Memory And Brain Training

Our brain can do many wonderful things. It is still one of the most mysterious organ of our body. The manner in which it functions in well known in many aspects but there are still other ways in which the brain operates that we are still not entirely sure. But we’ll explore brain plasticity here and show what a vital role it plays in helping us to learn as well help the brain to adapt.

Brain plasticity refers to a mechanism in which the brain creates new neural pathways as a result of mental processes. A child’s brain is like a sponge and everything that child sees, hears or experiences is new. As this child becomes exposed to more stimuli and if it is done on a repetitive basis, his/her brain forms new neural pathways based on the brains response to that stimuli.

Over time the creation of these new neural pathways helps to lock in the response and a given situation is remembered presumably over a very long period of time. So if a child touches a hot surface, a powerful response is generated. There are new neural pathways created as a result. So the next time the child comes back to that situation which caused him/her to experience pain from touching a particular surface, that child remembers this and avoids it.

Similar brain training techniques are used to help a child to learn many new things such as language, music, visual response, etc. But what happens over time is that the brain receives much less new responses since it has already registered many previous experiences.

As the years progress, the cells may deteriorate and the neural networks can break down. This can create a situation where the brain deteriorates and people become more forgetful or agitated. Eventually it can have permanent long term effects through Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
But it has been shown that it is possible to stimulate the brain even in older adults to create the formation of new neural networks which can help to perpetuate good mental function. It is not necessarily a fact that mental function has to decline as we age.

Brain plasticity is also an essential way to help people to overcome disabilities caused by injury to the brain. Most of us know that different parts of the brain control or handle different functions. So if a section of the brain is damaged through disease or injury, it can have devastating results such as affecting a person’s ability to walk or talk.

However certain techniques can be applied to use brain plasticity to help teach other parts of the brain which are undamaged to take over functions it previously did not do. So in many cases a person can be trained to regain certain functions and abilities which were previously lost. It is an amazing thing and one of the many wonders of our brains.

Also, for people who suffer from a condition or are under chemotherapy for example can suffer from certain cognitive decline. For example, chemotherapy is know to create what is called chemo brain. The treatment is so strong that it has an impact on your brain.

It is important to take care of your brain health as soon as possible and try to prevent some of the decline that are happening as we age. Keeping a sharp mind and brain training will offer a lot of benefits in daily life.

What You Need To Know About Chemo Brain

Cancer survivors can go through an indescribably amount of pain, suffering and changes over the years. One of the many aspects that can be affected is the brain as some face thinking and memory problems following treatment. It is this fog, dysfunction and cognitive dysfunction that has become known by cancer survivors as chemo brain.

Although it is a widely used term, it can be misleading as it has not yet been properly associated with chemotherapy. There is still a large percentage of survivors that face memory problems that consistently score high on cognitive tests, which is precisely what leads doctors to believe chemo brain is nothing more than a false assumption.

Despite there being no true evidence that chemotherapy is the direct cause, people continue to make the connection. Because of this, there is a large list of signs, symptoms and causes you may want to be aware of just in case.

As one might expect, chemo brain commonly comes with confusion, disorganization and difficulty fully concentrating on things throughout everyday life. In addition to this, some report having difficulty finding the right word, learning new skills, multitasking, and having a short attention span. Fatigue or even insomnia could be another problem that some face on a day to day basis.

The real confusion behind the term rests within the actual cause. While it is all speculation today, it could be related to chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery among many. And some of the directly related complications that can come from treatment include anemia, fatigue, infection, sleep problems and nutritional deficiencies.

The list of causes and reactions from the treatment is endless, but anxiety and depression can be big emotional reactions that come from this. It is important you keep an eye on your overall mood and how it swings following any kind of radiation or chemotherapy treatments.

To no surprise, there are risk factors that come with treatment as cancer is an extremely serious disease regardless of whether you still have it or are a survivor. The most notable risks to be aware of include brain cancer, chemotherapy that is give directly to the central nervous system, chemotherapy that is combined with whole-brain radiation, radiation therapy to the brain and higher doses of chemotherapy or radiation.

While the exact cause of chemo brain may still be unknown, the pain, symptoms and stress that survivors and patients go through is very real. And for this, it is ever so crucial you understand everything behind it regardless of whether you are a friend, family member or patient yourself

Helping Clear Up Chemo Brain

Chemotherapy is a toxic process used to treat patients with brain tumors or other cancerous cells within the brain. For people who are lucky enough to survive a brain tumor with an effective chemotherapy process, the side effects of this therapy can be beyond debilitation themselves. Once such side effect that lingers after therapy is called chemo brain.

Chemo brain is best described as a mental fogginess or cloud that interrupts the patient’s ability to be able to think clearly, recall memory and even go about their normal daily routines.

There are considerable objections in the professional medical community as to exactly what chemo brain is. For people that suffer this condition, they report problems with their memory, inability to focus and/or concentrate on anything for any amount of time, and they even have problems holding a conversation because they can’t find the right words to complete sentences.

Normal things that you and I take for granted, people that have undergone chemotherapy and experience chemo brain just couldn’t grasp. There are a few things that people suffering from this condition can do such s brain training in order to regain some of their mental sharpness and ability to recall things back.

The whole point of chemotherapy is to use toxic radiation levels to try and destroy the cancerous cells. During this process, the radiation also destroys healthy cells as well including neurons that are required to send signals to other parts of the body.
Getting these synapses and neurons to fire and take place again, you will have to go through a rigorous mental training and re-training process. Participating in mental games that test your mental capacity has been shown to help aid in the production of more neurons making more electronic signals.

This is a slow process and one that might be frustrating at first, but if you take up an attitude to train your brain consistently each and every day, it is possible to get some of that memory and focus ability back.

While you are going through this rigorous process training your brain to get its neurons to fire like they used to, you may also want to make sure that you use memory aides to assist you as well. Day planners and a daily normal routine will really help in this process of fighting chemo brain. As always, make sure to consult a professional medical doctor before you make any final decisions about curing your own health ailments.

This Signs And Symptoms Of Chemo Brain

Chemo brain is something that many people do not talk about. Many people that have chemotherapy treatment notice that their cognitive function is not at the same level as before chemo. This is something that can be very frustrating on top of the many other side effects that people can deal with while taking chemo.

Some people feel as if they are going crazy when these symptoms begin to present. If you have always had solid cognitive function, losing this ability can be very frightening. If this is something that your doctor did not explain to you, it can catch you off guard. Once you conduct some research, you will find that this can be perfectly normal as a side effect of your treatment.

One of the most common symptoms of chemo brain is short-term memory loss. You might not be able to recall things that you recently did and this is a very frustrating symptom. If you cannot remember simple tasks throughout the day, you might become withdrawn and this is not healthy for anyone.

Concentration is another thing that can be affected by chemo. You might have problems focusing and concentrating on the tasks in front of you. If you recognize that this is a common symptom of chemo, it can help you to realize that this is often short lived and once you are not taking chemo, your concentration can improve greatly.

Recalling words is another very scary symptom of cognitive impairment while taking chemo. You might be looking for the right words and simply fail to find them within your head. This can prevent you from going out and doing things if you are frightened your words can be impaired.

Thinking slower is something that many people on chemotherapy report. Thinking can be slowed down and it can take some time to formulate your thoughts correctly. Trying new things can be very stressful and you might not pick things up like you used to before treatment.

Instead of thinking that this is something that you have to learn to live with, it can help greatly to participate in memory exercises and other ways to improve cognitive impairments associated with chemotherapy.

Chemo brain is something that many people with chemo have problems with. Cognitive ability is responsible for many of the things you do each day. When you learn about the most common symptoms and side effects of chemo, it can help you to take each symptom you experience in stride.