What if you made it harder?

There are a lot of things out there that can help make the life of the survivor easier. Assistive devices that can aid in everything from walking to eating, for instance. There are apps to help aphasic folks communicate. There are even books that give you "Tips for Making Life Easier. " 

There are really really good reasons to have these "helpers." One of those reasons is safety. Take AFOs, for example. I've been an advocate of attempting to "walk out of" the AFO. AFOs help folks who can't lift their foot, walk. And if its a safety issue then, by all means, keep it!! But if a set of muscles is not used it will atrophy. In the case of the AFO, the orthotic eliminates the need to use the dorsi flexors which lift the foot. But that muscles will atrophy is only half the problem.

The other thing that atrophies is the portion of the brain that controls that movement.  In short order (weeks) the number of connections between neurons in the brain rapidly decreases. Is that what we want? Generally, no (but for safety, yes, maybe.)

So all this time is spent on making life easier but making life harder is the place to be.  Find suggestions here and here and here.

Clinical research indicates you are smarter if you don't buy lumosity

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Lumosity is a scam. It costs $15 a month and it will change your brain. What does it do to your brain? It makes your brain better at playing the lumosity games.

Really you don't need fancy software and a computer interface to do what human brains have been doing for the last 200 thousand years. 

Heck, these guys don't even use the word neuroplasticity right. Their tagline is "Lumosity is based on the science of neuroplasticity." But neuroplasticity is not science. 

(note: The previous link was to luminosity's website. But they must've gotten enough flak about the whole "science of neuroplasticity" thing that they took it off their website. However, others have found, and recorded, the same statement.)

Neuroscience is a science. Biology, chemistry, zoology -- these are sciences. Saying neuroplasticity is a science is like saying E=MC2 is a science. In fact, both E=MC2 and neuroplasticity are theories. Given the fact that lumosity has a huge stable of neuroscientists, you think they'd be able to figure the nomenclature.

The fact is, the best way to "train your brain" is to challenge your brain. This challenging of the brain -- also called learning -- changes neurons. Learning stresses out neurons which react by creating new dendrites, that then form new synaptic connections. The best way to rewire your brain to learn something new is the old-school stuff; learning a new language, learning a new musical instrument, learning a new sport, etc.

I'm not sure I could put it better than this: "The (lumosity) scam is a pretty smart one because it melds together not just one but two classic plays in the world of conning – the idea that you don’t have to work hard for something because there’s a hidden shortcut, and the inherent belief that you could be brilliant if only you could tap some hidden skillset lurking somewhere in your brain-case."

How can stroke survivors drive this sort of change in their brain? It involves a lot of hard work. The work has to be very challenging. The bottom line is, there is no game, or machine or pill that will help you learn. And there's no game, machine or pill that will help you recover from stroke.

More up-to-date blog entry on "brain games" here.