Michael Merzenich Quotes

If you do not use a muscle or any part of the body, it tends to become atrophic. So is the case with the brain. The more you use it, the better it becomes.

The brain is a tool that gets rusty without constant, albeit moderate, exercise.

The brain is muscle. If you don't exercise it, it will get slow.

Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.

Your brain - every brain - is a work in progress. It is 'plastic.' From the day we're born to the day we die, it continuously revises and remodels, improving or slowly declining, as a function of how we use it.

People talk about the brain weakening as it ages. Mine feels stronger.

Talking about smart thinking, The British-made 'Brain Training Podcast' is a brief daily workout for the mind that could easily get addictive.

Children love this idea that their brain is like a muscle that gets stronger as they use it.

There's an old rule in neuroscience that does not alter with age: use it or lose it. It is a very hopeful principle when applied to critical thought in the reading brain because it implies choice.

Tell your readers to use it or lose it. If you don't use your muscles, they get weak. If you don't use your mind it begins to fail.

Brain power improves by brain use, just as our bodily strength grows with exercise. And there is no doubt that a large proportion of the female population, from school days to late middle age, now have very complicated lives indeed.

The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.

Walking is the only way proven to stave off cognitive decline - it works.

Learning ballroom dancing is great for your brain. But it only works for three to six months. After that, you've got all the benefit you can get, and so you have to move on to yoga, and then Tai Chi, and then bridge, always keeping on the steep part of the learning curve.

The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.

The brain is a muscle, and I'm a kind of body-builder.

Use it or lose it is a cliche because it's true.

I'm 57 years old, and I host a quiz show every single day. I got asked in a recent interview, did I feel that hosting a quiz show helps keep my brain sharp? And I asked - would you ask Stephen Fry that question, who is exactly the same age as me? Somehow, I'm managing to stand up and stay cogent despite my incredible age.

It is man's own fault, it is from want of use, if his mind grows torpid in old age.

The mind requires regular use to remain strong.

It's good to make your brain work more than your body.

I have an old brain but a terrific memory.

The U.S. has spent billions of dollars on educating and supporting teachers or developing curricula but no resources are applied to 'improving the brain' that a student brings to the classroom.

Being on a sitcom stops me from getting Alzheimer's.

It's obvious that my brain isn't what it used to be.