Creativity: great for the aging brain

Check out this video that demonstrates how staying creative, and exercising both sides of your brain, can prolong your life -- and make it more fun, too. Oh, to be eighty!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtNI3Rrqb_0

Sight reading a new piece of music is an important and complex skill for musicians. When sight reading, musicians aren’t reading the notes their fingers are currently playing, they are looking ahead to read the notes that are coming next. And they are predicting what may be coming next. Working memory is the ability to keep relevant pieces of information active in your mind. Pianists use working memory when they read music.

Importantly, music like language has a grammar which consists of rules that specify which notes are likely to follow other notes in a piece of music.

Conversationalists and working memory

Conversationalists are doing the same thing. When we converse our interaction is ruled-based, and we tend to follow the other person meaningfully. We use this well practiced capacity which we have gained over decades to predict the direction and thread of the conversation. Like musicians we use our working memory in conversation to keep relevant pieces of information active in our mind when we converse with our friends or neighbours.

All of this is good news for the brain, which seems to benefit from regular exercise. And it isn't too early to try something new.

Former Stillwater Therapist Doing Well by Doing Good

Here is a note from Chris Regan, who left Stillwater recently to join the Salvation Army clinical staff:

As for my new position...I love it.
Helping veterans who have had very hard times. The program I am at is
called The Salvation Army Haven. It is a dual diagnosis treatment
program for homeless vets. Along with the substance abuse there is
PTSD (combat and non-combat related), schizophrenia, bi-polar d/o, MDD
and all the variations of anxiety you can think of. Our goal as
clinicians/case managers is to see that they are provided food,
clothing and shelter, treat the SA and other chronic mental health,
heavy emphasis on medication management and building of social skills.
They are given extensive Return to Work counseling and resources. We
also work with the VA to get them some type of long term housing. We
use a 12 step approach with the SA. It is an abstinence only program.
We can treat up to 94 men at a time. At present my case load is 24
men. It is a privilege to have this opportunity to be of maximum
service.
God bless you and thank you.
Chris