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As a follow-up to the article Best books on brain health and cognitive fitness according to ChatSpot and ChatGPT we decided to find out what these popular AI chatbots say about books to understand and improve cognitive ability and skills.

Here you are:

(Links open corresponding Amazon book pages)

Best books on cognitive ability and skills, per ChatSpot:

Here are some highly recommended books on cognitive ability and skills:

1. “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman: This book explores the two systems of thinking that drive our decision-making processes and provides insights into cognitive biases and how to improve decision-making skills.

2. “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool: This book delves into the concept of deliberate practice and how it can help individuals develop exceptional skills and improve cognitive abilities.

3. “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck: This book explores the power of mindset and how adopting a growth mindset can enhance cognitive abilities, learning, and achievement.

4. “The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.” by Daniel Coyle: This book examines the science behind skill development and provides practical strategies for unlocking talent and improving cognitive abilities.

5. “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport: This book explores the importance of deep, focused work for enhancing cognitive abilities and achieving high-level performance.

These books offer valuable insights and strategies for enhancing cognitive abilities, improving skills, and achieving success in various areas of life.

Source: ChatSpot, February 20th, 2024

Best books on cognitive ability and skills, per ChatGPT:

Certainly! Here are some highly recommended books that delve into cognitive abilities and skills:

“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck — Dr. Dweck explores the concept of mindset and how having a growth mindset can enhance cognitive abilities, learning, and achievement.

“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman — Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman offers insights into the two systems that drive the way we think: the fast, intuitive System 1 and the slower, more deliberate System 2, and how understanding them can improve decision-making and cognitive skills.

“Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool — This book delves into the science of expertise and how deliberate practice can help individuals develop exceptional cognitive skills in various domains.

“Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth — Dr. Duckworth explores the concept of grit and how perseverance and passion for long-term goals contribute to success and the development of cognitive abilities.

“The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.” by Daniel Coyle — Daniel Coyle investigates the science behind talent development and the role of deep practice, ignition, and master coaching in cultivating cognitive skills and expertise.

These books offer valuable insights into cognitive abilities, learning, expertise, and skill development, providing practical strategies for enhancing cognitive skills and achieving personal and professional success. Whether you’re interested in improving your learning strategies, mastering a particular skill, or understanding the science behind cognitive development, these books are excellent resources to explore.

Source: ChatGPT, February 20th, 2024

Commentary: Both AI chatbots offer excellent book recommendations, and with a substantial overlap — 4 out of 5 titles are the same, just in different order. Should be worth checking them out and selecting at least one to expand your book collection. Happy reading!

To Learn More:What are cognitive abilities and skills, plus some brain teasers to test themBrain Plasticity: How learning changes your brainBrain teasers and puzzles for teens and adults

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Out of curiosity we queried a couple popular AI chatbots, ChatSpot and ChatGPT free versions, about the best books in a couple of key topics we discuss a lot in this blog. Here are the fascinating results, and some brief commentary at the end. (Links open corresponding Amazon book pages.)

Best books on brain health, per ChatSpot:

There are several great books on brain health that provide valuable insights and practical tips. Here are some highly recommended ones:

1. “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge: This book explores the concept of neuroplasticity and how the brain can rewire itself to overcome various challenges and improve cognitive function.

2. “Brain Rules” by John Medina: This book presents 12 principles for understanding how the brain works and offers practical advice on how to optimize brain health, including topics like sleep, stress, and exercise.

3. “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge: In this book, Doidge explores innovative approaches to healing the brain, including neurofeedback, light therapy, and sound therapy, and how they can be used to treat various neurological conditions.

4. “The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness” by Alvaro Fernandez and Elkhonon Goldberg: This book provides a comprehensive overview of brain health and offers evidence-based strategies to enhance cognitive function, including mental exercises, nutrition, and stress management.

5. “The Alzheimer’s Solution” by Dean Sherzai and Ayesha Sherzai: This book focuses on preventing and reversing cognitive decline through lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, stress management, and social engagement.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your lifestyle or starting any new treatments.

Source: ChatSpot, February 12th, 2024

Best books on brain health, per ChatGPT:

There are many excellent books on brain health, covering various aspects such as neuroscience, psychology, nutrition, and lifestyle factors. Here are some highly recommended ones:

“The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science” by Norman Doidge — This book explores the concept of neuroplasticity and how the brain can adapt and change throughout life, offering hope and practical insights into improving brain health.

“Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain’s Silent Killers” by David Perlmutter — Dr. Perlmutter explores the connection between diet and brain health, particularly focusing on the impact of carbohydrates and gluten on cognitive function.

“Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey — This book delves into the relationship between physical exercise and brain health, highlighting how regular exercise can improve mood, cognitive function, and overall brain health.

“The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline” by Dale Bredesen — Dr. Bredesen presents a comprehensive approach to preventing and reversing cognitive decline, addressing various factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and more.

“Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School” by John Medina — Dr. Medina distills complex neuroscience research into practical principles for optimizing brain function in various aspects of life, including learning, work, and relationships.

Source: ChatGPT, February 12th, 2024

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Best books on cognitive fitness, per ChatSpot:

Here are some highly recommended books on cognitive fitness:

1. “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge: This book explores the concept of neuroplasticity and how the brain can rewire itself to improve cognitive function.

2. “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey: This book delves into the connection between physical exercise and cognitive health, highlighting how exercise can enhance brain function and improve mental well-being.

3. “The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness” by Alvaro Fernandez and Elkhonon Goldberg: This book provides practical tips and exercises to improve cognitive abilities, including memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.

4. “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge: In this book, Doidge explores various non-pharmaceutical approaches to healing the brain, including neurofeedback, light therapy, and cognitive exercises.

5. “Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain” by Sharon Begley: This book explores the concept of neuroplasticity and how individuals can harness their brain’s potential to improve cognitive function and emotional well-being.

Remember to check reviews and summaries to find the book that best suits your interests and goals.

Source: ChatSpot, February 12th, 2024

Best books on cognitive fitness, per ChatGPT:

Certainly! Cognitive fitness is crucial for maintaining mental sharpness, memory, and overall brain health. Here are some highly recommended books on the topic:

“Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness” by Lawrence C. Katz and Manning Rubin — This book offers a collection of simple yet effective exercises designed to stimulate different areas of the brain, promoting cognitive fitness and helping to prevent memory loss.

“Brain Fitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind Power” by Robert Goldman and Ronald Klatz — Drs. Goldman and Klatz explore strategies for maintaining cognitive fitness and preventing age-related cognitive decline, including lifestyle changes, nutrition, supplements, and cognitive exercises.

“The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Optimize Brain Health and Performance at Any Age” by Alvaro Fernandez and Elkhonon Goldberg — This comprehensive guide provides evidence-based strategies for optimizing brain health and cognitive fitness, covering topics such as mental exercises, stress management, sleep, nutrition, and more.

“Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain” by Ryuta Kawashima — Dr. Kawashima presents a 60-day program of daily exercises designed to improve cognitive fitness, memory, and mental agility, based on principles of neuroplasticity and brain training.

“The Brain Bible: How to Stay Vital, Productive, and Happy for a Lifetime” by John Arden — Dr. Arden offers practical advice for maintaining cognitive fitness and promoting brain health throughout life, covering topics such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, social engagement, and cognitive stimulation.

These books offer valuable insights and practical strategies for maintaining cognitive fitness, enhancing brain health, and optimizing mental performance at any age. Whether you’re interested in preventing age-related cognitive decline, improving memory and focus, or maximizing cognitive potential, these resources can provide valuable guidance and support.

Source: ChatGPT, February 12th, 2024

Note: When more than five books were mentioned, only the first five were included.

 

Commentary: Both AI chatbots offered pretty solid book recommendations, but we believe ChatSpot proved superior. Sure, we might be biased since it listed our own book The SharpBrains Guide more often, but the main reason is that it did not include 1–2 questionable titles that made the ChatGPT lists. In any case, the general quality of suggestions is very high, and anyone interested in these topics would do well exploring many of the book recommendations above and selecting at least a couple titles to build or expand one’s personal library on such important brain and health matters.

Happy reading!

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Study questions benefit of new Alzheimer’s drug (UGA Today):

Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the first drug shown to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests that patients and caregivers may not experience any benefit from the drug in their daily lives.

The drug, Leqembi, became eligible for coverage through Medicare, making it more affordable for the millions of Americans in the early stages of the disease. But experts remained skeptical that the drug provided enough benefit to justify the cost and potential harms of the drug.

A new study from UGA’s Mark Ebell systematically reviewed 19 publications with over 23,000 participants that evaluated eight monoclonal antibodies, including Leqembi.

“We focused very clearly on patient-centered outcomes,” said Ebell, who is a physician and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in UGA’s College of Public Health. “We found that even after 18 to 24 months of treatment, the differences in function and cognition between treated and untreated patients were so small that a patient or their caregiver generally wouldn’t notice the difference,” said Ebell. “For example, the Mini-Mental State test has 30 possible points, but the difference seen in the studies was less than a third of a point. To be noticeable to a patient or their family, that difference would have to be at least 1 to 3 points.”

The study suggests the drug’s hefty cost, time burden, and potential side effects, which include brain swelling and brain bleeds, may not be worth the minimal benefit for most patients … “The potential benefit always has to be weighed against any potential harms,” said Ebell. “And it’s not by any means a clear-cut choice.”

The Study:

Clinically Important Benefits and Harms of Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Amyloid for the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (The Annals of Family Medicine). From the Abstract:

PURPOSE: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate clinically meaningful benefits and harms of monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid in patients with Alzheimer dementia.METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and 5 trial registries, as well as the reference lists of identified studies … Changes in cognitive and functional scales were compared between groups, and each difference was assessed to determine if it met the minimal clinically important difference (MCID).RESULTS: We identified 19 publications with 23,202 total participants that evaluated 8 anti-amyloid antibodies … None of the changes, including those for lecanemab, aducanumab, and donanemab, exceeded the MCID. Harms included significantly increased risks of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA)-edema, ARIA-hemorrhage, and symptomatic ARIA-edema.CONCLUSIONS: Although monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid provide small benefits on cognitive and functional scales in patients with Alzheimer dementia, these improvements are far below the MCID for each outcome and are accompanied by clinically meaningful harms.The Study in Context:Should doctors prescribe lecanemab (Leqembi) to women? The answer, given available evidence, is probably NoFirst, do no harm? Six reasons to approach anti-amyloid drug Aduhelm cautiously, if at allReport: 35% of worldwide dementia cases could be prevented by modifying these 9 modifiable risk factors

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Many people around the world suffer from depression. Though depression can be extremely debilitating, evidence-based treatments (like cognitive-behavioral therapy) provide hope, because they can be very effective in treating the negative thinking that accompanies depression.

Still, many people who recover from depression relapse later on. The reasons may be varied, but a new study suggests one possible contributor: Formerly depressed people dismiss positive emotional content too easily and hold on to negative content too strongly.

“This may be one of the reasons why people who’ve had depression ruminate over and over again about things that happened in the past,” says study coauthor Lira Yoon of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The grip of negativity

Researchers analyzed findings from 44 studies in which over 2,000 formerly depressed people were tested on how well they processed emotional information (in comparison to people who’d never suffered from depression).

In each study, participants had to recall either emotional faces or emotional words correctly. For example, in some studies, participants were presented with a series of faces expressing happy, sad, or neutral feelings, then asked whether a new, unfamiliar face had the same expression as one they’d seen two faces earlier. In others, participants were asked to memorize a list of emotionally laden or neutral words (such as war, peace, and chair)—with some printed in red ink and some in blue ink—and later asked to recall just the words written in blue (or red). Though there were many different tests used in different studies, all required participants to let go of irrelevant emotional content in favor of relevant content to do the tasks at hand.

The researchers found that people in recovery from depression had more trouble processing all emotional information, which meant it took longer for them to do the tasks. In particular, they had greater difficulty discarding irrelevant negative information than irrelevant positive information; in other words, they held on to negative information when it wasn’t useful and forgot positive information when it was.

Yoon says this suggests people remain vulnerable to a negativity bias even after they’ve recovered from depression.

“They’re still having difficulty ignoring irrelevant negative information that’s not helping them; so, in some sense, their mind is crowded with negative information,” says Yoon. “That could definitely increase their risk for relapsing or having another depressive episode.”

What might this look like in everyday life? Suppose you have an argument with a spouse or family member in the morning, says Yoon. You might have more trouble letting go of negative comments or criticism lobbed at you during the argument. Later on, if you have a conversation with a work colleague, where the negativity from your earlier argument has no relevance, you may not be able to pay attention or get what you need from the conversation—you’ll be too distracted.

“You may have a hard time getting rid of the earlier argument, and negative comments or criticism you received keep popping into your mind,” says Yoon. “That’s not relevant to what you’re talking about right now, so you shouldn’t be talking or thinking about it.”

Who is susceptible to this after depression? You might expect someone’s heightened negativity bias to be affected by how severe and frequent their past depressive episodes were, or whether they use anti-depressants. But Yoon and her team didn’t find evidence for that. Nor was there a difference between women and men, despite women being more prone to depression. No matter the situation, the tendency for a strong negativity bias appeared to endure.

However, Yoon believes these factors may still be relevant, even though she didn’t find evidence for them. Not all of the studies she used in her analyses provided the information needed to test these factors, and so future research is needed, she says.

How to manage negativity bias

Though Yoon’s study didn’t speak directly to solutions, she encourages formerly depressed people to be more deliberate in letting go of negative information. For example, mindfulness exercises can be useful, she says, because they teach us to focus on the present moment without judgment and to let go of irrelevant information from the past.

It’s also a good idea for formerly depressed people to consider limiting how much time they spend reading negative news of the world, Yoon adds. Otherwise, they may end up in negativity loops that reinforce their depression—and make it even harder for them to benefit from social encounters.

“If we only access negative information or memories, that’s going to make us think every new situation will be awful—maybe a person won’t like me, or I won’t have fun with this person,” she says. “When we expect negative things to happen, we act in a way that actually elicits negative responses from other people, confirming our expectations.”

Adding more positive emotional experiences into your day may also help “crowd out” negative thinking patterns, she says. For example, you can set up fun things to do with friends or simply practice more random acts of kindness for people around you—something that should help you feel better about yourself and get more positive reactions from others.

A previous study backs up this idea: When depressed and anxious people added deliberate, kind acts to their lives, it was as effective at reducing their symptoms as challenging negative thoughts or adding social activities (two common ways to help with depression). And practicing kindness had the added benefit of making people feel more socially connected, which is often a problem for depressed people.

Though Yoon has not studied these kinds of activities herself, fostering other positive emotions and thoughts may also help people reduce their negativity bias. For example, gratitude and self-compassion exercises can both help depressed people ruminate less, suggesting they may also be useful for those who’ve suffered depression in the past and can’t let go of negative thinking.

Though more research is needed, Yoon hopes that her findings help point a way forward for those who are vulnerable to depression relapse. It does no one any good to stay stuck in negativity loops, she says, so taking action to avoid that is important for well-being, for everyone.

“If we are preoccupied with negative information, we cannot function well,” she says. “We all need to make room for the positive information coming our way.”

— Jill Suttie, Psy.D., serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for Greater Good. Based at UC-Berkeley, Greater Good highlights ground breaking scientific research into the roots of compassion and altruism. Copyright Greater Good.

To Learn More:Study: Practicing gratitude helps lower physiological stress levels of the “expresser” AND the “receiver”Exploring the human brain and how it responds to stress

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Brain Health in 2030: Navigating Neuroplasticity & the Digital Health Market from SharpBrains

Keynote delivered by Álvaro Fernández, CEO of SharpBrains, during corporate retreat.

Key message: Our very human brains and minds are the most sophisticated technology at our disposal, so we should invest more time learning about how they work and harnessing neuroplasticity-based methods ways to improve them, augmented by digital tools –before jumping into invasive interventions.

What’s New:

Lifelong neurogenesis and neuroplasticityBuilding Cognitive ReserveNew toolkit & mindset: think Function, not Disease

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It’s hard to address important issues in our lives or in society if we are stressed, depleted, and isolated. Perhaps that’s why many of 2023’s favorite books offer approaches for real self-care. They focus on how to manage stress, find more happiness in life, seek wonder and inspiration, appreciate art, understand our personal strengths, or change our mindset in healthy ways.

In each of these books, the authors aspire to help us find greater health and happiness as we cope with life in the present, while working toward a healthier, more compassionate world for all.

Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work—Now and in an Uncertain Future, by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Martin Seligman

Now that workplaces are emerging from the intense demands of the pandemic, they are in an unprecedented position to reflect and try to transcend outdated approaches to organizational structure, policy, and culture. In Tomorrowmind, coauthors Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Martin Seligman offer an abridged history of organizational thinking and design, then draw from scientific research, case studies, and in-depth interviews to share key insights and actionable strategies for real and impactful organizational transformation.

Part of what Tomorrowmind covers is the topic of thriving at work, the science behind it, and why it’s important. To promote thriving at work, the authors recommend several strategies to help organizations enhance resilience, strengthen connection, make sure people know they’re valued, and provide a courageous, aspirational shared vision.

To increase workplace resilience, for example, Tomorrowmind recommends slowing down and reinterpreting difficult experiences, doing the “Best Possible Self” practice to increase optimism, learning to put setbacks and failures into perspective, and acting with more self-compassion.

With an eye toward future challenges—like AI and climate change—Tomorrowmind also offers clear strategic guidance to help organizations nurture a culture of thriving and recast traditional structures and policies to maximize creativity, minimize wasted effort and time, and “future-proof” themselves against possible catastrophe in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous landscape.

The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease, by Elissa Epel

Though this book came out late in 2022, it was too important not to mention. Elissa Epel, a premier stress researcher, has put together a short primer on how to life a happier, healthier life through effective stress management.

As Epel writes, not all stress is inherently bad; so, we shouldn’t aim for a stress-free life. We need our physiological stress response to survive and to respond to challenging situations. But if we are constantly vigilant—which many of us are these days—it ages us unnecessarily.

How can we use stress to our advantage and soothe it when it’s overwhelming? Epel has several evidence-based tips, including learning how to embrace uncertainty, let go of uncontrollable outcomes, and recognize our stress response’s utility. We can also deliberately seek more joy, time in nature, small stressors (to build resilience), and occasional deep rest (where we are free from responsibility or our ubiquitous cell phones).

As Epel writes, “Anything worth doing will have aspects of stress woven through: challenge, discomfort, risk. We can’t change that. But what we can change is our response.” Changing your relationship to stress by taming it is key.

The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, by Ellen J. Langer

We’ve all heard about “mind/body connection.” But do we fully understand its implications for our health and well-being?

Not according to Ellen Langer’s book, The Mindful Body. Langer reveals a whole world of fascinating research looking at how our beliefs about aging, risk for contracting disease, and the effectiveness of potential treatments affect health, and how changing our mindset can lead to surprisingly better results.

For example, one study found that giving people information about their (fictitious) level of risk for obesity changed their metabolism and how they felt about exercise and hunger (regardless of their actual level of risk). Another found that messing with people’s perception of time affected how much energy they expended doing a task.

In other words, expectations matter; so, we must be careful what we put in our minds lest it become a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Diagnoses, while useful, direct attention to only a fraction of lived experience; context influences our physical responses,” writes Langer.

To that end, she suggests we become more mindful about our inner experience and outer circumstances—and more skeptical of dire predictions. By paying attention to our ever-changing experience, she argues, we might all change the trajectory of our health—and enjoy happier lives.

Your Brain on Art: How Art Transforms Us, by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

Even during our earliest history, humans made art. This suggests an evolutionary purpose—that engaging with art somehow helps us survive.

Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross’s book, Your Brain on Art, shows us why that might be the case. Appreciating or making art—in all its forms, whether viewed in a museum or crafted yourself—involves using many parts of your brain, including those that process our senses and are involved in emotion, memory, and cognition. It also brings us pleasure and insight.

“There is a neurochemical exchange that can lead to what Aristotle called catharsis, or a release of emotion that leaves you feeling more connected to yourself and others,” write the authors.

Studies show that engaging in art can do much for our brains and bodies. It improves our heart health and cognitive fitness, and helps us heal from illness and trauma. Art also nurtures curiosity and emotional intelligence, while making us think differently about life, embrace ambiguity, and feel awe.

This means we should all incorporate art into our daily lives for more well-being, argue the authors.

“The arts can transform you like nothing else. They can help move you from sickness to health, stress to calm, or sadness to joy, and they enable you to flourish and thrive.”

Finally, though we don’t want to blow our own horn, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention two books that came out this year written by Greater Good staff:

Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, by Dacher Keltner, where Keltner reveals the science of awe and how it can make us happier and more connected to something greater than ourselves (Penguin Press, 2023, 335 pages).

Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World, by Scott Shigeoka, where Shigeoka shows us the importance of being curious for bridging differences and transforming our world (Balance, 2023, 256 pages).

 

— Adapted from article by Jill Suttie, Psy.D., Jeremy Adam Smith Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., Maryam Abdullah,Ph.D., at Greater Good. Based at UC-Berkeley, Greater Good highlights ground breaking scientific research into the roots of compassion and altruism. Copyright Greater Good.

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Employers Are Offering a New Worker Benefit: Wellness Chatbots (The Wall Street Journal):

More workers feeling anxious, stressed or blue have a new place to go for mental-health help: a digital app.

Chatbots that hold therapist-like conversations and wellness apps that deliver depression and other diagnoses or identify people at risk of self-harm are snowballing across employers’ healthcare benefits.

“The demand for counselors is huge, but the supply of mental-health providers is shrinking,” said J. Marshall Dye, chief executive officer of PayrollPlans, a Dallas-based provider of benefits software used by small and medium-size businesses, which began providing access to a chatbot called Woebot in November.

… About a third of U.S. employers offer a “digital therapeutic” for mental-health support, according to a survey of 457 companies this past summer by professional services company WTW. An additional 15% of the companies were considering adding such an offering in 2024 or 2025 … Yet some researchers say there isn’t sufficient evidence the programs work, and the varied security and safety practices create a risk that private information could be leaked or sold.

2023 survey among large US employers:

Survey: Employers support growing demand for mental health services (Mercer):

American employers are taking action to improve the health and wellness of their employees. That is among the findings of a report that explores what employers are doing to address the mental health challenges that confront too many in America. In the survey, 94% of large employers (500 or more employees) reported that they have strengthened their coverage for mental health care, increased support, or put in place new programs or systems to help in the last three years. About two-thirds (68%) have added or enhanced supports like employee assistance programs, classes, or access to apps to help promote mental health, and 28% have expanded mental health coverage within their existing health plans. In addition, employers are also putting in place workforce training to support those with mental health needs and making changes in the office to promote mental wellness at work.

News in Context:Virtual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) accounts for over 30% of NHS mental health treatments — up from 10% in 2017AI-powered Woebot raises $90M to scale up digital self-therapy platformDigital mental health start-up Koa Health raises €30M to accelerate growth in Europe and the US

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The post Some fun brain teasers to warm up 2024 … Happy New Year, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! appeared first on SharpBrains.

Welcome to a new edition of SharpBrains e‑newsletter, featuring fascinating research findings on lifestyle, protective brain structures, Internet access, mental health, brain imaging, and more.

#1. Lifestyle matters: What we can do in 2024 to optimize cognition and life, delaying cognitive problems even dementia

“Actor Chris Hemsworth…watched his grandfather live with Alzheimer’s and is making lifestyle changes after learning he has two copies of the APOE4 gene. This gene is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and having two copies significantly increases his risk of developing the same condition.” (Smart move regardless of one’s genes)

#2. Study identifies protective brain structure that delays the onset of frontotemporal dementia symptoms over 2 years

“We discovered that in participants who had this extra fold on the right side of their brain, their dementia symptoms began on average two and a half years later … This two-and-a-half-year delay in symptoms may not sound like much, but considering the poor prognosis of the condition and the burden of symptoms, this is an extremely meaningful amount of time for patients and their relatives.”

#3. The ADHD experience includes positive self-reported aspects, especially related to hyperfocus

“If it is something I really like, I have better endurance than others. I can work on something I enjoy forever without stopping.”“Being diagnosed with ADHD made me learn a lot about myself.“

#4. Brain imaging AI start-up Neurophet raises $15M to better direct Alzheimer’s treatments, lower ARIA side-effects

“Anti-amyloid antibody therapies have the side effect of causing Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA), which are swelling and microhemorrhages in the brain during administration. Neurophet said it has advanced technology in the field of automated quantification of vascular neuropathology that can monitor and analyze ARIA” (This is probably going to be crucial as lecanemab and donanemab prescriptions grow in years ahead)

#5. No evidence found to link internet access with poorer psychological well-being and mental health

“Thought leaders and some policy folks claim there is a global mental health epidemic caused by the internet, but they do not bother to collect [and] wrangle data to support this extraordinary claim … I am sure that technology use has its ups and downs, but we’ll never be able to map this out, and intervene if necessary, if we don’t have objective data on how, why, and when people engage with online worlds” — Dr. Andrew Przybylski, Professor of Human Behaviour and Technology at the University of Oxford

#6. Please take this brief Survey to provide your feedback as we’re preparing a substantial update of The SharpBrains Guide and our overall activities. (We’d really appreciate hearing from you, every answer counts)

#7. Five sharp riddles to celebrate the Holidays in perfect harmony

Q: What is a sure way of sustaining a friendly and sociable feeling towards the whole world?

Looking forward to a healthy and wonderful 2024!

– The SharpBrains Team

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Dear SharpBrains reader and friend, please take a few minutes to provide your feedback as we’re preparing a substantial update of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness and our overall activities.

 

Take Survey HERE

 

Happy Holidays and Let’s Have a Great 2024!

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