Nintendo NTRPANDE Instruction Booklet - Page 4

Introduction Hello! I'm Dr. Ryuta Kawashima! Did you know that just like how you lose muscle mass with age, your brain function begins to decrease when you reach maturity? This happens even if you lead a normal, healthy life. Everyone knows you can prevent muscle loss with exercise, and use such activities to improve your body over time. But we now know that the same is true of your brain. If you proactively reinforce daily habits of brain training, you can help to prevent a decrease in brain function. Have you noticed yourself forgetting things lately? Do you have trouble articulating exactly what you want to say? These symptoms can be alleviated by training your brain. But such training is not just for adults. Children, too, can heighten their creativity and memory-and learn self-control-by training their brains. Ryuta Kawashima, M.D. 6 • Getting The Most out of Your Prefrontal Cortex The prefrontal cortex is like the control tower of your brain-it determines how you use stored knowledge in practical situations. That means that your "practical intelligence," or ability to apply stored knowledge to your everyday reality, depends upon how well your prefrontal cortex functions. So training your prefrontal cortex could actually raise your intelligence! The Human Brain Angular Gyrus Wernicke's Area Prefrontal Cortex Anterior Parietal Lobe Frontal Lobe Temporal Lobe Occipital Lobe Visual Cortex Posterior Inferior Temporal Gyrus © 2006 Ryuta Kawashima • A Brief Explanation of The Brain Both hemispheres of the human brain are divided into four parts: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe,temporal lobe, and occipital lobe. The prefrontal region (which makes up a large part of the frontal lobe) is the foundation of creativity, memory, communication, and self-control. Its role could be described as the "brain within a brain." 7