Category: Mind-Body Connection

‘re driving a car, riding a bike, or trying to record a spare at our local bowling alley, our musculoskeletal system bases its decision-making on past history, that is, what it has learned before. Drawing on years of experience, recorded deep within our muscle memory, we’re able to avoid an unexpected obstacle in the middle of the road, or adapt quickly to a slip on a slick spot on the bowling lane. The history embedded within our physiology immediately directs our actions in the present moment. We don’t have to think about these things. We react — and act — instantaneously, and more often than not, the right result just happens.

Similarly, with a different type of training, a child soon learns not to touch a hot stove and not to pull the cat’s tail. A few years later, when the child begins school, she or he starts to acquire the skills that will lead to the critical accomplishments of being able to read, write, and do arithmetic. If learned properly, these capabilities become lifelong resources. In adulthood, if we’re appropriately motivated, we continue to learn. Among the primary fields of such learning is the realm of taking care of one’s health.

In the area of health care, we learn that if we don’t eat right, get enough vigorous exercise, or obtain sufficient restful sleep, then the good health we took for granted will begin to fade away, to be replaced by problems, symptoms, and diseases. Some of us had parents who encouraged a healthy lifestyle and demonstrated by example, others played high school sports and continued their fitness activities into adulthood, and yet others never had these advantages but understood that the demands of adult life required them to be able to function at their peak.

In other words, being healthy is a learned behavior. Our personal history teaches us that we need to do certain things to keep being healthy and well. The good news is that if we haven’t been leading a healthy lifestyle, it’s usually not too late to start. Regular chiropractic care provides great assistance for all of us, adults and children, who are or want to be on a healthy path. Regular chiropractic care detects and corrects sources of nerve interference and helps restore and maintain full function in our spine and all the other components of our musculoskeletal system. In this way, regular chiropractic care helps our bodies to function at maximum levels of good health, and helps us achieve our goals of ongoing health and well-being for our families and ourselves.

If you are ready to learn some new healthy behaviors, contact us for an appointment and we will help you in reaching your health goals.

Sources:

1. Masley SC, et al: Lifestyle Markers Predict Cognitive Function. J Am Coll Nutr 14:1-7, 2017
2. Karlsson L, et al: Intramuscular pain modulatory substances before and after exercise in women with chronic neck pain. Eur J Pain. 2015 Sep;19(8):1075-1085, 2015
3. Alger SE, et al: The role of sleep in human declarative memory consolidation. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 25:269-306, 2015

Mindfulness programs and practices frequently describe a process of locating your “center.” One’s center may be conceived as a focus of energy, both spiritual and physical, by which all activities may be grounded and from which all activities flow. Similarly, ballet teachers and gymnastics instructors enjoin their pupils to “work from your center,” meaning that the student’s spins, leaps, kicks, and other choreographed movements should emanate from a central region of power. As well, coaches of many sports disciplines, including baseball, football, and basketball, encourage their athletes to “stay focused” and “see the ball going through the net.” All of these injunctions are designed to remind players to reconnect to their center — their focus of disciplined strength, quickness, and coordinated activity.

But you don’t have to be a highly trained athlete or a master of meditation to be able to derive power, strength, and grace from your personal center. Each one of us has these capabilities. The first requirement for demonstrating and enhancing these qualities is having awareness and focusing attention on your center itself. One person may locate his center in his heart. Others may locate their centers in their spine or in their solar plexus, that is, the lower abdominal region. One’s core musculature may also be identified as one’s center. The key is not so much the perceived anatomical location of one’s center, but rather maintaining the concept of, the focus on, the center.

The metaphor of a center may be extended to include a center for health. From a chiropractic perspective, your center for health is your nerve system and spinal column. The nerve system, the body’s master system, transits information regarding healthy functioning from the brain to all the cells of the entire rest of the body. This information coordinates activities of the body’s tissues and organ systems, and the free flow of information from the brain to the body and back again results in good health. The spinal column houses and protects the spinal cord and the roots of the spinal nerves, the main nerve trunks that send nerve branches to your arms, legs, hands, feet, and every other physical location.

Regular chiropractic care helps support your body’s center for health by detecting and correcting sources of nerve irritation and by helping to maintain the durability and flexibility of your spinal column. In this way, regular chiropractic care helps ensure the ongoing health and well-being of everyone, including individuals, families, and communities.

1. Demarzo MM, et al: The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Primary Care: A Meta-Analytic Review. Ann Fam Med 13(6):573-582, 2015
2. Marusak HA, et al: Mindfulness and dynamic functional neural connectivity in children and adolescents. Behav Brain Res 336:211-218, 2018 doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.010. Epub 2017 Sep 5
3. Christensen JF, et al: I can feel my heartbeat: Dancers have increased interoceptive accuracy. Psychophysiology. 2017 Sep 21. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13008. [Epub ahead of print]

In baseball, hitting for the cycle means that a batter hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run during the same game. Hitting for the cycle is a rare baseball event, occurring about as often as a no-hitter by a pitcher. Certainly, a great deal of skill is involved in accomplishing such a feat. A batter needs to have a good eye, quick hands, speed, and a little bit of luck. If we consider that we’re involved in playing the game of life, we could ask ourselves what it might take to “hit for the cycle” in our regular pursuits. We’d want our “cycles” to be things we succeeded in all the time.

First, we’d want to choose our milestones. In baseball, this is easy. The four bases are right there on the field, 90 feet apart. In our lives, if we wanted to set up milestones related to the health and well-being of ourselves and our families, we’d probably select achievements in the areas of exercise, nutrition, restorative rest, and positive mental attitude. Stretching the metaphor somewhat, if we could get a “base hit” in each of these areas on a daily basis, we’d very likely be improving our health status substantially. The tasks immediately before us, if we’re going to play this “game”, are to establish the kinds of things we’re going to do in each category. Next, we’ll specify the outcomes or measurable results by which we’ll ascertain whether we’re getting done the things we said we’d do.

In terms of exercise, federal guidelines recommend doing 30 minutes of vigorous exercise five times a week. Regarding nutrition, we want to consume at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, and make sure we’re obtaining the right amount of calories per day based on our age, height, and body type. With respect to rest, getting eight hours of restorative sleep per night is optimal. Of course, many adults will regularly get less, so a realistic target range is six to eight hours of sleep per night. Action steps related to achieving and maintaining a positive mental attitude include meditation, guided imagery, and spiritual practices. Achieving your goals in each target area on a daily basis will equate to hitting for the cycle in the game of life. Our rewards are the enhanced wellness and well-being of ourselves and our families.

Regular chiropractic care provides great assistance as we pursue our health and wellness goals. By identifying and correcting sources of nerve irritation and spinal dysfunction, regular chiropractic care helps ensure that all the body’s organ systems are receiving the information they need in order to function effectively. In this way, by helping to ensure optimal functioning of our nerve system and musculoskeletal system, regular chiropractic care helps optimize the activities of our entire physiological organism. As a result, we’re able to gain maximum benefit from the healthful activities we’re engaged in as we play the game of life.

1. Wilson MG, et al: Basic science behind the cardiovascular benefits of exercise. Br J Sports Med 50(2):93-99, 2016
2. Rodriguez-Casado A: The Health Potential of Fruits and Vegetables Phytochemicals: Notable Examples. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 56(7):1097-107, 2016
3. Helvig A, et al: Rest and the associated benefits in restorative sleep: a concept analysis. J Adv Nurs 72(1):62-72, 2016

“Above-down, inside-out” is a poetic coinage by Dr. B.J. Palmer, one of the founders of the field of chiropractic. “B.J.”, as he has been affectionately known by chiropractors for almost 100 years, was describing the inner workings of the brain and spinal cord, the complex nerve system connected to all parts of the body, and the cells, tissues, and organs comprising the bulk of human physiology.

In his inimitable style, Dr. Palmer was addressing many deep, complex phenomena all at once. From a high-level viewpoint, he was describing how the central nervous system communicates with the rest of the body. One major conclusion is that the brain (as the originator of nerve signals that flow to the spinal cord and from there to the organs, tissues, and cells) is the master controller of all the other systems. The gastrointestinal, endocrine, cardiopulmonary, and musculoskeletal systems are all ultimately controlled and regulated by activities within the brain.

More than this, “B.J.” was pointing directly to an organizing intelligence responsible for all the operations of living tissue. This concept, “Innate Intelligence”, was propounded by his father, Dr. Daniel David Palmer. “B.J.” expanded, publicized, and promoted the idea of Innate Intelligence as he helped the field of chiropractic grow into the second largest healing arts profession in the United States.

In the above-down, inside-out paradigm, Innate Intelligence is an intrinsic guiding and instructional force that maintained ongoing health and healing. Innate Intelligence knows how much oxygen and other nutrients a cell needs to meet its energy requirements. Innate Intelligence knows how to direct B lymphocytes to build a new antibody to fight a previously unencountered bacteria or virus. Innate Intelligence knows how much insulin should be released by beta cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans in order to properly use the carbohydrates you ingested during your last heart-healthy meal.

But disorder within the nerve system can interfere with the body’s ability to carry out the instructions of Innate Intelligence. Symptoms, pain, disorders, and disease ensue from such nerve interference. Chiropractic care helps restore balance within the nerve system, thus helping restore health and well-being.^1,2,3

¹Nguyen LT, et al: Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Self-Rated Health Status: Results from a National Survey. J Gen Intern Med Nov 5 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

²Millet JD: Progress in complementary and alternative medicine research: Yale Research Symposium on Complementary and Integrative Medicine. Yale J Biol Med 83(3):127-129, 2010

³Ahn AC, et al: Applying principles from complex systems to studying the efficacy of CAM therapies. J Altern Complement Med 16(9):1015-1022, 2010

Being connected is very important in our modern world. Could you imagine how you’d feel if you left your cell phone at home? For teenagers, a cell phone is much more than a tool. For teens, cell phones are status symbols, but they also represent a connection to the tribe, a connection to their human network. For teens and adults, cell phones are lifelines. What about web connectivity? Many of us begin to experience withdrawal symptoms if we’re separated from our Internet connection for more than a hour. Others check their email every few minutes, ongoingly, throughout the day, every day.

We may feel secure if we’re well connected in the external electronic world, but it’s even more important to be well connected in the internal physiologic world. In the external world we think in terms of networks, primarily in terms of Internet connections. In the internal world networks are the key, too – neurologic networks, of which our nerve system is comprised.^1,2

The nerve system consists of the brain, cranial nerves, spinal cord, spinal nerves, and miles of peripheral nerves which connect the spinal cord and spinal nerves to every other cell in the body. In the body, the rules are simple. If a cell is not connected to the nerve system, the cell’s activities become disorganized and it becomes diseased and eventually dies. In a related scenario a cell may be connected, but the nerve signals it is receiving are inaccurate or inappropriate, due to problems within the nerve system itself. The results are the same – the cell’s activities become disorganized and it becomes diseased and eventually dies. If enough cells are affected, the person develops symptoms and becomes sick.

“Problems” within the nerve system often result from spinal subluxations – a loss of full mobility between one or more pairs of spinal vertebras, with associated spinal muscle tightness or spasm, spinal joint inflammation, and spinal nerve irritation. The free flow of information between the nerve system and the rest of the body becomes compromised. Both ends of the network receive inappropriate, ineffective information and the result is a “system crash” in the form of symptoms and disease.

Chiropractic health care is especially designed to restore effective connectivity and communication between your nerve system and your other body systems.³ Your chiropractor specializes in identifying the spinal subluxations at the root of the problem and using gentle, safe, effective methods of care to restore proper balance to your spine and nerve system. Optimal functioning begins to be restored and improved levels of health and well-being are the natural result.

¹Coward LA: The hippocampal system as the cortical resource manager: a model connecting psychology, anatomy and physiology. Adv Exp Med Biol 657:315-364, 2010

²Saur D, et al: Combining functional and anatomical connectivity reveals brain networks for auditory language comprehension. Neuroimage 49(4):3187-3197, 2010

³Taylor HH, Murphy B: Altered central integration of dual somatosensory input after cervical spine manipulation. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 33(3):178-188, 2010

Ancient peoples closely observed and interacted with the rhythms of their immediate environment. The sun rose in the East and set in the West. Day followed night, and approximately 12 hours later night followed day. The seasons progressed through a more leisurely, although no less regular, rhythm. A season of rebirth and new growth followed a season of restriction and retrenchment. A season of increasing sunshine, longer days, and bounteous expansion was succeeded by a season of harvest, transformation, and preparation for the next round of seasonal change. The moon waxed and waned. Tides rose and tides fell. The life cycles of all creatures – humans, animals, fish, birds, insects, and plants – were precisely attuned to the natural rhythms of the complex world in which they survived and thrived.

Life flows and life ebbs. The rhythm of life is sinusoidal. Rise to a peak. Rest momentarily. Return to baseline, then descend to a trough. Rest momentarily. Return to baseline, then ascend again to a peak. Breath in, breath out. Heart beats, heart relaxes. Muscles contract, muscles relax. Plough a field. Sow a crop. Reap the harvest. Allow the land to recover. A year or two later, plough the field again. Cyclical, rhythmical, sinusoidal activities.

When a person is healthy, all aspects of her physical functioning are aligned with these ancient rhythms.^1,2 Disease always reflects an aberration – a defect – in the cyclical, sinusoidal patterns of normal physiology.³ Persistent low back muscle contractions without corresponding relaxation cause pain. Persistent muscle contractions in small arterial blood vessels cause high blood pressure. Persistent abnormal cellular growth without corresponding cellular death results in cancer. Persistently elevated or depressed hormonal levels cause specific forms of disease. The list of these ebb-and-flow abnormalities – the named diseases – is extensive.

The nervous system is also affected by defects in normal rhythm. Epilepsy reflects an extreme of rhythmical aberration – jagged, compressed peaks of electrical discharge suddenly traversing large areas of a person’s brain. On a subtler scale, small groups of nerve cells may fire inappropriately due to distortions in normal ebb-and-flow patterns. If such an altered pattern persists, these groups of nerve cells may transmit incorrect information to other important systems. Pain, symptoms, and even disease may result from such faulty connections.

Honoring the deep nature of how our bodies work goes far toward alleviating many disease states. Getting back into the natural rhythms of being human certainly helps many conditions involving back pain, neck pain, and headaches. Chiropractic care is an important part of helping reestablish the normal ebb and flow. Contact our office today and set an appointment to further discuss how chiropractic care may help reestablish your ebb and flow.

¹Bowen RS, et al: Sex hormone effects on physical activity levels: Why doesn’t Jane run as much as Dick? Sports Med 41(1):73-86, 2011

²Mazzoccoli G: The timing clockwork oflife. R Biol Regul Homeost Agents 25(1):137-143, 2011

³Hansen TW,, et al: Predictive role of the nighttime blood pressure. Hypertension 57(1):3-10, 2011

Scientists and philosophers have pursued the notion of mind for thousands of years. [Of course, being able to think about the mind’s origins and place in the universe presumes having a mind, but that’s a separate piece of this puzzle.] Regardless of mind’s origin, we are well aware that the human mind interacts intimately with the human body and vice versa.¹

For example, the notion of stress cuts both ways. Psychological stress, stemming from troubles in the workplace or family difficulties, often results in physical pain. A person’s headaches, lower back pain, or even annoying numbness and tingling in the fingers may originate in their personal daily stresses. From the opposite perspective, chronic headaches, persistent lower back pain, or ongoing sciatica can cause a person to become anxious or even depressed. Physical and mental states are deeply connected.

For many persons it’s almost impossible to determine the first cause, to determine whether their problems started in the mind or in the body. Ultimately, such a distinction may not be necessary. A person might begin to regain their mental balance by learning how to meditate or learning a new activity or skill.^2,3 Learning how to draw, studying Italian, or taking photography or astronomy classes may be all that’s needed to alleviate certain stressful mental states. As the person learns the skill of focusing on the task at hand, repetitive stressful thoughts begin to dissipate and mental ease and clarity begin to return. As a result, physical pains begin to diminish.

Approaching a person’s problems from the physical side first may achieve the same benefits. For example, engaging, demanding physical activity may be the key missing ingredient in a person’s life. Regular physical activity makes the heart and lungs stronger, providing more healing nutrition to all of the body’s cells, tissues, and organs. Regular physical activity helps eliminate toxic metabolic waste that would accumulate otherwise. And regular physical activity causes the brain to produce endorphins, an opiate-like neurotransmitter that induces the experience of ease, well-being, and euphoria. The body learns to relax as it engages in these healthful activities. Overall physical tension and pain begin to resolve, leading to overall reductions in mental stress, anxiety, and depression.

Mind and matter are not separate and distinct. For a person to be really healthy these two components of human nature need to be much more fully engaged, on a much more regular basis than is the case for most of us. As we become more awake and aware, improved health and well-being will follow naturally.

¹Kradin RL: Psychosomatic disorders: the canalization of mind into matter. J Anal Psychol 56(1):37-55, 2011

²Young LA: Mindfulness meditation: a primer for rheumatologists. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 37(1):63-75, 2011

³Stevens P: Embedment in the environment: a new paradigm for well-being? Perspect Public Health 130(6):265-269, 2010

Is a computer like a human brain or is a human brain like a computer? When machines allow us to extend our abilities, are we enhancing our humanness or becoming more machine-like? What are the meaningful distinctions between humans and machines and how do these impact our daily pursuits of health, well-being, and happiness?

One primary practical distinction is that humans initiate spontaneous, unique, non-predetermined actions and machines do not. Advanced machines such as military early warning systems may initiate spontaneous activities, but all of these are predetermined and predefined to a greater or lesser degree. And for any machine responses that are not previously designated and programmed as routine, human interaction is required for initiation of the suggested action.

Generally, even the “smartest” machine only has access to a built-in suite of responses. Noted exceptions include computer programs based on simple rules which emulate living systems. The “cellular automata” generated by these programs demonstrate spontaneous emergent behaviors not predictable from the simple rules themselves. The “artificial life” thus observed is exceedingly complex and can even provide optimal solutions to deep scientific problems posed to the system by investigators.

Cellular automata are examples of complex systems, defined as systems which are critically sensitive to small changes in initial conditions. Complex systems achieved fame in Michael Crichton’s novel (and the subsequent Stephen Spielberg film), “Jurassic Park”. In the book, the paleobotanist Dr. Ian Malcolm uses the weather as an example of the nature of complex systems. In a scene which has achieved iconic status, Malcolm relates how a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rain forest can cause a tornado in the American Midwest. Small changes in a complex system’s initial state can lead to substantial unpredictable results in the system as a whole.

The human nervous system is such a complex, dynamic system.^1,2,3 Small changes in the nervous system’s initial state can result in dramatic outcomes. For example, a spinal misalignment (resulting from an innocuous low back muscle strain) can irritate a spinal nerve (a small change in initial conditions) which can lead to chronic indigestion, allergies, migraine headaches, or even high blood pressure down the road.

Most machines are not complex in this way, but they do require regular maintenance and care. As human beings, we are complex systems by our very nature and the importance of regular maintenance and care is that much greater. A healthy spine and optimally functioning nerve system go very far toward ensuring the health of our body-as-machine and our associated happiness and well-being.

¹Bourjaily MA, Miller P: Synaptic plasticity and connectivity requirements to produce stimulus-pair specific responses in recurrent networks of spiking neurons. PLoS Comput Biol 7(2):e1001091, 2011 [Epub February 24, 2011]

²Rigotti M, et al: Internal representation of task rules by recurrent dynamics: the importance of the diversity of neural responses. Front Comput Neurosci 4:24, 2010

³Power JD, et al: The development of human functional brain networks. Neuron 67(5):735-748, 2010

Both Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, and Charles Darwin, author of The Origin of Species and creator of the theory of natural selection, were born on February 12, 1809. Modern evolutionary theory, of course, is based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

The evolutionary history of humans traces the family history of mammals back to tetrapods, four-footed vertebrate animals in existence 365 million years ago, in the late Devonian period. Tetrapods originally were wholly aquatic, and toward the end of the Devonian they developed the ability to breathe on land and walked out of the seas.

How were the tetrapods able to accomplish this revolutionary transition? Over long stretches of evolutionary time, genetic mutations which conferred a benefit were retained. Those tetrapods that had developed the complex ability to survive and thrive on land gained a reproductive advantage. The history and science of evolution can be summarized by a simple concept – those that produce the greatest numbers of surviving offspring win. The air-breathing tetrapods won because they could explore new territories and find new supplies of resources. They became stronger and could reproduce stronger, survivable offspring who would pass on the air-breathing genes.

Human beings continue to evolve, although we ourselves don’t notice the process. Our lives are short in comparison to the lengths of time involved. We are able to observe that humans are certainly taller and live much longer than the humans of 1000 years ago. These changes represent evolutionary advantages.

On an individual level we’re not able to alter our genes. But we are able to take steps to make our bodies strong and help ensure our cellular and genetic processes are functioning at their highest level. Cells need the right raw materials and the right metabolic environment in order to function properly. So healthy food in the right quantities and sufficient amounts of regular exercise are important. A key critical factor is proper functioning of the nerve system, which coordinates all your body’s activities. The nerve system, conductor of your physiologic orchestra, makes sure that everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

From the point of view of genetics and evolution, an individual human being has an advantage if she is healthy and well. If such a person has children it is likely they will be healthy and well, too. They will survive and pass on whatever genetic advantages they have gained. A healthy nerve system is needed to help ensure such health and wellness. Chiropractic care helps ensure that your nerve system is functioning at peak efficiency and doing what it’s supposed to do.

Chiropractic care optimizes biomechanical function of spinal vertebras which optimizes the free flow of nerve signals throughout your body. These nerve signals coordinate the work of all body systems. Raw materials reach cells when they’re needed. Genetic function is optimized, cellular products are produced on time, and the cell divides when necessary.

Proper flow of information and instructions transmitted via the nerve system helps ensure health and well-being at the very deepest level. Your genetic advantage is passed on when you’re healthy and well. Chiropractic care helps make this happen.

¹Zhang F, et al: Copy number variation in human health, disease, and evolution. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 10:451-481, 2009
²Danilova N, Amemiya CT: Going adaptive. The saga of antibodies. Ann NY Acad Sci 1168:130-155, 2009
³Solomons NW: Developmental origins of health and disease. Concepts, caveats, and consequences for public health nutrition. Nutr Rev 67(Suppl 1):S12-S16, 2009

The concept of cloud computing has become a buzzword in recent years. The notion of “the cloud” originally referred to data storage. You could backup your computer files or even an image of your hard drive to a server bank in some remote location. Now you can access fully featured software programs via the cloud, including well-known productivity and photo editing programs. Cloud computing enables you to save money you would have spent on costly software packages and frees up valuable space on your home or office networks. The only drawback involves security issues, but such issues exist on your local networks as well.

The computing paradigm has taken over more and more not only of our work day, but our recreational environments as well. As a result, it has become increasingly easy to neglect and ultimately forget about the precious components of human physiology upon which all computing systems are based, that is, our very own brain and central nervous system.

There are serious downsides to such neglect and lack of care. Most of us are aware of the need to engage in regular vigorous exercise and eat a consistently nutritious diet. We do these things because we’ve learned the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Of course, these healthful activities support the functioning of your brain and central nervous system. But your brain requires more than mere physiological sustenance. Your brain itself requires the performance of actual work so that it can continue to do what it was designed to do.¹ The critical function of your brain is to provide you with creative, innovative solutions to the challenges you face every day to the survival and welfare of you and your family.

Your brain is staggeringly complex. It is estimated there are more connections among your brain cells than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Specifically, there are more than 100 billion neurons in your brain, with several 100 trillion (10¹⁴) and possibly as many as 1 quadrillion (10¹⁵) connections. This massive network is built for heavy lifting, but most of us now fritter away this priceless resource as we spend seemingly endless hours talking and texting on our cell phones and playing games on our phones, tablets, and laptops.

Now we may be developing eye-hand coordination when we lose an entire afternoon playing race car and other arcade-style games.^2,3 But as the great philosophers have known for almost 3000 years, actual thinking is the best and most worthwhile use we can make of the free gift of self-awareness we receive as humans. Only thinking will provide us with the tools and techniques we require to grow, develop, and thrive in our increasingly complex and shrinkingly small global village. But the skill (or art) of thinking is based on training. Fortunately such training is available everywhere and the cost is frequently only that of time. Reading books is the primary training ground for developing the skill of critical thinking that will make a difference in our lives. Reading books that challenge you, followed by study and practice, will hone and refine your ability to actually think and make use of your brain, your own personal cloud. Surprisingly, and possibly shockingly, everything we need for such life-enhancing thinking is available right there “within” us.

¹Vigliecca NS, Baez S: Screening executive function and global cognition with the Nine-Card Sorting Test: healthy participant studies and ageing implications. Psychogeriatrics 2015 Mar 3. doi: 10.1111/psyg.12104. [Epub ahead of print]
²Moisala M, et al: Brain activity during divided and selective attention to auditory and visual sentence comprehension tasks. Front Hum Neurosci 2015 Feb 19;9:86. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00086
³Banerjee S, et al: Interests shape how adolescents pay attention: the interaction of motivation and top-down attentional processes in biasing sensory activations to anticipated events. Eur J Neurosci 41(6):818-834, 2015