Office of Research & Development |
  |
Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
An official website of the United States government
VA Research Currents archive
Posted July 16, 2013
(Summer 2013 VA Research Currents)
Lloyd Clarke, an Army Veteran and IT employee with VA in Baltimore, says he is a regular user of an online brain-training program called Lumosity. (Photo by Mitch Mirkin)
Online brain-training programs such as Braintrain, Cogmed, and Cognifit generally do improve users' cognitive skills, but the results don't always transfer to real-world tasks outside those used in the online training. That's the main finding from a review of more than 20 individual studies that tested the online programs.
The review team included researchers with the VA San Diego Healthcare System; the University of California, San Diego; and Washington State University. They also looked at studies that had tested video games designed to boost cognitive skills.
The online training is marketed mainly to older adults looking to slow the effects of aging on the brain. But it has also been used and studied for populations with health conditions that affect brain function, ranging from attention deficit disorder to multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. The programs often use colorful and engaging puzzles and games, some with audio instructions or prompts. They include baseline testing and metrics that allow users to track their progress over time. They target brain functions such as attention, memory, and processing speed.
Overall, say the authors of the review study, "The available peer-reviewed literature suggests that computer and video game based cognitive enhancement programs yield the most significant and robust improvements on trained tasks, processing speed in particular. Beyond improvements made on trained tasks, there is moderate evidence to suggest that these methods can generalize to untrained cognitive abilities."
The authors recommend additional well-designed, independent studies to document the programs' actual benefits. Of the 21 studies reviewed, several reported financial conflicts of interest, such as funding by the maker of the software. The reviewers also recommend that future studies include "functional outcome measures" relating to school performance, work efficiency, or quality of life—all areas that the programs claim to improve.
Quoting from one of the studies reviewed, the authors note that the "popularity of products designed to slow brain aging might have outpaced credible scientific data to show that these interventions are effective." (Neuropsychology Review, March 2013)