Augmented Cognitive Performance Part 2: Lo-tech

April 16, 2018 ~ Written by: W.B. “Bud” Kirchner

“Humanity’s ability to alter its own brain function might well shape history as powerfully as the development of metallurgy in the Iron Age, mechanization in the Industrial Revolution or genetics in the second half of the twentieth century.” (Farah et al. “Neurocognitive Enhancement: What Can We Do and What Should We Do?” 2004) – as cited in Cognitive Prosthetics and the Augmented Mind – Michael Ridley.

In contrast to my disclaimer in Part 1 –I am more comfortable endorsing these techniques since I have used them all!

Finally – the old-fashioned way

The target in this context is usually the working memory (think of working memory as mental bandwidth) – the part of the brain that stores and manipulates information. Tasks that require reasoning, comprehension and learning rely at least in part on working memory. It is involved in focus and attention and subject to further processing this information goes into long-term memory.

Given its notoriously small capacity any improvement is relevant to cognitive performance. I have discussed some of the limitations on working memory previously. (Thinking Errors: Part Four – Arming Yourself in the Battle with Your Mind)

As an overview Brett and Kate McKay (Think Better on Your Feet: How to Improve Your Working Memory) – flag two approaches to cognitive performance:

First: reduce anxiety, stress, interruptions and information overload

Second: boost and strengthen working memory

One approach to the former includes enhancing the working memory with sound – here are some published observations:

• “If music is cognitively demanding, then it is likely to have a deleterious effect on your study.” – (Don’t Overcrowd Your Working Memory – Graham Taylor)
• “There was thus no positive ‘Mozart effect’ on short-term memory performance in monkeys as described on spatial-temporal reasoning in students”. – (Effects of music and white noise on working memory performance in monkeys – Synnöve Carlson, CA Pia Rämä, Denis Artchakov and Ilkka Linnankoski)
• “During the task it (music) impaired the performance whereas white noise improved it. White noise, on the other hand, may protect from any distraction during testing and thus improve the performance”. – (Effects of music and white noise on working memory performance in monkeys – Synnöve Carlson, CA Pia Rämä, Denis Artchakov and Ilkka Linnankoski)

Mindfulness

Mindfulness which is a specific way of paying attention to the present moment characterized by a receptive and non-judgmental attitude has been found to elicit a positive impact on cognitive performance and abilities including attention, memory, cognitive flexibility, and quality of task performance.

There is a preponderance of scientific evidence on the value of mindfulness and cognitive performance.

Here are just two of the recent articles and the highlights of their findings:

Cognitive Effects of Mindfulness Training: Results of a Pilot Study Based on a Theory Driven Approach – Lena Wimmer, Silja Bellingrath and Lisa von Stockhausen

• “Results suggest that the mindfulness training specifically improved cognitive inhibition and data-driven information processing.”

Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Course on Learning and Cognitive Performance among University Students in Taiwan – Ho-Hoi Ching, Malcolm Koo, Tsung-Huang Tsai,4 and Chiu-Yuan Chen

• “This study showed that a one-semester mindfulness meditation course was able to improve learning effectiveness and both attention and memory aspects of cognitive performance among Taiwanese university students.”

In short – lower blood pressure and improved working memory seems to increase concentration and eliminates distracting stress.

I have written previously on the benefits of mindfulness when it comes to cognition and other aspects of the business mind:

1. Daniel Kahneman Meets Dalai Lama
2. TPN vs. DMN – Neural Mechanisms and Mindfulness
3. TPN vs. DMN – Brain Structure and Mindfulness

Exercise

Popular press and scientific journals are replete with the evidence that exercise can improve performance.

The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities – Fernando Gomez-Pinilla and Charles Hillman

• “Scientific evidence based on neuroimaging approaches over the last decade has demonstrated the efficacy of physical activity improving cognitive health across the human lifespan.”

Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition – Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF

• “Human and non-human animal studies have shown that aerobic exercise can improve a number of aspects of cognition and performance.”

While there is still some debate if resistance or aerobic exercise is better – the good news is you can do both.

Again, I have written about the benefits of exercise:

• Body & Brain: Part One – Did You Know You Have Two Brains?
• Body & Brain: Part Two – An Exercise in Risky Business

Environment

A well done overview of the impact of the environment is 11 scientific reasons you should be spending more time outside by Lauren Friedman and Kevin Loria.

Amongst several other benefits – these are flagged from numerous different scientific studies:

• Improved short-term memory
• Restored mental energy
• Stress relief
• Reduced inflammation
• Improved concentration
• Sharper thinking and creativity
• Improved mental health

Once again, I have written on environment and cognitive ease. (Are you Creating Environments Designed to Enhance Relationships?)

In Closing

Finally, I will use this opportunity to encourage you to read my upcoming article on embodied cognition. Clearly, it is a topic related to augmenting cognition.

Bibliography

1. Synnöve Carlson, CA Pia Rämä, Denis Artchakov and Ilkka Linnankoski – Effects of music and white noise on working memory performance in monkeys
2. Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF – Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition
3. Ho-Hoi Ching, Malcolm Koo, Tsung-Huang Tsai,4 and Chiu-Yuan Chen – Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Course on Learning and Cognitive Performance among University Students in Taiwan
4. Lauren Friedman and Kevin Loria – 11 scientific reasons you should be spending more time outside
5. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla and Charles Hillman – The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities
6. Daniel Levitin – The Organized Mind
7. Lauren Martin, MS and Corey Schuler, MS, DC, CNS – Mindfulness Meditation: An Overview Of Msrt, Supine Position, And Cognitive Performance
8. Brett and Kate McKay – Think Better on Your Feet: How to Improve Your Working Memory
9. Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley – The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force
10. Graham Taylor – Don’t Overcrowd Your Working Memory
11. Lena Wimmer, Silja Bellingrath and Lisa von Stockhausen – Cognitive Effects of Mindfulness Training: Results of a Pilot Study Based on a Theory Driven Approach

Relevant Business Brain Model articles

1. Thinking Errors: Part Four – Arming Yourself in the Battle with Your Mind
2. Daniel Kahneman Meets Dalai Lama
3. TPN vs. DMN – Neural Mechanisms and Mindfulness
4. TPN vs. DMN – Brain Structure and Mindfulness
5. Body & Brain: Part One – Did You Know You Have Two Brains?
6. Body & Brain: Part Two – An Exercise in Risky Business
7. Are you Creating Environments Designed to Enhance Relationships?

Total word count excluding title and bibliography: 856

About the Author: W.B. “Bud” Kirchner is a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist with more than 50 years of business success. He is not a scientist or an academic but he does have a diversified exposure to neuroscience, psychology and related cognitive sciences. Generally speaking, the ideas he expresses here are business-angled expansions of other people’s ideas, so when possible, he will link to the original reference.