Study Finds Mental Exercise Offers Brain Limited Benefits
By GAUTAM NAIK
WSJ
Thousands of people world-wide are trying to improve memory, mental fitness and even intelligence levels by performing computer-based brain-training exercises. A large new study casts doubt on whether such programs can deliver what they promise.
The hallmark of a good brain-training program isn't whether it simply improves a person's ability to do the specific mental tasks in the training, but whether it also boosts other cognitive skills. The latest study, published in the journal Nature, found no evidence for such cognitive transfers.
"Our brain-training groups got better at the tests they practiced, and the more they practiced, the better they got. But there was no translation to any improvements in general cognitive function," said study co-author Jessica Grahn, a scientist at the Medical and Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, England. The unit has close links to the University of Cambridge.
The brain training and fitness industry is still in its infancy and largely centered on software programs or online offerings. In North America, the market increased to $265 million in 2009 from $225 million a year earlier, according to SharpBrains, a market-research firm in San Francisco. It is forecast to grow to at least $1 billion in five years.
(More here.)
WSJ
Thousands of people world-wide are trying to improve memory, mental fitness and even intelligence levels by performing computer-based brain-training exercises. A large new study casts doubt on whether such programs can deliver what they promise.
The hallmark of a good brain-training program isn't whether it simply improves a person's ability to do the specific mental tasks in the training, but whether it also boosts other cognitive skills. The latest study, published in the journal Nature, found no evidence for such cognitive transfers.
"Our brain-training groups got better at the tests they practiced, and the more they practiced, the better they got. But there was no translation to any improvements in general cognitive function," said study co-author Jessica Grahn, a scientist at the Medical and Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, England. The unit has close links to the University of Cambridge.
The brain training and fitness industry is still in its infancy and largely centered on software programs or online offerings. In North America, the market increased to $265 million in 2009 from $225 million a year earlier, according to SharpBrains, a market-research firm in San Francisco. It is forecast to grow to at least $1 billion in five years.
(More here.)
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