SAGE: A Simple Window on Cognitive Function

Self-administered online tests are a dime a dozen. But one of the simplest has shown itself an effective tool for showing you something about what's going on with your most complex organ.

 How brains do what they do is more complex than what anatomy on its own suggests

Cognitive functions such as reasoning and learning use a number of distinct brain regions in a time-sequenced manner. Anatomy alone – the neurons and nerve fibers – cannot explain the excitation of these regions, concurrently or in tandem. Some connections are actually “wireless.” These are electric near-field connections, and not the physical connections captured in tractographs.

 I failed — at age 34 — the now-politicized Montreal Cognitive Assessment

One sunny day in October 2016, I failed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). That’s the test pundits are having a field day with because it’s probably the one President Trump recently bragged that he “aced.”

 Scientists Make A Leap Forward In Understanding Cognition

Understanding how the brain makes decisions is tricky. Cognition is a complex process. It’s difficult to design an experiment that can show us exactly what is going on in the brain when it is drawing conclusions, making decisions, or learning.

 Seven creatures with skills that easily beat humans

What scientists learn about animal cognition helps unravel the mysteries of intelligence.

 The Cognitive Advantages of Growing Older

The later decades of our lives are there for a good evolutionary reason.

 The Cognitive Biases Tricking Your Brain

Science suggests we’re hardwired to delude ourselves. Can we do anything about it?

 These techniques are proven to boost certain cognitive functions

Included: how memory athletes stuff their noggins with so much knowledge.

 Trump aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Here’s what that means.

The newly famous cognitive test, explained.

 When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

Marijuana, it seems, is not a performance-enhancing drug. That is, at least, not among young people, and not when the activity is learning. A study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry finds that when adolescents stop using marijuana — even for just one week — their verbal learning and memory improve. The study contributes to growing evidence that marijuana use in adolescents is associated with reduced neurocognitive functioning.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Increasing Brain Power at the Workplace [+Infographic]

Since most people perceive visual information better, I’ve crafted an infographic on how to increase brain power at the workplace so that you can save, share and use later.

A Safe Drug to Boost Brainpower

Rigorous analysis shows the drug modafinil significantly enhances cognition.

Can You Get Smarter?

YOU can increase the size of your muscles by pumping iron and improve your stamina with aerobic training. Can you get smarter by exercising — or altering — your brain? This is hardly an idle question considering that cognitive decline is a nearly universal feature of aging.

Getting a Brain Boost Through Exercise

What all of this new research suggests, says Teresa Liu-Ambrose, an associate professor in the Brain Research Center at the University of British Columbia who oversaw the experiments with older women, is that for the most robust brain health, it’s probably advisable to incorporate both aerobic and resistance training.

How Much Exercise Does It Take to Boost Your Brain Power?

Based on the study results, you may want to get active for a more oxygen-happy brain. Among study participants, those who worked out more often had more oxygen availability in their brains — and hence, better cognitive functioning.

Take Trump's Cognitive Test to See If You're a 'Very Stable Genius' Too

The president aced it, but that doesn't mean he's "like, really smart." It just means he can draw a cube.

Vision and Hearing Loss Are Tied to Cognitive Decline

Now and then I hear someone (myself included) proclaim “my brain is on overload.” This is not surprising given the myriad complex tasks the brain performs, among them enabling you to learn, plan, remember, communicate, see, hear and smell. Perhaps also not surprising, a growing number of studies have linked compromised sensory functions like poor vision and hearing to a decline in cognitive abilities.

Ways to Inflate Your IQ

Many people think of IQ as a genetic trait, like brown eyes or short legs: You're born with it and you're stuck with it. Now, a growing body of research is showing that a person's IQ can rise—and even fall—over the years.

What Is the Best Way to Improve Your Brain Power for Life?

The human brain does not automatically go into a steady decline as we age. A variety of new studies have found that simple lifestyle choices can help to keep your mind sharp throughout a lifespan.

Why we pretend to know things, explained by a cognitive scientist

New research explains why we pretend to know more than we do.

You Can Increase Your Intelligence: 5 Ways to Maximize Your Cognitive Potential

It is no coincidence that geniuses like Einstein were skilled in multiple areas, or polymaths, as we like to refer to them. Geniuses are constantly seeking out novel activities, learning a new domain. It’s their personality.

You Think With the World, Not Just Your Brain

Cognition is extended, outsourced, leaking from cranial slime into the material world.