Independent experts said the study's findings were encouraging, but that the app needed be tested against other forms
of brain training in trials involving more people.
Now, there is growing interest in less damaging ways of helping people with the condition — including talking therapies and even
forms of brain training.
Although your performance on the games improves, that effect doesn't seem to translate into the real world (see «The rise and
fall of brain training»).
While this
type of brain training will not ultimately be able to prevent or cure memory diseases like dementia, they are a promising way to improve early memory symptoms of the disease.
«That the positive perceptions of users
of brain training apps did not change greatly before and after their use raises concerns about the role of expectations and even marketing in influencing how people experience these apps,» says Dr. Torous.
A group of University of Illinois psychologists reviewed all the scientific papers that brain training companies use to market the proven
success of their brain training apps and games.
BACKGROUND While clinical evidence for the
efficacy of brain training remains in question, numerous smartphone applications (apps) already offer brain training directly to consumers.
«It is important to listen to the end
users of brain training apps and ensure that their concerns are well represented.
«While the evidence of the effectiveness
of brain training remains controversial, our results suggest that the public is interested in learning more about the actual science behind the claims made by the app developers, «says Dr. John Torous, a clinical psychiatrist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, lead author of the study.
• Owner of multiple educational licenses and known as local expert in the
field of Brain Training, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, ADHD and Autism.
Behaviorists have recommended this to dog owners for years, but this new research confirms the importance
of brain training for cats, too.
«Taken together, these wide - ranging analyses have provided the necessary evidence to pursue clinical
implementation of brain training in the aged - care sector — while continuing research aimed at improving training effectiveness,» Dr Lampit said.
It may be possible, for example, to use acetylcholine boosters to increase the effectiveness
of brain training programs for staving off senescence and cognitive decline with age.
Johns Hopkins researchers suspected the problem wasn't the
idea of brain training, but the type of exercise researchers chose to test it.
Brain Age ($ 19.99; Nintendo DS controller, $ 129.99) is the American
cousin of Brain Training, which rocketed to popularity in Japan in 2005.
Sony has taken a back seat in recent years as Nintendo and Dr. Kawashima has sold the
concept of brain training to the world and earned a pretty penny in the process.
I know a lot of senior adults who bought a Nintendo DS and Brain Age specifically for this exact
kind of brain training.
Then psyche yourself up for the most challenging
bout of Brain Training yet, as Dr Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can you stay focused?
We're not convinced by the supposed
science of brain training - it's a sector that makes bold claims based on very flimsy evidence - but there's no doubt that spending time learning or practicing useful things is better for you than mindlessly swiping through trivia on Twitter.
In their book on moral panics around video games — Moral Combat — Markey and Ferguson dedicate a chapter to debunking some of the proposed positive effects of video games, like the widely exaggerated
benefits of brain training games.
Elderly people who did 10
sessions of brain training had half as many crashes on the road as untrained counterparts — even though the training didn't directly relate to driving itself.
«I really worry about this study — I think it's flawed,» says Peter Snyder, a neurologist who studies ageing at Brown University's Alpert Medical School in Providence, R.I. Snyder agrees that data supporting the
efficacy of brain training are sparse.
Even so, adding just a few deliberate brain exercises to your daily routine can help you reap the benefits
of brain training, and it doesn't have to be another item on your daily to - do list.
Dr Astle added, «Despite the bold claims, evidence of the wider benefits
of brain training is weak at best, and our understanding about what it actually does is frustratingly vague.
All of the brain training and cognitive stuff that I worked on, the same exact statement about when you change something at the cellular level.