US Airways - June 2012 - (Page 176)

Must Read assumed that these experiments were based on sloppy methods, or that the results applied only to animals, or if to humans, only to small parts of the human brain. These experiments showed that the brain is neuroplastic, meaning that it is changeable, and that mental experience, and mental exercise, could alter its very structure. It took 20 years for mainstream neuroscience to begin to accept that these experiments were sound and applied to humans, and not only to part of the brain, but to all of the brain, all of the time. Today we can say these experiments have been replicated thousands of times. Research and clinical trials throughout the world have shown that neuroplastic approaches can be used to treat traumatic brain injury, stroke, obsessive-compulsive disorder, learning disorders, pain, aspects of schizophrenia, and other afflictions. Neuroplasticity is suddenly much spoken of, is a “hot” term, and many marketers are putting old wine into new bottles — taking various simple brain games and rebranding them as “neuroplasticity exercises.” When tackling brain processing problems, however, as with so much else, the devil is in the details. One must have an intimate understanding of the pace at which the brain changes, how to “dose” the exercises, and which brain function to target. The latter is important because a simple problem, e.g., a reading problem, can actually be caused by a weakness in any number of different brain areas, and only one of these need be weak for a person to have a reading problem. So, what is required is not just an all-purpose brain exercise (which does not exist) but a brain-based assessment of the person’s difficulties. These assessments and exercises often require years of refinement. Realizing that neuroplasticity has huge implications for education, neuroscientists at labs all over the world are getting their feet wet developing this work. One woman began applying neuroplastic principles first to herself and then to students, just after the first experiments were done 30 years ago. The future in neuroplasticity arrived in a one-room schoolhouse in Toronto about a third of a century ago when Barbara Arrowsmith-Young and the team at her lab school began applying neuroplastic principles to learning problems. Barbara’s own story — which I recounted in a chapter entitled “Building Herself a Better Brain” in my book The Brain That Changes Itself (2007) and which is movingly elaborated in this book — is truly heroic, on par with the achievements of Helen Keller. Barbara Arrowsmith-Young was born burdened with a number of extremely serious learning disabilities, including a severe inability to understand logic and cause and effect or to understand events in real time. PURSUE YOUR MUSIC DRE MS! Have you ever said, “I wish I could try that just once?” Well, you can!!! Has age, location or circumstances stopped you from pursuing your dreams? Have you dreamed of recording your own CD, writing or producing your own songs or performing under the bright lights? Maybe it’s creating your own TV special, hiring or meeting a certain celebrity or fulﬁlling that one “bucket list” music item. Well, it’s never too late to pursue your own dreams! Meet Bill Jolly. The world’s biggest names collaborate with Emmy Award winning producer Bill Jolly to produce their concert, theater, TV, ﬁlm, award show, celebrity and music needs. If you can dream it, Bill Jolly can help you create it and document the experience for you to relive over and over again. You only live once. Create your one fantasy. Invest in your talent. It doesn’t matter where you live, your age or if you’re only a hobbyist. We all have the right to fulﬁll our own creativity! Do it! BillJolly.com 888.800.0617 All ages, styles and “creative types” are welcome! *Ask about participation in our new TV show!* http://www.BillJolly.com http://www.BillJolly.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - June 2012

US Airways - June 2012
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots
Hub Crawl
Adventure: Zip-line junkie
Adventure: Virginia’s Skyline Drive
Wine & Dine
Great Escapes
Gear Up
Behind-the-Scenes Baja
International Itinerary
Charlotte in 2012
Discover Columbia
Welcome to Philadelphia
Must Read
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace™
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - June 2012