1/5/2024 0 Comments Memory master on brain games![]() “But these skills tend to be very specific and not show a lot of transfer. “It’s possible to train people to become very good at tasks that you would normally consider general working memory tasks: memorizing 70, 80, even 100 digits,” Charness said. The team examined whether improving working memory would translate to better performance on other tasks or as the researchers called it: “far transfer.” That’s the theory behind many brain games: If you improve overall working memory, which is fundamental to so much of what we do every day, then you can enhance performance in many areas of your life. Researchers tested whether the games enhanced players’ working memory and consequently improved other mental abilities, such as reasoning, memory and processing speed. ![]() In their study, they set up one group of people to play a specially designed brain-training video game called “Mind Frontiers,” while another group of players performed crossword games or number puzzles.Īll players were given lots of information they needed to juggle to solve problems. The FSU team’s study focused on whether brain games could boost the “working memory” needed for a variety of tasks. “These exaggerated claims are not consistent with the conclusions of our latest study.” “More companies are beginning to be fined for these types of inflated claims and that’s a good thing,” Boot said. There’s very little evidence these types of games can improve your life in a meaningful way.” ![]() Wally Boot is an associate professor of psychology at FSU, who used a specially designed video game to test whether people can improve overall cognitive performance by playing brain-training games or crossword puzzles: “You can get people fantastically good at specific things if you train them on those things, but then if you change that task just slightly the performance just falls apart. The Federal Trade Commission fined one brain-training company $50 million for false advertising, which was later lowered to $2 million. But advertising for this rapidly growing business sector has sometimes used inflated claims. Brain games are available online and through mobile apps that typically sell for about $15 a month or $300 for lifetime memberships. That popularity has turned the brain-training industry into a billion-dollar business. “Brain challenges like crossword games are a popular approach, especially among baby boomers, as a way to try to protect cognition,” Charness said. “Our findings and previous studies confirm there’s very little evidence these types of games can improve your life in a meaningful way,” said Boot, an expert on age-related cognitive decline.Ĭharness, who’s also the director of FSU’s Institute for Successful Longevity, said an increasing number of people believe brain training helps protect them against memory loss or cognitive disorders. Neil Charness, professor of psychology and a leading authority on aging and cognition, teamed up with Wally Boot, associate professor of psychology, and graduate student Dustin Souders to test the theory that brain games help preserve cognitive function. That’s according to a new study published in the science journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience from a team of Florida State University researchers. Science does not support many of the claims. Neil Charness is a professor of psychology and director of FSU's Institute for Successful Longevity.īe skeptical of ads declaring you can rev up your brain’s performance by challenging it with products from the growing brain-training industry.
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