Optimizing Brain Fitness by Richard Restak, M.D.PDF

Optimizing Brain Fitness

Richard Restak, M.D.

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Richard Restak, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Neurology

The George Washington University School

of Medicine and Health Sciences

of Neurology at The George Washington

University School of Medicine and Health

Sciences. He also maintains an active private

practice in neurology and neuropsychiatry in

Washington DC.

A graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Restak

completed his postgraduate training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York

City, psychiatric training at Georgetown University Hospital, and a residency

in neurology at The George Washington University Hospital.

Dr. Restak has written 20 books on the human brain, 2 of which were

bestsellers and 4 of which were chosen as Main Selections of the Book-of-

the-Month Club. He has penned dozens of articles for national newspapers,

including The Washington Post , The New York Times , Los Angeles Times ,

and USA Today . He has contributed brain- and neuroscience-related entries

for World Book Encyclopedia , Compton’s Encyclopedia , Encyclopedia

Britannica , and Encyclopedia of Neuroscience .

Dr. Restak has been elected to fellowship in the American Psychiatric

Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American

Neuropsychiatric Association. He served as president of the American

Neuropsychiatric Association from 2005 to 2007. In 1992, the Chicago

Neurosurgical Center awarded him the Decade of the Brain Award. In

1995, he received the Linacre Medal conferred by Georgetown University

Medical School.

Dr. Restak’s consulting appointments have included the Weill Music Institute

at Carnegie Hall; the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia;

P rofessor Richard Restak is Clinical Professor

the the Of¿ ce of Interdisciplinary Studies, Smithsonian Institution; and

the Advisory Panel, U.S. Congress Of¿ ce of Technology Assessment. He

has served on the Board of Advisors for the School of Philosophy at The

Catholic University of America and was a member of the Board of Trustees

at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George Mason University.

Dr. Restak has lectured regularly at the Smithsonian Associates. He has

also delivered lectures at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City; the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the National Academies; the Library

of Congress; the Brookings Institute; the 92 nd Street Y in New York City; the

National Security Agency; the Center for International and Security Studies

at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy; the Johns Hopkins

University Applied Physics Laboratory; the New York Academy of Sciences;

the Philosophical Society of Washington; the FBI Academy; the Chautauqua

Institute; the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia; The Cooper

Union; the National War College; the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center;

the Society of Statesmen; the National Cryptologic School at the National

Security Agency; and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Along with national and international lectures, Dr. Restak has presented

commentaries for Morning Edition and All Things Considered on National

Public Radio and has appeared on the TODAY show, Good Morning America ,

the Discovery Channel, and the PBS NewsHour . Ŷ

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Professor Biography ............................................................................ i

Course Scope.....................................................................................1

LECTURE GUIDES

LECTURE 1

How Your Brain Works........................................................................4

LECTURE 2

How Your Brain Changes ...................................................................8

LECTURE 3

Care and Feeding of the Brain .........................................................12

LECTURE 4

Creativity and the Playful Brain ........................................................16

LECTURE 5

Focusing Your Attention ...................................................................20

LECTURE 6

Enhancing Your Memory ..................................................................24

LECTURE 7

Exercising Your Working Memory.....................................................28

LECTURE 8

Putting Your Senses to Work............................................................31

LECTURE 9

Enlisting Your Emotional Memory.....................................................34

LECTURE 10

Practicing for Peak Performance......................................................37

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