Take the Wheel

Earlier lessons within the course such as The Hope Circuit and Self Regulation have shown us how our brains can sometimes work against us, negatively influencing our thoughts, decisions and actions. This lesson explores a related concept that could also help you to take the driving seat within your own car, allowing you to drive […]

Seeds of Cognition

This is a slightly different lesson because it may not relate to improving your own cognitive power. Instead, we are looking at how strong neurological foundations can be built during childhood and adolescence. Even if you are not a parent, teacher or child development practitioner, this unit will describe how we can all contribute to […]

Cognition in the Workplace

Almost all jobs require people to use their cognitive skills, even those that primarily involve manual labour. Cognitive skills determine how we think, learn and understand things. Those of us with strong cognitive skills will be more valuable in the workplace and achieve greater success when pursuing any endeavour that requires use of these abilities. […]

Real World Impact

Transfer of Training Progress Unlike computer games that are created for enjoyment, neurocognitive development software is designed to have real world impact. Some products that are available have a very specific impact goal in mind, such as helping children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), whereas other tools are more general in their aims. The […]

BrainHQ Research

Three Landmark Studies There is much skepticism around computer based brain training programmes, and rightly so! The majority of commercial products that claim to deliver improvements in cognitive performance can only demonstrate improvements within the specific exercises that users practice and are taught. Scientifically proving that these improvements transfer into real world benefits and everyday […]

Self Regulation

Self Regulation Self regulation is the process of using executive functions to influence your motivations, thoughts, emotional states and behaviour. In other words, self regulation is the ability to stop, think and make choices before acting. The ability to self regulate can have wide ranging consequences on our lives. If we all lived on tropical […]

The Hope Circuit

This lesson is a good example of how new discoveries about the brain are helping us to learn more about ourselves. It combines neuroscience with a popular concept within positive psychology called learned helplessness and how we can regain more control over our lives. Learned Helplessness Learned helplessness is behaviour exhibited by someone after experiencing […]

What is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity (also called brain plasticity) is a common term used by neuroscientists, referring to the brain’s ability to change at any age, for better or worse. As you would imagine, this flexibility plays an incredibly important role in our brain development (or decline) and in shaping our distinct personalities. Childhood Adulthood You Childhood Often, people […]

Dr Michael Merzenich

This lesson is all about “the brain” behind BrainHQ, Dr Michael Merzenich. Knowing a little more about this history and why BrainHQ was created will help to demonstrate its roots in neurological science rather than psychology or cognitive science. To learn is to change how you think Dr Michael Merzenich > Professor Emeritus Neuroscientist Brief […]

Growth Mindset

It doesn’t matter how healthy your brain is right now. However old you are, you always have the opportunity to improve your brain fitness and your cognitive ability, regardless of your perceived level of intelligence. Most of your performance data in BrainHQ is based upon the concept of ipsative assessment whereby your current performance is […]