Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho
EstersDoll,
Of all of the natural sources of BCAA's, pork is an excellent source of balanced BCAA's.
The Lumosity programs are designed for cognitive enhancement but have not been researched nor shown to speed up recovery from mTBI's. As such, you should be cautious to not overdo you time spent with the programs.
I have the complete set of Posit Science software and know that it can be easy to over-exert my brain working the exercises. Both Lumosity and Posit Science can tend to show improvements due to the learned ability to improve with the exercises. By that I mean, you learn how to do the exercise and get better because of that learned ability, not from an improvement in cognitive ability.
There is also an enhancement of under-learned cognitive functions. By bringing these cognitive functions up to a normal level, the subject notices an improvement. The value here is enhancing the brain's ability to implement work-arounds and other accommodations.
I have learned new ways of accessing visual memory that are very different than the previous "mind's eye" visual memory where I could visualize in my mind and thus remember. Now, I have learned how to use a non-visual and more intuitive visual memory. It is like I have to ignore any attempt to visualize and instead use a more blind intuition of what I saw. It is like I see on the computer screen a shadow of the object in its proper location that I am trying to remember.
I don't know it this is a visual remnant on the retina or a remnant in the visual processing center of the brain. Either way, I find it works.
Both programs are designed for the aging community and even younger set that have become fearful of Alzheimer's Disease. The research shows that the exercises do not delay the end deterioration but do delay the onset of disabling symptoms. The progression is delayed until the end when it takes place over a shorter span of time. A worthwhile gain but not an extender of lifespan.
What ever way one works to improve, getting some level of improvement is what matters. I knwo that my measured abilities are the same as they were many years ago. But, my abilities to use other skills and functions to work at a higher level has allowed me to overcome many of my dysfunctions during the good days. My bad days do not seem to be any better or worse.
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Yes, Mark, I know you don't think the exercises are beneficial and you have brought up some excellent points to be considered (as usual!)
But I think lumosity is beneficial. Some of the exercises are similar to the ones my speech therapist does with me and I think that working with her has been the most beneficial thing out of everything I've been doing in an effort to heal myself due to this brain injury other than the spinal tap that relieved the pressure that was continuing to damage my brain!
Not only does lumosity make me feel like I am working towards getting better, which improves my mood a great deal. But I also get very bored and it is something for me to do!
I can also see HUGE improvements over the course of the last 8 months or so that I've been playing them. I can't say that lumosity is the cause for those improvements at all; it's most likely just the natural healing that would have occurred with my brain. I am significantly better than I was six months ago. I am driving again and working 20 hours a week! I can handle conversations better, etc. And lumosity has at least tracked my improvements in some way. Not only because I learned how to play the games, but also because I'm just getting better than I was.
Again, I don't know if lumosity has helped me to improve. But the other day I was having difficulty communicating with my BF who is my primary care taker and I couldn't explain what was wring with me, and I played some games and noticed a distinct decline in some of them and realized because of the game category that something was wring with my logical reasoning, which is what happens when I'm very tired! And so I was able to stop playing, let him know what was going on with me in a way that he could understand (because when I just tell him that something's not functioning as well he doesn't get it, when I say there's something wrong with my logical reasoning - which I couldn't put to words before playing the game - then he gets it and we get along better.)
And I do understand getting fatigued over playing too many games! But personally, I do not only need to watch my fatigue, I need to try to increase my stamina. This most likely has to do with me being in severe pain and on bed rest for about six months which is rare for people who acquire mTBI, and it's a fine line, so playing the games might be a good way for me to do that too.
And playing the games can help me recognize that I am fatigued, because sometimes I won't even realize it until I start playing a game and I notice a significant difference in the way I may have played them a few hours before or the day before and then I will rest. I used to work about 60-80 hours a week on stage, so I was very used to ignoring being tired and pushing through it and a game like this helps me not to do that.
Also, I've read that some neuroscientists believe that learning new games and playing video games that a person didn't know before acquiring a head injury is good for healing from one.
Whenever someone asks what they can do to help themselves I'm always going to recommend lumosity. And you will probably always out in your two cents - which I think is good. I think it's good for people to be as informed as possible.