Back by popular demand, Michael Merzenich, Ph.D was a main speaker during the plenary session at the Aging and Disability Technology Summit. Dr. Merzenich is the chief scientific officer for Posit Science. For more than three decades, he has been the leading pioneer in brain plasticity research – the ability of the brain to contantly change, grow, and remap itself during the course of a lifetime. This includes the ability to repair itself in the wake of an injury. When an area of the brain is damaged, the activities associated with that region can sometimes move to another area of the brain, allowing the person to recover functionality. People can also enhance the flexibilty of the brain by “exercising it”, much like your muscles are improve by exercise.
The new computers Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) Computers arriving at senior and community centers all over the City have Posit Science brain-fitness software installed on them.
For an updated list of computer training sites where you can exercise your brain on-line, go to http://www.sfconnected.info/
To hear Dr. Merzenich’s presentation at the Summit, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVXePdC-4E4
To learn more about this how this all works, go to http://www.positscience.com/human-brain/brain-plasticity/about-brain-plasticity