibre and vitamin, and have been proven to promote cardiovascular health, so you will be promoting blood flow to the organ system, which includes the brain.

Very tasty!

Be “here and now”

Try to see things – even the most uninteresting and common things- as if for the first or the last time. In terms of concentration, it refers to giving increased interest to a task we may consider too boring or too tiresome for us to complete.

Avoid procrastination

Procrastination is the most versatile enemy of concentration. Frequently, small distractions and entertaining activities consummate precious time. Even if our excuse is being tired the brain will be more responsive to our efforts if we push it a little bit more. Children should try to sit in the front of their class rooms were they will be solely focused on the teacher and the lesson, and even be able to participate in discussions regularly. They can try using the Concentrate Voting Ruler in class!

Put a number on it

Establishing some kind of ritual- especially using a number system- it will help make your objective measurable and achievable. It all depends to our perception on the particular task: if we consider it difficult, “breaking” it into number makes easier to accomplish. The mind works better if we trick it with small steps. So, just choose a number, like three or five and say to yourself: for example; “I will work out for three more minutes in the gym” or “I’ll read five more pages of this book before i go to bed”…you get the picture.

Establish your limitations

Assign tasks with precise time parameters that tell you when to start and when to stop doing them. Write down a to-do-list and try to stick on it, a diary can be very beneficial too. Putting things on paper usually equals to a “black-on-white” commitment that will make us keep our promise.

We hope this helps!

Hello. We occasionally get asked for advice about taking an idea forward and getting into the marketplace. We thought it might be of interest to put together some tips.

We just started to sell our products on Ebay.

It’s actually pretty tricky to get started selling on the ebay site, and it requires lots of positive reviews.

If anyone is thinking of buying some lovely Concentrate goodies A. you’re clearly a marvelous. talented and good looking person, and B. Could you possibly try buying the products from ebay?

If you’ve had a positive experience, it would be EXTREMELY helpful if you could give us a positive review, and we’ll be eternally grateful.

Please by some of our products on Ebay now. Thanks very much!

Details of the RCA show are on Page 67.