#neuroplasticity

#neuroplasticity

Ever get caught in a negative thought spiral? It can happen after a minor inconvenience or misunderstanding, like when you forget to buy oat milk or your friend doesn't immediately text back. Instead of laughing it off, your brain overthinks it - I suck at everything, nobody likes me, etc. - and suddenly it feels like the world is ending.

Think of the golden claws of Buddha's hand, the lime-green pearls that burst from finger limes, and the jet-black skins of wild berries that look like something a witch might toss into her brew. These "haunted harvests" may look spooky, but they're full of compounds that help your brain stay sharp, calm, and resilient. Beneath their eerie colors and unusual textures, wild and exotic fruits remind us that curiosity, both sensory and scientific, is one of the best things we can feed our brains.

Now, new research from Horvath and Fabricant challenges that assumption, and it does so with the kind of study design psychologists dream of: examining identical twins reared apart. Their findings suggest that education, of all things, may hold surprising power to raise measured intelligence. For educators, this study could be a validation of an instinct we've tapped on for years. For the rest, it offers hope that misreadings of prior research had closed off.

The late James Doty, a neurosurgeon and professor at Stanford University, wrote in his 2024 book "Mind Magic" about how meditation paired with repetition of messages can change a person's subconscious. This could look like closing your eyes before bed to relax, meditating and visualizing an intention like earning a new job title or mastering piano. Afterward, write the intention on a piece of paper and keep it nearby, reading it often.

The one piece of advice I have given all of them is this: "Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!" I give this advice because no one taught it to me; I had to learn it the hard way. When I first started learning public speaking in a Toastmasters club, I was locked to the lectern. I was so nervous that I grasped the sides in a white-knuckle death grip and read my speeches from notes.

Conscious awareness and emotional regulation lead to neural networks that grow, prune, and strengthen based on conscious focus and repeated practice, resulting in improved clarity.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy offers a foundational approach to addiction recovery, addressing underlying traumas and cognitive patterns that traditional methods often overlook, thus enhancing treatment efficacy.

Neuroplasticity reveals that our brains remain remarkably adaptable throughout our entire lives, allowing for continuous optimization of cognitive function.

Creatine plays a critical role not only in powering muscle, but also in fueling the brain, especially during high cognitive demand.