On the Science Blogs Brain and Behavior feed, I found SharpBrains. There I found a series of interviews on “learning and ‘brain gyms.’ ”

My choice today was this interview with Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg; it touched on topics like brain-fitness programs and cognitive training. Concise but wide-ranging, links to other topics, and nuggets like these:

I would say, “Forget about Use It or Lose it.” It is “Use It and Get More of It!”

Any activity changes the brain, and systematic programs can be designed to lead that change in a better way than random daily activities.

We enjoy lifelong brain plasticity and neurogenesis… [and] the rate of development of new neurons can be influenced by cognitive activities… intense mental challenges provide extra resistance to aging.

I would like to…demystify cognition… enabling people to increase their self-awareness, their knowledge of the brain and how to cultivate it throughout life…