Boost Your Brain by Majid Fotuhi

the same way your biceps muscles max out on size but continue to strengthen.
    One good example to illustrate this may be the brain of bona fide brainiac Albert Einstein. Recent studies of Einstein’s brain reveal it contained more intricate folds than the brain of the average person. Researchers are still puzzling out the meaning of this, but it’s possibly an indication that Einstein’s cortex had expanded in size and, in doing so, folded in on itself to a greater degree than most people experience.
    Expand Your . . . Intelligence?
    When I talk about having a bigger brain, I inevitably get eager nods and then a question along these lines: “But will that make me smarter?”
    The answer is no. And yes. Actually, it depends on what you mean by smart.
    If you Google the phrase “what is intelligence?” you will get more than six hundred million hits. Within those, you’ll find a wide range of definitions for intelligence. That’s because, despite much study and obvious interest, experts still don’t agree on what, exactly, intelligence is. Still, most definitions include some or all of the following: the ability to engage in abstract thought, understand meaning in words, communicate with others, reason, learn, retain knowledge, plan, and problem solve. One Merriam-Webster definition puts it simply as “the act of understanding.”
    The definition I like to use is this: intelligence is the ability to function well in response to obstacles in life. In other words, it is your ability to figure out ways to be successful. This includes having the emotional intelligence—something IQ tests can’t measure—required to interact effectively with others. It includes the ability to process information at a reasonable speed. And, yes, it includes the ability to remember things. But memory is just one component of intelligence. Being able to remember the elements on the periodic table might be helpful to success if your obstacle is a chemistry test, but it won’t mean much when you need to come up with a new idea for the ad campaign that might earn you a promotion.
    We’re all born with certain innate abilities when it comes to intelligence, and those abilities vary greatly by person. One person may have a respectable ability to work with numbers, for example, while another may be terrible at math but can movingly convey meaning with words.
    But—here’s the beautiful thing—we can improve at least some of the components that make up our intelligence. Memory, creativity, mental agility (our ability to respond quickly or “connect the dots”) all can be improved with a bigger brain.
    We’re only now beginning to understand how great that improvement can be. In early 2012, researchers at the University of Edinburgh published their findings that genetic factors account for about 24 percent of the change in intelligence that occurs between childhood and old age. 9 For the study, published in Nature, the research team examined the DNA and intelligence tests of two thousand people. The intelligence tests were conducted when the subjects were children, and again when they were in old age. The largest impact on intelligence, researchers found, seemed to come from environmental rather than genetic factors—what we do rather than what we are given.
    To get back to the question—does having a bigger, stronger brain mean you’ll be smarter—I firmly believe it does and that you’ll perform better on tests of intelligence, be they real world or paper and pencil.
    Brain Reserve in Action
    You know when your brain isn’t functioning well. And when it is. In peak shape, your brain can perform with incredible efficiency and effectiveness—recalling memories quickly and accurately, solving problems, and thinking creatively. Each part of the brain chugs away independently while at the same time communicating and coordinating with other parts of the brain in a way that’s as beautiful as it is mysterious.
    A brain operating at its