Do ‘brain games’ live up to their hype?

Some neuroscientists are speaking out against “brain games,” computer-based games that purportedly improve memory and cognitive functioning, and even claim to prevent or reverse neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. A letter, signed by 73 brain scientists from around the world, condemns the companies that are making these claims, accusing them of exaggerating scientific findings and exploiting consumers’ concerns over age-related reduction in cognitive functioning.

“Cognitive training produces statistically significant improvement in practiced skills that sometimes extends to improvement on other cognitive tasks administered in the lab. In some studies, such gains endure, while other reports document dissipation over time. In commercial promotion, these small, narrow, and fleeting advances are often billed as general and lasting improvements of mind and brain. The aggressive advertising entices consumers to spend money on products and to take up new behaviors, such as gaming, based on these exaggerated claims.”

Initial findings that generate a buzz over new ways to supposedly enhance the brain sometimes do not hold up, but “brain game” companies such as Luminosity and Cogmed continue to claim that their products are backed by scientific evidence.

But are all producers of “brain games” culpable of advertising their products based on tenuous science? Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist and co-founder of the company Posit Science, says of the letter:

“It’s a classic case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. To be lumped into the same bag with people primarily focused on how well it sells as opposed to how well it works is frustrating. It’s so presumptive of scientists to take such a position. All the companies doing this on some level are trying to deliver some level of help to the people in need, and to say it’s all bogus is just wrong.”

Merzenich and other scientists praise the progress that companies are making in developing a potential alternative form of treatment for neurological disorders that is both safe and fun. The letter cautions against putting too much merit into “brain games” too soon, though it also acknowledges that as more comprehensive research on them becomes known, they could potentially serve as a useful tool for protecting or enhancing brain functions.

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