Week 7 Email: October/5

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to Week 7: Exploring the Space Around Us!

Have you ever wondered why standing close to a friend can feel comfortable, while the same distance from a stranger can feel uncomfortable?

This week, we’ll explore personal space and peripersonal space (PPS) and discover how the brain uses sensory, emotional, motor, and social information to understand what is happening around our bodies.

We’ll look at how familiarity, safety, emotions, and social relationships can shape our experience of proximity—and connect these ideas to everyday life, communication, caregiving, and healthy aging.

Let’s discover how the brain doesn’t just detect distance—it interprets it!

Last Week: Dreams, Hypnosis & Creativity

Last week, we explored how the brain creates experiences, processes information, and generates new possibilities through dreams, hypnosis, and creativity. We learned that these experiences do not come from a single “creative center.” Instead, they emerge from interactions among multiple brain networks involved in memory, attention, emotion, imagination, and decision-making. Most importantly, we discovered that the brain does more than simply respond to the world—it can remember the past, imagine the future, and create something entirely new. For healthy aging, this offers an encouraging message: the brain remains capable of learning, adapting, and developing new skills throughout adulthood.

Getting Started with Week 7 📚

As you get started this week, take a few minutes to log in to Canvas and explore your Week 7 materials. You’ll find helpful resources designed to support your learning and help you get the most out of this week’s class.

On Canvas, you’ll find:

📚 Class lessons with pictures, infographics, and videos

✅ Quizzes to check your understanding

💬 Discussions where you can share your thoughts and learn from your classmates

🎥 Class recordings (coming soon)

📖 Additional materials and full articles if you’d like to explore the topic further

You don’t have to go through everything at once. Take some time to explore Canvas and find the resources that are most helpful to you. We encourage you to make checking Canvas part of your weekly routine! 🌟

Accessing Canvas

You can access Canvas through the Canvas app on your phone or through the Canvas website. To log in, use your SDCCD student email and password, then select Fall 2026 HEAL 540 from your courses.

📱 Want to use Canvas on your phone? Download the Canvas app from the App Store or Google Play. Search for “Canvas by Instructure,” select SDCCD as your school, and log in using your SDCCD student email and portal password.

If you haven’t checked Canvas yet, now is a great time to log in and explore. Everything you need for Week 7 is there! 😊

🗓️ Class Schedule & Meeting Times for Brain Fitness Topics (HEAL 540):

You are welcome to join whichever class time fits your schedule best. Zoom links are hyperlinked under the Professor's name. 

• 🗓 Tuesday | 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
  📍 CRN 45950 – Minoo Pakgohar

• 🗓 Monday | 2:30–4:30 PM
  📍 CRN 45956 – Erika Peralta

• 🗓 Wednesday | 6:30–8:30 PM
  📍 CRN 45960 – Charisse Winston

• 🗓 Thursday | 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
  📍 CRN 45961 – Charisse Winston

• 🗓 Thursday | 1:00–3:00 PM
  📍 CRN 45948 – Sharon Gregory

• 🗓 Friday | 2:30–4:30 PM
  📍 CRN 45957 – Erika Peralta

Quick Links   

• Course website:  bfclass.com

• BrainHQ site:  https://v4.brainhq.com/

• Student site with schedule and more:  sdcestudent55.com

• Site to enroll in classes:  myportal.sdccd.edu

• Official SDCCE site:  sdcce.edu

We look forward to learning, exploring, and keeping our brains active together!

Your Emeritus Brain Fitness Faculty 

Sharon, Erika, Charisse & Minoo