Page 96 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

80 • Chapter 4

INTRODUCTION
You learned in earlier chapters how exercising your brain
can improve your intellectual ability. In this chapter, we’ll
introduce you to basic storage and retrieval techniques that
you can use as part of your mental-agility exercise program.
More advanced variations of these techniques and exercises
are presented in greater detail in Chapters 6, “Regain an Ag-
ile Brain,” and 7, “Enjoy Your Ageless Mental Agility.”
Mental exercises can take many forms: brain teasers,
games, puzzles, bridge, going back to school, and more.
Learning something new, whether in a formal school setting
or independently, is an excellent exercise. Distinct areas of
the brain are activated as you graduate from a novice to a
more experienced level in mastery of a technique or subject.
Figure 4-1 is a PET scan that demonstrates the various areas
of the brain that are energized and exercised when a linguis-
tic technique is introduced. The subject is observed while still
a novice and unpracticed, versus when he or she is experi-

Figure 4-1 PET scan of brain activity of novice compared to expert