Saturday, June 7, 2008
Brain Breakfast of Memory Champions (HOPEFULLY)! :)
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Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Brain / Memory Cocktail Formula - Test #1
I will begin my study by taking the following brain cocktail. I came up with this formula as the initial formula. I plan to test after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. Then, depending on results, I may modify the formula.
uridine: 120ml (2 scoops) enfamil (for uridine)
fish oil: (4) 1200mg = 4800mg ttl - Nature's Pride Omega 3/Omega-6
Neuro-PS Phosphatidylserine: (2) 200mg = 400mg ttl
Lecithin: (2) 1200mg Ultra Soya Lecithin = (360mg ttl Phosphatidylcholine, 216mg ttl Phosphatidylinositol)
Choline Bitartrate: (2) 650mg = 1300mg ttl
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Best Memory Test - Research & Review
- Brain Fiteness Channel's Test Your Brain that includes a Speed Test, Word List Recall, Speech in Noise.
- Brainworks Left Brain / Right Brain test
- MyBrain Trainer - Brain Age vs. Brain Power Test
- Rutgers University Memory Test - Part of the Memory Disorders Project
- IQ tests: Mensa Workout, NonVerbal IQ and Free IQ Test
A report in ScienceDaily mentions that people with early stage Alzheimer's experience problems with episodic and semantic memory. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an online test that specifically tests episodic and semantic memory.
But, I did manage to take the Mensa Workout and the Free IQ Test. I thought both tests were quite different. The Mensa Workout took a lot longer and was very visual/pattern oriented. The Free IQ test was a hybrid of different questions. Interestingly, (and embarrassingly), I scored 115 on both. I thought this was low since I remember taking an IQ test when I was around 18 and scored 138. This is almost a 17% decline in 23 years. At this rate, I would be at about 96 when I'm 64 years old. According to Audioblox's IQ Test Scores: The Basics of IQ Score Interpretation, a 115 is considered "high average". Using Excel, I created the graph and equation displayed above and here's a summary of what I might expect as I age:
- Age 18: IQ=138, "Very Superior", 2.2% of population
- Age 41: IQ=115, "High Average", 16.1% of population
- Age 65: IQ=92, "Average", 50% of population
- Age 80: IQ=76, "Borderline", lower 5% (Estimated with Linear Regression)
Some additional links to note:
Alzheimer's disease: Does High IQ slow progression?
Six Ways to Improve Your IQ and Keep Alzheimer's Disease at Bay
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Memory Improvement Study - The Plan
Here's my plan for the Noise Circuit Brain Blog - in general, I'd like to keep it informative and simple:
- Take a test documenting my current memory condition
- Document my research and findings
- Document my ideas (and logic) of what vitamin combinations I'll take
- Provide details regarding the vitamins, dosages and brands I'll be taking
- Provide details regarding my diet
- Provide details regarding my physical activities (workouts)
- Provide weekly (or even more frequent) reports on my status
- Take the memory test monthly
...And hopefully, during this experiment, I will continue to learn and build a community of people that are interested in studying and looking for dietary solutions for memory deficiencies, ADHD, Alzheimer's Disease and possibly other diseases like Autism.
My Core Values:
- SHARE ALL KNOWLEDGE.
- ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION & COLLABORATION.
- Be SCIENTIFIC as possible
- Be THOROUGH as possible
- Be OPEN MINDED to ideas, suggestions, approach
Given the above outline, if anyone has suggestions or comments on how the study could be improved, please let me know. Otherwise, I plan to proceed.
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
Noise Circuit - The Beginning
Who, What, Where, Why, When, How?
I've spent over 20 years looking for ways to improve my memory & concentration. I fear I'm a candidate for Alzheimer's Disease and would like to proactively study brain chemistry in efforts to avoid or supress it as much as possible.
To begin, I thought I'd provide some biographical background so that we can baseline my situation. This will allow you to compare your story with mine and identify similarities or differences.
General Overview: I was born in 1966 and grew up loving sports. I have and undergraduate in Engineering, a Master's in Engineering and an MBA. I'm not a doctor or PHD (yet!) ;-), but perhaps this study will provide more learning than any PHD program that studies memory or Alzheimer's. My ethnic background is primarily Hungarian with some German (last name is German) and a little French.
Current Memory state: I will take a test to document my memory as I begin the study. In general, I find that I have a very very difficult time remembering names and words to songs. In fact, sometimes if I watch a movie, a year later I can watch it again and it seems almost like a new movie!
Nature / Personality: I believe I'm naturally more of an easy going, laid back introvert that likes to dream and come up with ideas. In my first Myers-Briggs test (15 years ago), I was described as an INTJ. But, it might seem like astrology - I think I have a little bit of everything, just depends on the situation, my mood, etc (in general, I think they got it right). I will update my Myers-Briggs personality profile during this Noise Circuit study.
Any suggestions or links as to what test I should take? Please let me know, I'll take it for baseline purposes.
Physical: There was a soccer ball in my crib. What does this mean? Well... I grew up playing soccer and I've been wondering if this has played a part in my memory deficiency. Why? Well, my dad and I would always "head" the ball...we would play games in the pool around this. I loved it. But, could heading the ball in soccer cause brain injury? Did I shake things up too much! Would the brain naturally heal and recover - especially for a growing youth? I stopped playing soccer at the age of 14 due to a knee injury (so much for my soccer career!). So, it's been about 27 years since active head trauma. I should also mention that I've also had several concussions as a result of soccer, hockey, skateboarding, snowboarding, high diving, climbing trees. Actually, during a 3 meter diving incident, I seriously injured my right eardrum (and had received one of my concussions). I estimate I have about 50% hearing in that ear.
Health: I've been fortunate with the other aspects of my health. I workout almost daily (cardio, pullups, legs). The wonderful thing here is that when I workout I usually read... I've noticed that my brain function improves dramatically from when I start cardio until I end cardio. I find I come up with my best ideas immediately after a 45-60 minute cardio workout. Other studies seem to support this finding. Recently I completed my MBA while doing most of my reading for it on the treadmill...I graduated with a 4.0. :) So, perhaps there's something to this!
Diet: My diet has fluctuated over the years. After having a kidney stone at the age of 25, I went on a WATER kick... I began drinking approximately 1 gallon a day. During the last 5 years, I've dramatically cut back (not on purpose...I've just been bad!) I now consume approximately 1/2 gallon per day and drink too much DIET PEPSI. I rarely eat breakfast. I usually go out for lunch (Jimmy John's, Thai food, Pot Belly's, Blimpies, Chicken Shack are my favorites). Dinner is often pasta dishes, chicken, pizza, salads, chinese, thai or mexican.
Vitamins: My original experiments involved looking for Acetylcholine or Choline sources. In that discussion on sci.bio in 1988, I first learned about Choline, lecithin and the "blood brain barrier." As stated at that time Steve Dyer from Harvard indicated "None of these dietary treatments have been a smashing success, although certain persons with Alzheimers Disease and Huntington's Chorea have shown some improvement." Craig Werner from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine suggested: "Two other "drugs" that increase acetylcholine in the nervous system are Malathion and Parathion, which are not used as drugs, but rather as industrial insecticides. However, as far as increasing Acetylcholine levels, they are quite "efficient," probably the most efficient in general use." Uhhh... INDUSTRIAL INSECTICIDES???? ...I don't think I'm going to be taking any of that! ;-) I ended up taking Phosphytidyl Choline for a few years, but don't think it helped. (I didn't keep any data at the time - LIKE I WILL THIS TIME!) :)
Childhood: Mercury was not known to be so harmful in the 1970s. I can remember frequently dipping my hand in a beaker full of mercury. I'd keep it in my closet laboratory. (I really loved chemisty) I played a lot with mercury. Some have correlated heavy metals with Alzheimer's.
Is there anything else I should document? Please reply/comment and let me know...I'll be sure to add it if you think it would help with the baseline.
1987 ish
Alpha Waves
Delta Waves
Dream State
Mind Rhythms
Circadian Rhythms
relation to music BPM (beats per minute) trance / hypnotic state
Distraction
ADD
Confusion
Alzheimer's
Self Hypnosis
Relax Mate (relaxmates)
Ears / Balance / Focus
Electronic Industrial Music
(to be continued)
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Noise Circuit / NoiseCircuit - The Name
OK, I thought I would provide a little background as to where the name Noise Circuit came from...
Electronic Music has been a hobby of mine since 1990 when I purchased an Ensoniq EPS 16+ sampler. I now own five samplers including Kurzweil K2000s and a K2000r. I have lots of rack mount digital FX processors, a Nord synth, several rack mount synths, an ESQ1, a Mirage, and a lot more. I spent many years creating an extensive library of sounds... primarily machines, rhythmic patterns, noise, movie samples, factories, assembly lines, presses, etc. Favorite bands over time included Skinny Puppy, FLA, Leatherstrip, Haujobb, Wumpscut, Front 242, KMFDM, Einsturzende Neubauten, Nitzer Ebb, Numb, Ministry, NIN, TOOL, Delerium, Joy Division, Thievery Corporation, Radiohead, A Perfect Circle, Massive Attack, Linkin Park, Finger Eleven, POD, lounge music, drum and bass, etc.
I had several bands that tended to lean towards creating music that was experimental, rhythmic, abstract electro-industrial. The latest band was much more main stream (influences of TOOL, with a lot more electronic / noise experimentation) and included a lot of fun friends that were all great musicians. We worked two years on material, but came to a screaching halt when my Mac's hard drive crashed. We lost everything. We do have work in progress recordings that were burned to CDs...if I get around to it, I'll put some samples up here.
All bands need a name... Since I was creating "noise" using a lot of wild electronic instruments I thought the name Noise Circuit was perfect. I used it for a couple projects and it seemed to stick with me. I also have a graphic image that I will post as Noise Circuit's "trademark."
Now, as I was thinking about a blog name for my Memory study, I again had to come up with an interesting and applicable name. Since the brain involves establishing "circuits" and since I feel my brain has a lot of "noise" in it... uhh... the rest is history! Noise Circuit - The Brain Blog was born.
My plans will be to grow the NoiseCircuit community using social media tools like MySpace, Facebook, Del.icio.us, etc.
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