Alzheimer's Foundation Of America

Copyright (c) 2009 SharpBrains

Inauguration of cognitive neuroscience research has taken place over the last 20 years - without a parallel increase consumer awareness and appropriate professional broadcast. "Cognition" remains an elusive concept with implications difficult outside the research community.

Earlier this year, I made a presentation to health care professionals at the Academy of Medicine in New York, entitled "Brain Fitness Software: Helping consumers separate Hype Hope". I explained that computerized cognitive assessment and training tools can do (evaluate and improve specific cognitive functions), they can not do (to reduce its "Brain Age") and the current uncertainty about what they can do (for example, delay symptoms of Alzheimer's). At the same symposium, Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center, provided information on why and how to screen for deficits in executive functions in the context of dementia.

I could perceive two trends at the event: 1) "increasing Cognition Research is most often as a health issue often pharmacological, with cognitive biases in traditional medicine to focus on the detection and treatment of disease, 2) In addition, there is a growing interest in the options of development non-invasive and lifestyle issues overall. The research results in increasing cognition merely begin to reach the consumer market, mainly through health care. The opportunity is immense, but we need to ensure the market matures in a rational and sustainable, both healthcare and non-channel -care.

In January 2009, we surveyed 21,000 subscribers newsletter SharpBrains' market research to identify attitudes and behaviors regarding the ability of the brain "field" (a term we have chosen in 2006 based on a number of consumer surveys and focus groups to communicate with a wider audience). More than 2,000 decision makers and early adopters have responded to the survey.

A key question we asked was: "What is the biggest problem you see in the field of brain fitness and how do you think can be solved?". Some examples of the investigation Free text responses are listed here, with my suggestions.

The most important problems in the field of brain fitness

- Public awareness (39%): "To make people understand that heredity alone does not determine how the brain works." We need to ramp up efforts to raise public awareness and enthusiasm about research on the brain, including establishing clear links with everyday life. We can work with initiatives such as the Week of the Dana Foundation for Brain and using the latest Neuroscience Basics "materials developed by the Society for Neuroscience giving lectures in schools, libraries and workplaces.

- Loans (21%): "The lack of standards and clear definitions is very confusing, and makes many people skeptical." We need an easy to understand the taxonomy to help consumers and professionals assess allegations focus on cognitive function, and not on mental health diagnoses. Classifications should be based on a standardized taxonomy research. However, over time we have developed a system of "labeling" according to the target area and cognitive level of validation. releases often add more confusion. We should blog results of the study in depth, become trusted resources to trusted journalists and differentiation of new findings from previous ones.

- Research (15%): "Identifying What activities are most beneficial for the user with the minimum of effort or overlapping of most existing efforts." A major priority is to ensure production standards widely accepted (either commercial or following consensus processes such as schizophrenia MATRICS cognitive battery) with a transparent architecture of the results and reports on the impact (b.