Brain training that actually works.
There’s a lot of talk about brain training these days. “Brain gym” apps and other cognitive enhancers.
Problem is, the science says most of them don’t work and companies like Luminosity are coming under fire for making claims not supported by science.
While those dont work, here are a few that do:
Dual N-Back
Working Memory is the undisputed king of cognitive performance. Research shows that working memory is a better predictor of academic performance and overall life success than even IQ.
Source: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Psychology Today
Dual N-Back Training:
The participants were then assigned to either a control group, or to a treatment group in which they practiced a computerized task called “dual n-back,” which requires a person to monitor two streams of information — one auditory and one visual. (The task is challenging, to put it mildly.) Finally, all of the participants took a different version of the reasoning test to see whether the training had any impact on fluid intelligence.
The results were striking. Not only did the training group show more improvement in the reasoning test than the control group, the gain was large enough to have an impact on people’s lives. As John Jonides, the senior University of Michigan scientist on the research team, explained, there was also a dosage-dependent relationship: “Our discovery is that 4 weeks or so of training will produce a noticeable difference in fluid intelligence…We’ve also shown that the longer you train short-term memory, the more improvement you get in IQ.”
Source: Scientific American
App Store: Dual N-Back: Brain Training
Google Play Store: Dual N-Back: Brain Game
Peak (iOS and Android)
Based on ACTIVATE technology which is a form of computerized cognitive remediation (CCRT), developed by neuroscientist/psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Wexler from Yale. A according to a small randomized controlled trial the technology improved executive function and working memory improved.
Results: The reasoning group reported significantly less difficulty in the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) than the control group.
The booster training for the speed of processing group, but not for the other 2 groups, showed a significant effect on the performance-based functional measure of everyday speed of processing
Source: JAMA Network
The same technology from is now available in app form:
Enjoy!