Your Brain: the Power of Thinking and Ideas

Adapted from Chapter Eighteen of Fantastic Voyage

Ray & Terry recommend optimizing your mental functioning today while you dramatically slow down brain aging and other disease processes. Eventually, technological advances promise to ultimately stop and reverse most causes of mental aging and decline. Ultimately, technology will enable us to vastly expand our mental capabilities through an intimate merger with powerful forms of nonbiological intelligence.

Mouse experiments have shown that regular exposure to new experiences results in a dramatic increase in new neuron formation. You can even "bulk up" your brain by doing mental exercises. Some studies in humans also suggest that maintaining intellectual activity throughout life can protect against cognitive decline in later years. Ray & Terry highlight several points to maintain optimum cognitive function:

• "Use it or Lose it" – Keep your brain active throughout life.
  
  
• Avoid Substance Abuse
  
  
• Lifestyle Choices for Brain Health – Proper diet, active lifestyle, stress management, adequate sleep and targeted nutritional supplementation are all important.
  
  
• "Smart" Nutrients – A number of nutrients have been shown to assist in maintenance of brain function. Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman's Signature Memory Support Formula contains a special blend of nutrients that work synergistically to promote alertness and memory, and to support a healthy mind.