1. Importance of Staying Mentally Active Group Project for EDCI 6304 Marla J Kimmel, Ruby Rodriguez, Juan Gracia

2. Introduction Can you answer the following questions? How many astronauts were onboard each space capsule launched during NASA’s Gemini Space Program? What is the sum, in degrees, of the interior angles of a rectangle? And finally, Easter Island is a dependency of what country? According to a popular television show, if you can answer all of these questions, you are smarter than a 5 th grade student. Fox, 2007

3. Introduction (cont.) Many adults are not able to answer these and many other questions that they once knew the answers to. Why is this and what can be done to help adults regain mental acuity that has been lost?

4. When does brain development begin? Brain development begins even before birth. Babies in the womb respond to the music. Alcohol and tobacco affects the child’s development. A learning rich environment an environment stimulates the brain

5. Golden window of education -age four until the teenage years??? Children are like sponges absorbing information from their environment (Null, 2006). Educators and parents should provide activities that stimulate the mind. Does accumulation of knowledge ends at age four or your teen years ??? Brain Development (cont.)

6. Your brain grows as you continue to feed it Use it, exercise it, stimulate it, and challenge it Workout your physical body to keep it healthy Workout your brain – nourish it with stimulation Exercise it - reading, writing, puzzles, & bingo Anything that involves concentration and thought Feed your brain

7. Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles Mind puzzles-Why? Different puzzles for different parts of the brain Designate a puzzle to each group member Research what is occurring in the brain

8. Puzzles, (cont.) What part of the brain is being used? Use right or left brain? What part of the brain is being used? Use right or left brain? Daily brain exercises nurtures, and challenges one’s mind Yields great rewards progressing into old age.

9. Executive Function Located in the frontal part of the forehead (Bragdon & Gamon, 2003) Controls the "working memory"-holds data while the brain manipulates it "Working memory" slows down with ageing Ability to manipulate becomes affected (Bragdon & Gamon, 2003). Mental exercises critical to maintaining higher levels of thinking

10. Add puzzle

11. Language Function One of the six cognitive areas of the brain Left hemisphere is used Werncke’s area used for analyzing spoken language Located in the temporal lobe Brocha’s area-production of coherent speech

12. Located in the left frontal lobe. Theory -Wenickes’s area produces individual words Broca’s area produces grammar. (Spark Notes, 2006). Temporal lobe - phonetics and phonemics of language is recognized Location-superior temporal gyrus Language Function

13. Adjacent areas of the lobe-lexical and semantic information (Lang brain, 2000) Damage; hear language but cannot understand it Trouble producing grammatical language (Spark Notes, 2006) Contradictory info Hickok, Love-Geffen, & Bellugi, (2000), Exact varies all brains slightly different

14. Computation Function Intended outcome-triggers cognitive engagement- improves intellectual activity. Research suggests puzzles help processing speed & lower cognitive decline Six year study -700 adults age 75+ active in hobbies less likely to develop dementia (Men's Health Advisor, 2006). So what happens as we age? Depends on you

15. Computation Function Dr. Monte S. Buchsbaum, Neuroscience PET Lab at Mount Sinai says: No difference between a 25 & 75 year old brain Buchsbaum studied 6,000 elderly people given mental tests 70% maintained brainpower (The Franklin Institute Online, 2004) Recognizes that certain areas are more susceptible to deterioration than others Research-mental exercise can help improve these areas

16. Computation Function Abundant research-better educated people-less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease Case Western Reserve study-mentally & physically active Less likely to develop disease (The Franklin Institute Online, 2004) Daily mental activities-playing a musical instrument, puzzles Painting, playing cards, board games, and working on home repairs.

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