Posit Science History

Our Mission
For thirty years, renowned neuroscientist Dr. Michael Merzenich has tackled the questions that shape the way we think about the brain, about health, and about aging. "What if the adult brain isn't fixed, but malleable?" "What if the brain can be rejuvenated to extend human perception, thought, and memory far into the advancing years?" "What if we can alter brain function to alleviate conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and chronic pain?"

As Dr. Merzenich researched these questions, his results suggested—or posited—that such goals were achievable. In 2003, Posit Science was founded to bring the fruits of neuroscientific research to bear on the health of the brain. Posit Science is a company forging a new paradigm where the brain is malleable, cognitive conditions alterable and where age-related cognitive decline can be prevented, slowed or even reversed.

Inventing Solutions
Dr. Merzenich's research and subsequent inventions are demonstrating that the brain's natural plasticity – its malleability – means that many cognitive conditions can be reversed. In the early 1980s, Dr. Merzenich led the team that developed the first practical cochlear implant to restore hearing to the deaf, an implant that works because auditory cortex plasticity allows the cortex to complete the range of sound in the days and weeks following the implant procedure.

During the next decade, as computer technology became more sophisticated, Dr. Merzenich collaborated with Rutgers University professor Dr. Paula Tallal, an expert in childhood language and learning disabilities. They developed a software program designed to ameliorate learning deficits in children through intensive, repetitive and self-customizing training. This non-invasive approach to changing brain function provided the platform for a company that has helped almost a million schoolchildren with language learning and reading: Scientific Learning Corporation (Nasdaq: SCIL), founded by Drs. Merzenich and Tallal, with the help of Silicon Valley lawyer and business leader Jeff Zimman.

Changing Brains, Changing Lives
In 2002, Dr. Merzenich and Jeff Zimman began to discuss the possibility that computer-based training programs might be created to address neurological conditions—such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia and chronic pain—that affect untold numbers. Merzenich and Zimman obtained licenses for healthcare applications for 50 U.S. patents and dozens of foreign patents. In 2003, they approached the venture capital community, raising over $7 million in first round funding by September 2003. Posit Science, a company founded to create brain health programs, opened its doors in San Francisco’s financial district on October 1, 2003.

Dr. Henry Mahncke, former McKinsey Strategic Global Healthcare consultant, came on board to head up research. Working together, Drs. Merzenich and Mahncke began to form a large international think tank of more than 40 scientists and clinicians from leading universities (including Yale, Stanford, Harvard, and Cambridge) to inform and guide ongoing research and development at Posit Science. They also secured national research grants to add to the company’s financial base.

In 2004, Posit Science announced its first pilot program—the Brain Fitness Program—designed to improve auditory and speech processing in adults. In 2005, with market and science feedback from preliminary pilot tests translated into program improvements, San Francisco’s Bridgepoint community became the first site in the world to offer Posit Science brain fitness programs to members. Since then, the software has been proven effective in several studies, including the large-scale IMPACT study conducted with Mayo Clinic and the University of Southern California. Thousands of people have now successfully completed the program.

In 2008, Posit Science acquired Visual Awareness, Inc., developer of Dr. Karlene Ball’s UFOV assessment and training technology. Working with Drs. Karlene Ball and Dan Roenker, Posit Science incorporated this technology into its second program, Posit Science Cortex with InSight, a program for visual processing and memory. The UFOV technology has been investigated in dozens of published studies, many funded by the National Institutes of Health, including the ACTIVE study. These studies demonstrate the myriad positive benefits of UFOV training, from safer driving to maintenance of health-related quality of life over five years.

Posit Science continues to focus on creating programs that change the way we live and age. The company’s groundbreaking programs have been featured in leading magazines such as Scientific American, Fortune, Discover, O (Oprah), National Geographic, Vogue, and Ladies’ Home Journal, as well as on television news programs including CNBC and CBS News Sunday Morning. An extremely popular 90-minute PBS special titled “The Brain Fitness Program” is based on the work of Dr. Merzenich. Posit Science was designated “best of breed” by Dow Jones/VentureOne in 2004 and 2006; one of the “small companies to watch in 2005” by Fortune Small Business magazine; one of the “medical breakthroughs of the year” by CNBC in 2005; “Best Small Company” by the American Society on Aging in 2007; and “Best Fitness Initiative” by Consumer Health World Conference in 2007.