By: Alvaro Fernandez
Did you read about the recent experiment where young chimps displayed amazing visual working memory capability, beating humans?
- You can watch a short video here.
- Lumos Labs has released a very fun game to test your own skills: try out this Chimp Game!
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Also, some very good recent news articles:
1) Is it worth going to the mind gym? (New Scientist). This is one of the best articles we have read in a while (unfortunately requires subscription).
- “Birdwatching is the brainchild of San Francisco-based Lumos Labs, just one of the dozens of companies that have sprung up in recent months to cash in on the “brain-training” craze. Like most of its competitors, the theory behind …”
Comments: the article introduces readers to much of the research and scientists we discuss in our blog, such as Torkel Klingberg’s work and recent results from the IMPACT study. The article would have been even better had Daniel Gopher been interviewed on his work improving cognitive performance of military pilots and basketball players.
2) Innovation: Your Brain Needs Just as Much Exercise as Your Body (Fox Business Network)
- “The market, however, is still small. According to Alvaro Fernandez , who co-founded market research and consulting firm SharpBrains, which is focused solely on the field of brain fitness, in 2007 the market was valued at $225 million, which is up from $150 million in 2005. Fernandez thinks there’s potential for it to surge, reaching more than $2 billion by 2016.”
Comments: Â Very good article. Those estimates refer to the whole brain fitness software market to assess and train cognitive skills, including Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Another great week full of interesting and relevant articles. We will start a new tradition: we will end up the week (either on Friday or during the weekend) with a round-up of the articles we haven’t been able to comment on during the week. Please feel free to send us your suggestions too!
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Brave Heart: does will power reside in heart?
- “A recent study has looked into the issue of whether cognitive self -regulation (will power / motivation) is also associated with HRV. The study reported that higher baseline HRV was associated with more will-power and ability to resist temptation.”
Book review: Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley
- “Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain is as entertaining as it is edifying. This unlikely page turner fascinates, and suggests optimism about your brain’s capacities.
Considering the aging baby boom generation and the demands this group has created in every phase of life, if a culture of mental fitness develops, it won’t surprise me. Being a boomer myself, I’m all for it. I just hope I don’t have to become a bodhisattva to reap the benefits.”
Newsweek: Clear link between exercise and improved cognition
By: Alvaro Fernandez
A couple of good recent articles:
(You can join our monthly newsletter by subscribing at the top of this page).
Brain Games will give adults all the challenge they can handle
Baltimore Sun, MD. Mar 22, 2007.The reporter provides a great survey of products. The only parts I find missing are:
1) what specific cognitive skill/s is/are being trained by each product? if we understand that the brain has a variety of structural and functional areas, it becomes evident that different programs may be training different “mental muscles”.
2) How does each program enable the user measure progress in an objective way? I’d say this is the main difference between “games” and brain fitness programs. If you have a wildly different brain age everytime you try…that so-called brain age is not very credible.
Does brain exercise fight dementia?
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription), MN. Mar 18, 2007.As the article mentions, no program can claim to “prevent Alzheimer’s”. And I haven’t seen Posit Science (or us) claim such a thing, or imply it. But what can be claimed is meaningful: Read the rest of this entry »
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