AmericanLife TV Launches Baby Boomer Baby Campaign

[30 November 2007 - Broadcasting & Cable] ‘I'm a Baby of a Baby Boomer’ Features Children of Famous Baby Boomers .... AmericanLife TV, the Washington, D.C.-based baby boomer-targeted cable network, launched a new ad campaign with the children of famous boomers, plus a flower-child logo to help capture that spirit. The "I'm a Baby of a Baby Boomer" campaign was conceived by iconic ad man George Lois with an assist from channel head Larry Meil. It comprises 30-second cable spots and a print component that will feature the children of Joe Namath, Susan Sarandon, Patti Lupone and a handful of others talkin' with their parents about their generation. More

New Research On Aging And Cognitive Training Presented At The Gerontological Society Of America's Annual Meeting

[19 November 2007 - Medical News Today - From: Gerontological Society Of America] Researchers released initial data today at the 60th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) that showed that doing the right kind of brain exercise can enhance memory and other cognitive abilities of older adults. Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski of the University of Southern California Andrus Gerontology Center presented data from the IMPACT study (Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training) - the largest study ever done on aging and cognitive training using a program available to the public. In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double blind trial of 524 healthy adults (aged 65 and older), half the participants completed up to 40 hours of the computer-based Posit Science Brain Fitness Program. The other half, who followed the traditional advice that older adults will benefit from new learning, completed up to 40 hours of a computer-based educational training program. More

Also on this topic, see National Public Radio's piece from this morning:
Study: Aging Brains Can Benefit from 'Training'

Study: Aging artists remain resilient

[12 November 2007 - News & Observer/The Associated Press] Aging artists in New York City stay engaged and productive well past retirement age and would choose their profession again if they were starting over, according to a new study. "Above Ground: Information on Artists III: Special Focus New York City Aging Artists" found that contrary to the stereotype that people become more isolated as they age, aging artists remain passionate and display high self-esteem and life satisfaction. More

'Silent thinking' boosts creativity

[10 November 2007 - United Press International - TILBURG, Netherlands] Taking a few minutes for silent thinking during a meeting strengthens the innovative ability of a group, a Dutch researcher suggests. Arne de Vet of Tilburg University says in his Ph.D. dissertation that a group with at least one person who is relatively introverted can double the amount of new ideas if they take some time for silent thinking. More

Syl Jones: Education, quality thereof

This week's convention of the National Association of Gifted Children, taking place in Minneapolis, is recognizing creativity great E. Paul Torrance for his leadership in developing and promoting creativity in education. Today, the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune profiles another creativity great -- Torrance's student and my mentor and colleague, Berenice Bleedorn. Columnist Syl Jones celebrate Berenice's nearly 50 years of tireless work to integrate creativity into education, both in Minnesota and throughout the world. Perhaps that tipping point is finally coming ...

- Steve Dahlberg

[9 November 2007 - Star Tribune - Minneapolis, Minnesota] ... This week, the annual convention of the National Association for Gifted Children has taken place in Minneapolis. One of the attendees is a 95-year-old woman -- Berenice (Bee) Bleedorn -- whose powerfully active mind is still searching for ways to reshape society's views on education. As the hausfrau-cum-Ph. D. has rightly pointed out, if we would only start with E. Paul Torrance, our education system -- and our students -- would be the better for it. More

Human Decision-making Takes Multiple Brain Regions Performing Individual Functions

[1 November 2007 - ScienceDaily] The brain, the human supercomputer, might work more like an assembly line when recognizing objects, with a hierarchy of brain regions separately absorbing and processing information before a person realizes what they are seeing, according to new research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and published in the Oct. 31 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. Led by Mark Wheeler, a psychology professor in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, and conducted at Pitt's Learning Research and Development Center, the research is a step toward mapping the human decision-making process. This study used an innovative technique and analysis to show that human decision-making is a collaboration of brain regions performing individual functions. Future work based on these findings could lead to a better understanding of how decisions--good and bad--are made and the considerations people put into them. More