PREFACE

INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRAIN – AND HOW TO potentially improve its many functions – has become increasingly available in popular culture. Newspaper articles, online sources, and talk show hosts are often eager to tout the findings from one-off studies that purportedly clarify how the brain works or how it can work better. Commercials and junk e-mails praise the benefits of supplements or other products that are supposed to magically transform the brain’s inner workings. But what actually helps, and what’s hype? Is there compelling science out there that can be translated and used to inform our decisions, strategies, and lifestyle choices?

In the 2000s, I started taking more notice of the science of brain health. I also wondered why this topic was not being discussed more frequently in my neuropsychology circles or in academic journals. Being a neuropsychologist – a clinical psychologist specializing in brain-behavior relationships – I was much more aware of how to document and diagnose cognitive disorders than how to promote better thinking skills. Throughout my training, I heard repeatedly that once the brain was injured, diseased, aging, or otherwise not working properly, there simply wasn’t much we could do about it. I never wanted to believe this.

As I continued to dive into research on brain wellness, I thought it would be useful to summarize some of it for my colleagues at an upcoming meeting. I gave a presentation on the tropic and thought perhaps that would be it. Fate then intervened in the form of a publisher who had heard about my seminar and suggested that I consider writing a related book for a professional audience. I accepted this offer and enjoyed the labors and rewards of writing and editing a reference on brain health for people in my field.

During that process, I kept coming back to the idea that people outside my small professional zone would probably be interested in a book that considered the science of brain health. It seemed that it might be useful to translate the research for folks who were curious about neuroscience, neuropsychology, brain health, and related fields, but who hadn’t necessarily been educated in those areas. Perhaps consider the science in a way that wouldn’t go too far in to the weeds but nevertheless clarified some brain-related ideas and terms we might hear in the media. Maybe share some of my own excitement related to recent developments in neuroscience – like our ability to grow neurons by exercising, a concept foreign to essentially all medical professionals and researchers until fairly recently – and help clarify practical applications for our daily lives.

This is that book. I earnestly hope that you enjoy it. I also hope that you become fascinated and inspired by the cutting-edge neuroscience and behavioral research discussed here that is transforming our ability to make our brains healthier. Of course, science should not be kept in a vacuum: you can apply what’s reviewed here immediately to potentially improve your own brain functioning, and, ultimately, your life. I’ve also included some case composites throughout the book that detail how lifestyle choices have positively impacted cognitive skills in people I’ve worked with. Incidentally, if you’re interested in getting into the scientific details, there are plenty of references to academic papers at the back of the book that represent some of the most innovative brain health studies. You’re also welcome to not worry about any of that for now.

Either way, I encourage you to get comfortable, read through some or all of the chapters based on your interests, and appreciate that most of what we know of that helps the brain is free or inexpensive, fun, emotionally enriching and stimulating (not to mention tasty). Your brain will thank you for it.

from The Brain Health Book: Using the Power of Neuroscience to Improve Your Life by John Randolph (Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.)

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