BBC Study on Brain Training in Nature Magazine: BBC Brain Training Program Does Not Work

By on April 19, 2010

In a strange way, we are excited that a study is about to published in Nature that shows that a BBC-developed brain training game did not work. We have not seen the training yet as it is currently under embargo, but we’re looking forward to checking it out once it’s in the public domain.  I am disappointed that the BBC’s scientists did not find a way to improve cognitive performance in the thousands of people who tried their on-line brain games.

That being said, it’s not a surprise to us, as we know first-hand that building cognitive training that actually works requires the application of some very complicated science principles, years of research, and rigorous testing to get it right. For a thoughtful perspective on this topic, I highly recommend reading this point of view from leading independent brain fitness analyst Alvaro Fernandez of Sharp Brains.

Our team at Posit Science knows how hard it is to create brain fitness training that creates a meaningful difference in people’s everyday lives and real world activities. Dr. Mike Merzenich and colleagues have been studying the effects of brain training for more than 30 years and have developed effective, non-invasive tools that engage the brain’s natural plasticity to improve brain health. What’s more: these tools have been independently proven to work.

Based on independent academic data from institutions like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and USC (with many studies funded by the NIH), it’s abundantly clear and scientifically proven that certain specific cognitive training programs do drive generalized cognitive gains, and that ordinary cognitive stimulation does not.  You can read about some of the published studies here- including the IMPACT Study, the largest controlled clinical trial of a brain fitness program to date.

In my view, Nature should have asked the BBC to look more broadly at the existing research to ensure consumers got a full view of the effective tools that do exist to improve brain performance. The BBC brain training may not work, but we know that Posit Science brain training does, and we have the studies to prove it.

Possibly Related posts:

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  3. New Study Shows: Posit Science Brain Training Reduces Crash Risk in Older Adults by 50%
  4. Early Results: European Study Combines Exercise and Brain Training for Memory

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Posted: Benefits of Brain Fitness, Memory, Processing speed, Research studies

14 Responses to “BBC Study on Brain Training in Nature Magazine: BBC Brain Training Program Does Not Work”

  1. BBC Releases Brain Training Test Results: The Debate Continues | Brain Training 101 Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    [...] Steven Aldrich, CEO of PositScience – the maker of The Brain Fitness Program™ – offered his take on the study: [...]

  2. george Says:
    April 22nd, 2010 at 2:41 am

    The training is not “under embargo”, it is published at the website of the BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/results/braintestbritain/index.html

    Bye
    George

  3. Bob Pfaff Says:
    April 22nd, 2010 at 8:25 am

    By direct experience, the Posit Science products are so superior in what they offer compared to the acres of lesser competition, it makes me cry. Yet,Posit will be swallowed up and unrecognized. Why? Price point. I speak for those over seventy who are conservative and tight with a dollar.

    Reduce your price to $200 for eleven exercises, $100 for group sales, and add 10,000 initial users. Marketing could be improved.
    Two, make Dr, Merzenich a national science icon.

    I am not Facebook-registered. I here represent 3,000 CCRC residents.

  4. Karen Says:
    April 22nd, 2010 at 11:07 am

    Hi George- At the time this article was written, the training was not yet publicly available.

  5. Miriam Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    To Bob,
    The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Programs for Older Adults makes the Posit Science software available to older adults as part of our Adult Education program (Mental Fitness for Active Seniors) at a reasonable fee. If you are in the LA area, you are invited to try us out. You can learn more by contacting the division at 1-213-62LEARN and asking for Programs for Older Adults. If you are not in LA, consider asking your local school district to start a program.

  6. Lena Vonallmen Says:
    April 25th, 2010 at 12:58 am

    I very much enjoy your blog and many posts, thank you so much you have helped me out greatly :) spread the love.

  7. karina rexex Says:
    May 2nd, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    I would like to get in contact with Mr Aldrich to discuss business opportunitys in Sweden.

  8. Martin Walker Says:
    May 3rd, 2010 at 3:51 am

    Hi, Steven.

    Unfortunately, I think that the BBC study, under the guidance of Dr. Owens, set out to debunk populist brain training (like Nintendo’s offerings) and this in turn meant ignoring brain training that works.

    Surely Dr. Owens was aware of your studies and Dr. Merzenich’s decades of work? Surely he was aware of other studies, too, that have shown benefits from appropriate brain training…?

    Both the BBC and Nature have done a disservice to the millions of people who will read about the study and dismiss brain training altogether.

    Martin Walker
    CEO, MindSparke

  9. Steven Aldrich Says:
    May 3rd, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Martin -

    Thanks for the comment – I agree that BBC/Nature have muddied the waters and I am not sure of Dr. Owens/BBC’s motive. It is odd that the article made no mention of the dozens of published research papers showing the positive impact of brain training so it was poor research at best.

    Thanks,
    Steven

  10. Steven Aldrich Says:
    May 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 am

    Karina -

    Thanks for your comment and interest. I’ll send you an email.

    Thanks,
    Steven

  11. Pat Mosteller Says:
    May 3rd, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    I have been teaching a PS Brain Fitness class in san Diego since February (2010), so I would like to respond for myself and my students. We have never felt so good in our lives. EVERY student in the class has noticed improvement in their cognitive processing abilities as well as a number of other functions. For everyone – hearing and understanding verbal language is better, processing speed has improved, memories are sharper and clearer and recall more accurate. Other benefits include; less depression, more energy, smoother speech patterns, less interrupted sleep, happier, more engaged in life and feeling younger. We LOVE you PositScience and we KNOW that the programs work. In fact, after 14 weeks of classes, three days a week (our classes are 2.5 hours each including a lecture and discussion time), most of our students have asked to return for another 14 week session. They never want to go back to feeling the way they did before they participated in the Brain Fitness Program.
    Thank you, PositScience…..for caring enough about people to find a way to improve the quality of their lives. You have discovered/developed the fountain of youth.

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    June 3rd, 2010 at 9:06 am

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    June 25th, 2010 at 9:33 pm

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  14. Louise Lambert Says:
    September 27th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

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