Brain Bits

October 12, 2008

Children who have problems hearing have been testing software (Lumisonic) that translates sound waves into circles that radiate on a display. The children can “see” these representations. The project involved the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whose musicians performed with deaf children who could see how their actions in playing an instrument influenced the circles that appeared on monitors. It provided a way for the children to interact with sound and music in a way that was unavailable to them before.

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October 5, 2008

A study of 10,845 men and women born in early March,1958, in England, Scotland, and Wales reviewed  results from school tests…and the qualifications they had attained by age 33. Conclusions:  Bigger babies do better in tests, even as adults, but being born into a higher social class is also linked to improved mental ability. Researcher Barbara Jefferis was reported to have said: “Findings suggest you really need to take seriously ways of addressing deprivation in childhood and improving social environments."

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September 28, 2008

A study of Australian Aboriginal children who do not know “words for numbers:” conclusions were that they did equally well in numeracy when compared to English-speaking children. It appears that the human brain has a built-in ability to do mathematics even if the individual does not possess the language to express it.

September 21, 2008

A study of 2,262 Danish adults starting at age 92 was designed to determine if exceptional longevity came with high levels of disability. The short answer: It didn't. Extreme age didn't bring extreme disability, overall. The elders did have a slight decline in their ability to perform routine activities, mental skills test scores, grip strength, and other measures, and fewer were independent at 100 than at 92. However, conclusions were: "Most individuals can expect to experience physical decline before they die, but the postponement of this individual decline makes it possible for us to live into a fourth age" stretching toward 100.

September 14, 2008

Biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey and his organization The Methuselah Foundation, have sponsored the first U.S. conference on the emerging interdisciplinary field that de Grey has helped kick start.  The conference, Aging: The Disease - The Cure - The Implications, is being held at UCLA. And late last year, the Buck Institute for Age Research received $25 million from the National Institutes of Health to establish a home for the "new scientific discipline of geroscience."