The IMPACT Study

IMPACT: A landmark study with dramatic results

With 524 participants, the IMPACT study is the largest clinical trial ever to examine whether a specially designed, widely available cognitive training program—the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program™—significantly improves cognitive abilities in adults. Led by distinguished scientists from Mayo Clinic and the University of Southern California, the IMPACT study proves that people can make statistically significant gains in memory and processing speed if they do the right kind of scientifically designed cognitive exercises.

Study Design (pdf) | Study Results (pdf)

Specifically, the IMPACT study found that:

• People who used the Posit Science program got better at the exercise tasks. This finding isn’t unusual; people are expected to improve at exercises they were taught to do and practiced. The vast majority of other studies that have examined cognitive fitness training only report this fact and provide no other results.
• Improvements “generalized” (or extended) to multiple standard memory tests. “Gold standard” memory assessments—tests that are widely known to and accepted by doctors—showed that the Posit Science program genuinely improves memory overall. This is a significant breakthrough. It indicates that the program doesn’t just teach “memory tricks” or train people to play a computer game really well; it actually generalizes to improve brain function more broadly. It’s the difference between giving someone with an injured knee a crutch to compensate for his limitations and actually fixing the knee so the crutch isn’t needed.
• People who used the Posit Science program reported positive changes in their everyday lives. The IMPACT study participants in the experimental group reported significant improvements in their everyday lives because of the Posit Science program. These benefits ranged from remembering a shopping list without having to write it down; to hearing conversations in noisy restaurants more clearly; to being more independent, feeling more self-confident, to finding words more easily and having improved self-esteem in general.

The study is multi-center, prospective, randomized, controlled, and double-blind. See below to learn more about the IMPACT study design.

By the numbers: Statistically significant improvements IMPACT study participants who used the Posit Science program experienced statistically significant gains in several areas. Following are just a few:

• Participants who used the Brain Fitness Program increased their auditory processing speed by 131%. This means that the brains of the people who used the program could take in and process information (such as speech) more than twice as quickly after they completed the program than before. That could mean following much more of a conversation.
• On average, people who used the Posit Science program experienced an improvement in memory equivalent to approximately 10 years. They also made statistically significant gains (performed much better) in four standard memory tests used in the study.
• Three out of four people who used the Posit Science program self-reported positive changes in their everyday lives. People who used the Brain Fitness Program didn’t just test better, they noticed changes in their daily lives as well—perhaps the most meaningful result of all.

These results had statistical significance over those for people in the active control group, who followed a computer-based program of active learning – often what people would do to stay sharp.

How these results change current thinking
The IMPACT study proves that cognitive decline is not inevitable and irreversible. Adults—regardless of their education level, IQ, or other demographic factors—can improve their cognitive abilities. Just as every adult can benefit from physical exercise, every adult can benefit from the right kind of cognitive fitness as well.

Using the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program—a program that is on the market and available—can effectively strengthen and build memory and processing speed. These improvements help people perform better at work, connect better with others, enjoy their favorite activities more, and keep up with daily tasks efficiently.

Why Posit Science programs work
Posit Science created the Brain Fitness Program using a set of rigorous scientific design protocols known collectively as SAAGE™. The SAAGE™ standards incorporate the feedback of world-renowned neuroscientists and allow Posit Science programs to improve fundamental brain functions.

As the quickly growing field of brain fitness evolves, individuals and their doctors can look to SAAGE™-compliancy as an indication of scientific legitimacy, so that they can feel confident about what really works.

IMPACT Study Design

The IMPACT study was designed to demonstrate that Posit Science’s brain-plasticity-based cognitive training (a publicly available program) is statistically superior to non-specfic approaches aimed at staying “cognitively active.” In addition, IMPACT examines the extent to which older adults notice the benefits of training in their everyday lives.

In addition, IMPACT examines the extent to which older adults notice the benefits of training in their everyday lives.

The Posit Science Program and SAAGE™ Protocols
Unique from other “brain training” approaches, the Posit Science program used in the IMPACT study is based upon a specific, data-driven understanding of the root causes of age-related cognitive decline. Incorporating the feedback of world-renowned neuroscientists and physicians, we have developed the SAAGE™ protocols that allow the Posit Science program to directly improve fundamental brain function.

SAAGE-Compliant Program Design

SAAGE What to look for to effectively improve cognitive function Why SAAGE is essential SPEED S A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that drives the brain to process information more quickly at the millisecond level—the speed of everyday life. The aging brain slows down, becoming less able to keep up with the rapid pace of incoming information. It must relearn to take in this information at the speed of everyday life. ACCURACY A A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that continuously adapts to challenge the individual on a trial-by-trail and sesssion-by-session basis. The aging brain processes information less accurately, leading to problems correctly classifying confusable inputs. Those inputs must be resolved correctly. ADAPTIVITY A A training program that continuously adapts to challenge the individual on a trial-by-trial and session-by-session basis. Exercise challenge must be maintained at a precise level customized for an individual at each specific point in time in order to drive brain change. GENERALIZABILITY G A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that has specific design features, such as naturalistic stimuli types, to drive "real-world" improvements. To be of real value to users, improvement on a training program must generalize to improvement in real-world activities so that they see changes in their everyday life, not just in the exercise task. ENGAGEMENT E A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that engages and disengages attention, reward, and novelty systems several hundred times per training hour. The brain systems that gate learning and memory—including acetylcholine, dopamine, and norepinephrine—gradually turn off with age. These systems must be re-engaged.