03 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Mindfulness Programs Improves Learning
This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize data available on the effects of mindfulness-based trainings for children and youths in a school setting. Twenty-four studies were located that report a significant medium effect size of g = 0.40 across all controlled studies and domains. Remarkably, the ES of studies using pre-post designs only is very similar, with g = 0.41. The effects are strongest in the domain of cognitive performance with a large and significant ES of g...Folksonomies: education mindfulness
Folksonomies: education mindfulness
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notes02 MAR 2014 by ideonexus
Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function
The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. We hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypothesis. First, we experimentally induced thoughts about finances and found that this reduces cognitive performance among poor but not in well-off participants. Second, we examined the cognitive function of farmers over the planting cycle. We found that the same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance ...
1 The stress of poverty can cause a 13 point reduction in IQ that improves when financial security is attained. Details from this article: "In a series of experiments, the researchers found that pressing financial concerns had an immediate impact on the ability of low-income individuals to perform on common cognitive and logic tests. On average, a person preoccupied with money problems exhibited a drop in cognitive function similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night's sleep."
02 FEB 2014 by ideonexus
Alternative Reason for Age-Related Cognitive Decline
As adults age, their performance on many psychometric tests changes systematically, a finding that is widely taken to reveal that cognitive information-processing capacities decline across adulthood. Contrary to this, we suggest that older adults'; changing performance reflects memory search demands, which escalate as experience grows. A series of simulations show how the performance patterns observed across adulthood emerge naturally in learning models as they acquire knowledge. The simulati...Folksonomies: information entropy cognition
Folksonomies: information entropy cognition
The idea that as we grow older, our brains have more information to sort through, which makes it take longer to find the data we need.
29 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Chemical Cognitive Enhancers
Pharmaceutical amphetamines (such as Adderall and Ritalin)
These drugs have been used withouit a prescription, for their tirednessreducing and concentration-enhancing effects, by about 5% of students in U.S. colleges, according to a recent study, with some colleges reporting rates as high as 25%.
Modafinil
Modafinil is a nonamphetamine stimulant, marketed to help people with narcolepsy stay awake. It has been reported as popular with otherwise healthy individuals who are using it to mai... 1 notes
notesDrugs to improve cognition.
