Want Better Grades? Train Your Brain

According to Martin G. Walker, a member of the British Neuroscience Association, Learning and the Brain, MENSA, and owner of Mind Evolve Software, scientists have discovered how to coax the adult brain into learning, growing, and changing.

You've been learning your whole life, you say? I believe you. But isn't it a lot harder to remember everything you've learned? Walker explains why.

A child’s brain produces large amounts of a protein known as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF stimulates the brain’s center of attention and memory formation. For children, the copious production of BDNF means that their brains are constantly ready to take in new information and form new brain structures.

In late adolescence the body produces a lot more BDNF, so much more that it turns off the brain’s attention center. This shutting down effortless learning and constant attention is very important for our life as adults; we’d otherwise get overloaded and find it difficult to discriminate between long term goals and short term distractions.

Walker and his colleagues have discovered that:

• Activities that focus the brain produce acetylcholine, which helps us remember,
• Activities that challenge the brain produce dopamine,
• And that the combination of these two chemicals "stimulates the growth of new nerve cells and produces conditions under which the brain can grow and change."

Wow. Sign me up. Walker warns that not all brain training products on the market are truly effective. Buyer beware. Read some of Walker's findings before you make a purchase, or buy from him. His MindSparke Brain Fitness Pro™ is only $46.95. Even in a poor economy, that's a good price.

More advice for ageless learners:

• The Single Most Important Skill
• The Power of Extraordinary Drive
• Study Skills Collection