The brain is a lot like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the better it works than if it doesn’t receive any stimulation at all. In this episode of the Attention Ladies & Gentlemen podcast, Jeff talks to Clinical Neuropsychologist and Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr. Jeanne Townsend. Dr. Townsend, who is also the Director for Research on Autism and Development Lab at the University of California - San Diego, talks about her research and how she got into working in games that develop attention skills in children. HIGHLIGHTS Attention is a critical prerequisite to remembering What is attention, really? The link between attention problems and autism What happens in the brain of a child with autism Why Dr. Jeanne got into developing games that train attention QUOTES Dr. Jeanne: "Attention is that filter that tells you what you need to focus on, helps you to decide very very quickly what needs to be your focus. And at the same time, you have to be able to shift attention quickly if something changes in your environment that you need to pay attention to." Dr. Jeanne: "A group of children moves very fast. Kids don't stay still, they're running around, they're moving, they're laughing. All sorts of things are going on and if you can't change your attention quickly to keep up with what's going on in the group, that affects your social behaviors." Dr. Jeanne: "The interest in games came along simply because that's something children will do without being forced. We wanted the games to be fun enough that the kids would play them on their own and want to do it. A lot of the therapy that might be helpful to kids is not a lot of fun and they don't engage in it all that willingly." ABOUT DR. JEANNE TOWNSEND Dr. Jeanne Townsend is the Director for Research on Autism and Development Lab at the University of California - San Diego. She has been studying the brain and attention for more than 30 years. Connect with Dr. Jeanne and learn more about her work in the links below. Dr. Jeanne’s profile - https://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/research/labs/autism-development/people/townsend.html Email - jtownsend@ucsd.edu To find out more about BrainLeap Technologies, visit https://brainleaptech.com/ and follow them on social media using the links below: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brainleap/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainleap-technologies/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brainleap Twitter - https://twitter.com/brain_leap Please rate, review and subscribe. Every feedback counts!
The brain is a lot like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the better it works than if it doesn’t receive any stimulation at all. In this episode of the Attention Ladies & Gentlemen podcast, Jeff talks to Clinical Neuropsychologist and Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr. Jeanne Townsend. Dr. Jeanne, who is also the Director for Research on Autism and Development Lab at the University of California - San Diego, talks about her research and how she got into working in games that develop attention skills in children.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES
Jeanne: "Attention is that filter that tells you what you need to focus on, helps you to decide very very quickly what needs to be your focus. And at the same time, you have to be able to shift attention quickly if something changes in your environment that you need to pay attention to."
Jeanne: "A group of children moves very fast. Kids don't stay still, they're running around, they're moving, they're laughing. All sorts of things are going on and if you can't change your attention quickly to keep up with what's going on in the group, that affects your social behaviors."
Jeanne: "The interest in games came along simply because that's something children will do without being forced. We wanted the games to be fun enough that the kids would play them on their own and want to do it. A lot of the therapy that might be helpful to kids is not a lot of fun and they don't engage in it all that willingly."
ABOUT DR. JEANNE TOWNSEND
Dr. Jeanne Townsend is the Director for Research on Autism and Development Lab at the University of California - San Diego. She has been studying the brain and attention for more than 30 years.
Connect with Jeanne and learn more about her work in the links below.
To find out more about BrainLeap Technologies, visit https://brainleaptech.com/ and follow them on social media using the links below:
Please rate, review and subscribe. Every feedback counts!