# Do brain-training games really work?



## David Baxter PhD (Aug 1, 2018)

*Do brain-training games really work?*
By Ana Sandoiu, _MedicalNewsToday.com_
August 1, 2018

With the recent surge of brain-training apps available for  every smartphone user out there, it's worth asking — do brain-training  games hold any real cognitive benefit? A new study investigates.                         

Brain-training apps, such as Lumosity or Elevate, are being used by tens of millions of people worldwide. But when placed under scientific scrutiny, the benefits of such brain-training games turn out to be controversial.

For instance, some studies  have found that brain-training games improve the "executive functions,  working memory, and processing speed" of young people, while others hail the benefits of such games for preserving cognitive health in seniors.

On the other side of the debate, however, we find those who say that no such benefits exist. A report  published last year, for example, monitored the brain activity,  cognitive skills, and decision-making abilities of young adults, only to  conclude that brain-training games "do not boost cognition."

Now, a new study backs up the latter camp. Neuroscientists at Western  University in Ontario, Canada, set out to investigate if the alleged  cognitive benefits of brain-training tasks can be transferred to other  tasks that the users haven't been specifically trained for — but which  engage the same brain regions.

Bobby Stojanoski, a research scientist in the Brain and Mind  Institute at Western University, is the lead author of the paper, which  was published in the journal _Neuropsychologia_.

*Testing the benefits of training the brain*
Stojanoski and colleagues explain in their paper that the controversy  around the cognitive benefits of brain-training apps is mainly due to  the fact that most studies have not chosen precise cognitive skills and  outcome measures in a consistent manner.

To correct this, they used "a targeted training approach" in which 72  participants were trained on "two different, but related, working  memory tasks."

Working memory  refers to the brain's ability to retain new information — such as a new  name, a shopping list, or a telephone number — for a short period of  time.

The participants took part in two experiments. One tested their  working memory in a certain task that they had been trained on, and the  other tested them on another, related task that they received no  specific training in. The second task engaged the same brain areas as  the first.

The researchers compared the results with those of a control group  that received no training whatsoever, but whose participants were tested  only on the second task.

*Sleep, exercise, friends are better than apps*
The research team found that the high scores in the first game did not boost the participants' performance in the second game.

"We hypothesized that if you get really, really good at one test by  training for a very long time, maybe then you'll get improvement on  tests that are quite similar. Unfortunately, we found no evidence to  support that claim," says Stojanoski.

*"Despite hours of brain training on that one game,  participants were no better at the second game than people who tested on  the second game, but hadn't trained on the first one," the researcher  explains.*

"From a consumer perspective," Stojanoski goes on, "if you hear a  company or an advertisement [saying], 'do brain training, do this thing  for half an hour and you'll get a higher IQ' — that's very, very  appealing. Unfortunately, there's just no evidence to support that  claim."

There are, however, other things you can do to stay mentally agile.  "Sleep better, exercise regularly, eat better, education is great —  that's the sort of thing we should be focused on," says the lead author.


_"If you're looking to improve your  cognitive self, instead of playing a video game or playing a  brain-training test for an hour, go for a walk, go for a run, socialize  with a friend. These are much better things for you." ~ Bobby Stojanoski_
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