New Year, New Brain

In some ways, your brain is fragile––prone to damage by even a slight bump against your skull.

            But the flip side of this fascinating “hub” is its neuroplasticity – its amazing ability to rewire and repair itself. Neural signals hitting roadblocks from damaged tissues can be rerouted to an alternative path. Damaged areas of the brain can be trained to function properly once again. And even a healthy brain can be trained to work faster and more effectively.

            There are plenty of testaments to the brain’s ability to change. Children with severe dyslexia have actually “rewired” their brains after undergoing programs to strengthen auditory processing skills, like phonemic awareness. Teens with ADHD who have participated in cognitive skills training for attention have shed their label and discontinued use of stimulant medication for good. Seniors with age-related cognitive decline have seen incredible results in restoring memory function. But perhaps most impressive is the miraculous recovery seen in soldiers, athletes and accident victims who have experienced a traumatic brain injury.

            Take John Keller. In February 2008, John was broadsided by a sedan while riding his motorcycle. He was catapulted 150 feet into the air and landed half a football field away. “I woke up 11 months later and I didn’t know I’d been in three different hospitals and a nursing home. I didn’t know about the traumatic brain injury or the 14 surgeries, or that I hadn’t walked, talked or eaten for almost a year.”

            Two years after his accident, John’s body was healed, but not his brain. He was functioning at the level of a four-year-old. His family enrolled him in a one-on-one brain training program. John was paired with a personal brain trainer and for an hour a day, five days a week they did intensive, customized brain training exercises to strengthen John’s cognitive skills. It was a long, hard battle, but the results were life changing.

            The before and after measurements of his cognitive skills were incredible. His long-term memory jumped from the first percentile to the fifty-first. His visual and auditory processing skills showed even greater improvement. Logic and reasoning improved by 40 percentile points, from the nineteenth to the fifty-ninth percentile. Finally, his processing speed and executive processing speed showed tremendous improvements as well.

            Fast forward to present day. John has done public speaking about his recovery and continues to receive invitations to speak. National Public Radio interviewed him and Chicken Soup for the Soul featured his story as a chapter in the book “Boost Your Brain Power.”

While John’s case is an example of the extreme spectrums of cognitive function, you don’t need to have a traumatic brain injury to see significant improvements from brain training. A faster, stronger brain improves all aspects of your life!

To learn more about how LearningRx brain training can help you or someone you love, call us at 908-22-BRAIN, visit us online at www.learningrx.com/warren or stop by our Center located at 34 Mountain Blvd., Bldg. C. in Warren. We’d be happy to give you a tour or do a brain training demonstration. From now until ___, if you resolve to change your brain by enrolling in a LearningRx brain training program, we’ll reward you by applying the cost of our initial assessment toward your training program!