GET SMART(ER)

So will losing weight boost your brainpower? The jury's still out, but "it would make a lot of sense," Convit says. "The brain is very plastic."

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It's the Memory, Stupid

Anyone who is forgetful will likely cop to feeling less than smart at times. What kind of dummy leaves a pot of pasta boiling on the stove while she heads to the grocery store? (It didn't cause a fire, in case you're wondering.) And how clever can you really be if you consistently forget the name of your business partner's husband? Actually, very smart, moderately smart or not so smart. "You can have a medium-poor memory and still have your cognitive function be very good," Linden says.

Still, improving certain types of memory can help your brain function at a higher level. Though there are plenty of mnemonic devices to help you -- picturing your neighbor as a pallbearer might help you remember his name is Paul, while ROY G BIV hints at the colors of the rainbow -- Linden points to two basic factors for a better memory: "You have to pay attention to stuff that's happening," he says. "And you have to prioritize what's happening and pay attention to the most important aspects."

The advice from Johns Hopkins's Gordon centers on boosting the kind of memory he thinks matters most. He calls it intelligent memory, the kind that does much of our thinking for us -- and does it fast. It's responsible for our coming up with words when we're speaking, knowing that 202 is the D.C. area code and reading without thinking about it, among other things. While episodic memory, the memory of specific facts, might tell you where you parked your car, intelligent memory tells you how to drive your car. A better intelligent memory can help in sophisticated thinking and creative leaps, Gordon says.

Building intelligent memory happens naturally, but if you work at it consciously you'll see better results. (Slackers beware: Even Gordon admits "it takes work.") Like Linden, Gordon says paying attention is critical. You can boost your intelligent memory by seeking out connections between facts, looking beyond the first solution for a better one, breaking a problem into pieces, thinking twice about a hunch and taking many small steps to find a solution. Most important, force yourself to stop and think, Gordon says. That allows you to examine the problem a little longer and check your results. Eventually, doing so will become a natural habit.

Eat Yer (Brain) Food

What you eat may also affect how you think. Omega-3 oils, for example, have been shown to aid in developing the brains of fetuses, babies and children. Some scientists believe they may have a similar effect on the brains of adults.

And thanks to a new understanding of stem cells, there's hope that the nutrient choline may help adults.

"Until five years ago, we thought you were pretty much finished forming your brain by 4 or 5 years of age, and we were wrong," says Steven Zeisel, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "In the last decade, it's become clear that there are stem cells in the hippocampus that are dividing until you're in your 50s." That means there's a good chance that what's beneficial for brain development early in life might also help later, although probably to a lesser degree.

"The science just hasn't been done yet," says Zeisel, who is studying the effect of choline in humans and whose mouse study showed a 30 percent memory enhancement in those exposed to choline during gestation and early life.

Since you can't go back to the uterus -- although, really, some days don't you wish you could? -- you can still load up on choline. One egg has about a third of your daily requirement. You can also get it from red meat and fortified foods or as a supplement, although it's not recommended for those who suffer from certain mental illnesses. The Agriculture Department lists the choline contents of many foods on its Web site ( http://www.ars.usda.gov; search for "choline").

There are other substances known to give your brain a boost by improving alertness. "Sugar and fat work pretty well," Gordon says. "Caffeine is a good booster, and if you read Sherlock Holmes, you know that he liked cocaine." The problem is that these all have short-term effects and considerable downsides: obesity, diabetes, addiction.

Concentrate, and Relax

If you thought you'd have to spend all day with your nose in a book to get smart, think again. There's evidence that meditation does wonders for the