Given the whole distracting “controversy” of whether Nintendo Brain Age “works” or not, I have started to use the following “brain teasers” in my talks in order to help the audience gain a more useful perspective of what is going on. They worked great both in the Medicare Readmissions Summit in DC a few weeks ago, and at the Games for Heath Conference last week.

Q: How many soldiers in the US Army have gone through computerized cognitive testing before being deployed, and why?
A: Over 150,000, in order to establish an objective starting baseline and identify potential Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) problems upon their return.

Q: How big is the ongoing investment by OptumHealth, a division of UnitedHealth Group (UNH), in developing computerized cognitive assessments to inform clinical decision-making?
A: over $6m.

Q: How many Allstate policy-holders over the age of 50 have received a computerized cognitive training program to improve their driving safety?
A: Over 8,000, in the state of Pennsylvania.

Q: How many residential communities are offering computerized cognitive training programs to their residents?
A: Over 700, in the US alone, covering independent and assisted living.

Q: How much money has the Government of Ontario invested in setting up a new Centre for Brain Fitness as part of Baycrest research center in order to develop and commercialize technologies to assess and enhance cognitive functions?
A: $10m, matched with another 10m from local investors.

For more on our Cognitive Health Track at Games for Health Conference last week, see this USA Today article:

More doctor’s prescriptions may include brain games to improve mental acuity

(pretty good overall, but please note that SharpBrains didn’t organize the whole conference, “only” the cognitive health track, which was a lot of stimulating fun. Ben Sawyer and team did overall conference).

In April 2008, Baycrest, a leading research institute focused on aging and brain function, received $10-million from the Ontario Government to create a groundbreaking Centre for Brain Fitness. Its stated goal was to “develop and commercialize a range of products designed to improve the brain health of aging Ontarians and others around the world”.

“Our government is proud to support Baycrest and its invaluable work, which is already leading to the discovery of important new tools and approaches to treating brain diseases associated with aging,” said Minister of Research and Innovation, John Wilkinson.

We have Baycrest’s CEO with us today, to explore why Ontario and Baycrest chose to become pioneers in this area, and discuss some of the main opportunities, and challenges. Dr. William E. Reichman is President and CEO of Baycrest. Dr. Reichman, an internationally-known expert in geriatric mental health and dementia, is also Professor of Psychiatry on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Alvaro Fernandez: Bill, thank you for your time. Let me start by asking, given that you just spoke at the recent Consumer Electronic Show, what do you make of the growing brain fitness field?

Bill Reichman: it looks like a classic example of a very promising but still early stage field – a lot of opportunity and enthusiasm, but also a lot of product claims that are not backed by solid research. Think about the physical fitness analogy: even today, after decades of progress, you still see people buying research-based products such as treadmills but also all types of random machines they see on TV and have not been subject to any validation. Similarly, consumers today do not know what to make of growing brain fitness claims. As another speaker pointed out, for the industry to fulfill its promise, it will need to be careful with research and claims, not to end up like the nutraceuticals category.

By the way, let me recognize that the work you are doing with SharpBrains reports and your website is very important to offer quality information.

Thank you. Let’s step back for a moment. Taking a, say, 10 years view, what is the main opportunity that technology-based brain fitness can offer to society?

First of all, let me say that I think we have an opportunity to make major progress in Brain Health in the XXI century, similar to what happened with Cardiovascular Health in the XX, and technology will play a crucial role.

Given the rapid advances we are witnessing today in the research and technology arenas, I feel confident in saying that in less than 10 years we will have both valid and reliable assessments of cognitive functions, that will be used both by Read the rest of this entry »

Here you are have the bi-monthly Digest of our most Popular blog posts. (Also, remember that you can subscribe to receive our blog RSS feed, or to our newsletter at the top of this page if you want to receive this digest by email).

Brain Fitness News and Events

Upcoming Events: I will be speaking at five Health, Education and Gaming events over the next couple of months to introduce findings from our recent market report. Please introduce yourself if you attend any of these events.

Preventing Memory Loss-Special Issue: Congressional Quarterly Researcher, one of the main publications on Capitol Hill, published an impressive 24-page special issue titled Preventing Memory Loss. Highly recommended if you want to be on top of the latest research trends and their policy implications.

Read the rest of this entry »

Round-up of interesting recent news on cognitive health and fitness: the field is in motion.

1) Baycrest creates Centre for Brain Fitness with $10-million Investment from Ontario Government (Canada NewsWire)

2) Cognitive tests are the best way to select medical students (EurekAlert)

3) High blood pressure hard on the aging brain (Reuters)

4) Alzheimer’s tests beneficial for seniors (Atlanta-Journal Constitutional)

5) Dementia-Dreading Baby Boomers Spur Race to Invent Brain Games (Bloomberg)

6) Vivity Labs launches Fit Brains brain-training game site (VentureBeat) 

7) Depression and Alzheimer’s (NHS Choices)

For selected quotes and comments, Read the rest of this entry »

If you are based in North California, you may be interested in the classes just announced by the UC Berkeley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. “Berkeley OLLI is an inquiring and stimulating community of adults, age 50 and above, exploring new areas of knowledge and traditional disciplines, challenging and fascinating subjects.” If you are not in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can check the closest Lifelong Learning Center to you in either the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute network or the Elderhostel one.

You can see a listing of their classes for the Fall 2007 session, on a fascinating variety of topics. Keeping our educational activities since 2005 (first delivered in SFSU), I will be teaching the following class

The Science of Brain Health and Brain Fitness (more here)

October 9-30th, 4 classes, 6.30-8.30pm

Location: University Hall, UC Berkeley

Description: Neuroscientists have shown how the human brain retains neuroplasticity (the ability to rewire itself) and neurogenesis (creation of new neurons) during its full lifetime, leading to a new understanding of what aging means. In this class, we will review the science behind some of key concepts in this field and explore their implications on our lifestyles: neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, the Cognitive Reserve theory for healthy aging, computer-based cognitive training programs, emotional self-regulation, and the 4 pillars for lifelong Brain Health. We have all heard “Use it or lose it”. Latest research suggests, “Use it and improve it”.

If you are interested in learning more about the classes, you can attend the open House on Tuesday, September 18, 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley. I can only say that the SFSU classes were a lot of fun and I am sure the Berkeley ones will be as compelling.