What can I do to improve my cognitive prosessing speed?

By defining the question better

Most people waste time and processing speed trying to answer a question when they're not sure of the question they're asking.

I have a catchphrase that annoys everyone:

"When you've adequately defined the problem, you will have arrived at the solution"

Let's take your question above. It lacks definition. So let's define it a bit better

"Is your cognitive processing speed the same under all conditions?"

I can tell the answer to that question is no. There will be days and times when you amaze yourself at the speed of your processing. Athletes call this "The Zone". And there will be days when tying your own shoelaces requires real effort.

So your original question is better defined by saying

"Under what conditions does my cognitive processing speed perform at its best?"

Now that's something that can be measured and studied.

So you see how the slightest improvement in definition helps us speed towards a solution that much faster

 

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Is everything I think thought by my brain and am I nothing but my own brain?

Yes to your first question and no to your second.

Your brain is the vector for your thoughts to allow them to become expressed in the physical universe

But it's only the conduit or channel for your thoughts. Your thoughts are information which is non-physical and so are not limited by the same physical limitations as matter and energy are. It is just not accurate to say that your brain contains your thoughts. Yes, your brain expresses your thoughts but that is not the entire story.

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What Is Brain Shrinkage? Can The Brain Grow New Neurons?

The problem with brain shrinkage, also known as cerebral atrophy, is that it only measures changes in volume. That isn't very helpful because that doesn't tell us what's dying back. The usual suspect are neurons. If that's the case, it's not a big deal. However, if it's the glial cells that are under attack, that's a major problem because that will adversely affect the whole brain because they have four important functions: to surround neurons and hold them in place, to supply nutrients and oxygen to neurons, to insulate one neuron from another, and to destroy and remove the carcasses of dead neurons (clean up).

Ageing and the brain

So is this bad thing? Maybe, maybe not.

According to the American Psychological Association, mental decline is neither inevitable nor unavoidable:

Memory Changes in Older Adults

However, there is at least one occasion where the brain recovers from cerebral atrophy - after pregnancy

The Incredible Shrinking Brain

Change in brain size during and after pregnancy: study in healthy women and women with preeclampsia

Note that the studies show a decrease in brain size during pregnancy when compared with after which means that the brain grows back.

This means that the wife of Feodor Vassilyev allegedly went through 27 consecutive incidences of cerebral atrophy and recovery without apparent harm or long term damage. Of course, that would have to be confirmed by further research into the records of the Monastery at Nikolsk which claimed to have recorded each birth.

Most prolific mother ever

However, putting this extreme example to one side, it is known that many women have had multiple pregnancies without mental decline.

I find this very exciting. It means that the brain can recover from cerebral atrophy and that it isn't the death sentence that some have feared.

The problem with the concern about cerebral atrophy is the incorrect notion that brain size matters. We believe that our intelligence is directly related to brain size and that this was the thing that separated us from all of the other animals. It isn't and it doesn't. Human brains vary between 1.3 to 1.5 kg (2.9 to 3.3 lb). A bottlenose dolphin has a slightly larger brain 1.5 to 1.7 kg (3.3 to 3.7 lb). An elephant's brain is about 3 times larger at 5 kg (11 lb) and sperm whales are about 5 times larger at 8 kg (18 lb). To make matters worse, brain sizes a lot smaller than 1.3 kg have been measured in some people suffering from hydrocephaly without an apparent loss of ability.

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