by Clifton B. Parker
Scholars say there's little scientific evidence that computer-based brain games do more than improve performance playing them.
The Stanford Center for Longevity joined today with the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in issuing a statement skeptical about the effectiveness of so-called "brain game" products. Signing the document were 69 scholars, including six from Stanford and cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists from around the world.
Laura Carstensen, a Stanford psychology professor and the director of the Center for Longevity, said as baby boomers enter their golden years, commercial companies are all too often promising quick fixes for cognition problems through products that are unlikely to produce broad improvements in everyday functioning.
"It is customary for advertising to highlight the benefits and overstate potential advantages of their products," she said. "But in the case of brain games, companies also assert that the products are based on solid scientific evidence developed by cognitive scientists and neuroscientists. So we felt compelled to issue a statement directly to the public."
One problem is that while brain games may target very specific cognitive abilities, there is very little evidence that improvements transfer to more complex skills that really matter, like thinking, problem solving and planning, according to the scholars.
While it is true that the human mind is malleable throughout a lifetime, improvement on a single task – like playing computer-based brain games – does not imply a general, all-around and deeper improvement in cognition beyond performing better on just a particular game.
"Often, the cited research is only tangentially related to the scientific claims of the company, and to the games they sell," said Carstensen, the Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor in Public Policy.
Agreeing with this view were the experts who signed the Stanford-Planck consensus statement, which reads in part:
"We object to the claim that brain games offer consumers a scientifically grounded avenue to reduce or reverse cognitive decline when there is no compelling scientific evidence to date that they do. … The promise of a magic bullet detracts from the best evidence to date, which is that cognitive health in old age reflects the long-term effects of healthy, engaged lifestyles."
Activity and cognition
As the researchers point out, the time spent on computer games takes away from other activities like reading, socializing, gardening and exercising that may benefit cognitive functions.
"When researchers follow people across their lives, they find that those who live cognitively active, socially connected lives and maintain healthy lifestyles are less likely to suffer debilitating illness and early cognitive decline," as the statement describes it.
"In psychology," the scientists note, "it is good scientific practice to combine information provided by many tasks to generate an overall index representing a given ability."
The same standards should be applied to the brain game industry, the experts maintain. But this has not been the case, they add.
"To date, there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better navigate a complex realm of everyday life," the participants state.
One reason is the so-called "file drawer effect," which refers to the practice of researchers filing away studies with negative outcomes. For example, brain game studies proclaiming even modest positive results are more likely to be published, cited and publicized than ones that do not produce those affirming results.
The road ahead
In the statement, Carstensen and her fellow scientists offer recommendations for how people should view older adult life and issues like brain games:
- Legitimate research on brain games needs to be replicated and confirmed scientifically across multiple studies in different settings.
- Physical exercise is beneficial to both general and cognitive health.
- No studies have shown that brain games prevent diseases like Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
- Brain games are not like "one shot" vaccines – the gains won't last long after the end of the activity.
- People can cultivate their cognitive powers by leading physically active, intellectually challenging and socially engaged lives.
The Stanford Center on Longevity's mission is to redesign long life. The center studies the nature and development of the human life span, looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50 by improving the wellbeing of people of all ages.
Explore further: Study finds Portal 2 better at improving cognitive skills than Lumosity
More information: The research statement is available online: http://ift.tt/1w1Ts5W cientific-community/
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Study finds Portal 2 better at improving cognitive skills than Lumosity
Oct 02, 2014
(Medical Xpress)—A trio of researchers at Florida State University has conducted a small study the results of which suggest that the video game Portal 2 is better at improving cognitive skills than the ...
Can games, puzzles keep aging minds sharp?
Jul 14, 2014
(HealthDay)—Older adults who enjoy mentally stimulating games may have bigger brains and sharper thinking skills than their peers, new research suggests.
Video game 'exercise' for an hour a day may enhance certain cognitive skills
Mar 13, 2013
Playing video games for an hour each day can improve subsequent performance on cognitive tasks that use similar mental processes to those involved in the game, according to research published March 13 in the open access journal ...
Scientists urge game designers and brain scientists to work together
Feb 27, 2013
Neuroscientists should help to develop compelling digital games that boost brain function and improve well-being, say two professors specializing in the field in a commentary article published in the science journal Nature.
Can video games make your brain level up?
Apr 23, 2014
Video games have got a bad press in the past mostly due to the accusation that they make people who play them more violent. ...
Recommended for you
Largest study of Hispanics/Latinos finds depression and anxiety rates vary widely among groups
6 minutes ago
Rates of depression and anxiety vary widely among different segments of the U.S. Hispanic and Latino population, with the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms in Puerto Ricans, according to a new report from Albert Einstein ...
Researchers identify key factor in transition from moderate to problem drinking
3 hours ago
A team of UC San Francisco researchers has found that a tiny segment of genetic material known as a microRNA plays a central role in the transition from moderate drinking to binge drinking and other alcohol use disorders.
Even depressed people believe that life gets better
4 hours ago
Adults typically believe that life gets better—today is better than yesterday was and tomorrow will be even better than today. A new study shows that even depressed individuals believe in a brighter future, but this optimistic ...
Researchers confirm the biochemical cause of seasonal depression
12 hours ago
New research confirms why some people suffer from the winter blues while others get through the winter without any problems. A longitudinal study from a group of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has found that ...
Study shows no relationship between moderate adolescent cannabis use and exam results, IQ
12 hours ago
A large UK study has found that occasional adolescent cannabis use does not lead to poorer educational and intellectual performance, but that heavy cannabis use is associated with slightly poorer exam results at age 16. The ...
Brain activity provides evidence for internal 'calorie counter'
20 hours ago
As you glance over a menu or peruse the shelves in a supermarket, you may be thinking about how each food will taste and whether it's nutritious, or you may be trying to decide what you're in the mood for. ...
User comments
Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
Display comments: newest first
antialias_physorg
5 / 5 (1) 3 minutes ago
Well, as another study a few years back exposed: Brain games work. They make you better at the game. But that's about it.
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
by Clifton B. Parker
Scholars say there's little scientific evidence that computer-based brain games do more than improve performance playing them.
The Stanford Center for Longevity joined today with the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in issuing a statement skeptical about the effectiveness of so-called "brain game" products. Signing the document were 69 scholars, including six from Stanford and cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists from around the world.
Laura Carstensen, a Stanford psychology professor and the director of the Center for Longevity, said as baby boomers enter their golden years, commercial companies are all too often promising quick fixes for cognition problems through products that are unlikely to produce broad improvements in everyday functioning.
"It is customary for advertising to highlight the benefits and overstate potential advantages of their products," she said. "But in the case of brain games, companies also assert that the products are based on solid scientific evidence developed by cognitive scientists and neuroscientists. So we felt compelled to issue a statement directly to the public."
One problem is that while brain games may target very specific cognitive abilities, there is very little evidence that improvements transfer to more complex skills that really matter, like thinking, problem solving and planning, according to the scholars.
While it is true that the human mind is malleable throughout a lifetime, improvement on a single task – like playing computer-based brain games – does not imply a general, all-around and deeper improvement in cognition beyond performing better on just a particular game.
"Often, the cited research is only tangentially related to the scientific claims of the company, and to the games they sell," said Carstensen, the Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor in Public Policy.
Agreeing with this view were the experts who signed the Stanford-Planck consensus statement, which reads in part:
"We object to the claim that brain games offer consumers a scientifically grounded avenue to reduce or reverse cognitive decline when there is no compelling scientific evidence to date that they do. … The promise of a magic bullet detracts from the best evidence to date, which is that cognitive health in old age reflects the long-term effects of healthy, engaged lifestyles."
Activity and cognition
As the researchers point out, the time spent on computer games takes away from other activities like reading, socializing, gardening and exercising that may benefit cognitive functions.
"When researchers follow people across their lives, they find that those who live cognitively active, socially connected lives and maintain healthy lifestyles are less likely to suffer debilitating illness and early cognitive decline," as the statement describes it.
"In psychology," the scientists note, "it is good scientific practice to combine information provided by many tasks to generate an overall index representing a given ability."
The same standards should be applied to the brain game industry, the experts maintain. But this has not been the case, they add.
"To date, there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better navigate a complex realm of everyday life," the participants state.
One reason is the so-called "file drawer effect," which refers to the practice of researchers filing away studies with negative outcomes. For example, brain game studies proclaiming even modest positive results are more likely to be published, cited and publicized than ones that do not produce those affirming results.
The road ahead
In the statement, Carstensen and her fellow scientists offer recommendations for how people should view older adult life and issues like brain games:
- Legitimate research on brain games needs to be replicated and confirmed scientifically across multiple studies in different settings.
- Physical exercise is beneficial to both general and cognitive health.
- No studies have shown that brain games prevent diseases like Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
- Brain games are not like "one shot" vaccines – the gains won't last long after the end of the activity.
- People can cultivate their cognitive powers by leading physically active, intellectually challenging and socially engaged lives.
The Stanford Center on Longevity's mission is to redesign long life. The center studies the nature and development of the human life span, looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50 by improving the wellbeing of people of all ages.
Explore further: Study finds Portal 2 better at improving cognitive skills than Lumosity
More information: The research statement is available online: http://ift.tt/1w1Ts5W cientific-community/
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Study finds Portal 2 better at improving cognitive skills than Lumosity
Oct 02, 2014
(Medical Xpress)—A trio of researchers at Florida State University has conducted a small study the results of which suggest that the video game Portal 2 is better at improving cognitive skills than the ...
Can games, puzzles keep aging minds sharp?
Jul 14, 2014
(HealthDay)—Older adults who enjoy mentally stimulating games may have bigger brains and sharper thinking skills than their peers, new research suggests.
Video game 'exercise' for an hour a day may enhance certain cognitive skills
Mar 13, 2013
Playing video games for an hour each day can improve subsequent performance on cognitive tasks that use similar mental processes to those involved in the game, according to research published March 13 in the open access journal ...
Scientists urge game designers and brain scientists to work together
Feb 27, 2013
Neuroscientists should help to develop compelling digital games that boost brain function and improve well-being, say two professors specializing in the field in a commentary article published in the science journal Nature.
Can video games make your brain level up?
Apr 23, 2014
Video games have got a bad press in the past mostly due to the accusation that they make people who play them more violent. ...
Recommended for you
Largest study of Hispanics/Latinos finds depression and anxiety rates vary widely among groups
6 minutes ago
Rates of depression and anxiety vary widely among different segments of the U.S. Hispanic and Latino population, with the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms in Puerto Ricans, according to a new report from Albert Einstein ...
Researchers identify key factor in transition from moderate to problem drinking
3 hours ago
A team of UC San Francisco researchers has found that a tiny segment of genetic material known as a microRNA plays a central role in the transition from moderate drinking to binge drinking and other alcohol use disorders.
Even depressed people believe that life gets better
4 hours ago
Adults typically believe that life gets better—today is better than yesterday was and tomorrow will be even better than today. A new study shows that even depressed individuals believe in a brighter future, but this optimistic ...
Researchers confirm the biochemical cause of seasonal depression
12 hours ago
New research confirms why some people suffer from the winter blues while others get through the winter without any problems. A longitudinal study from a group of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has found that ...
Study shows no relationship between moderate adolescent cannabis use and exam results, IQ
12 hours ago
A large UK study has found that occasional adolescent cannabis use does not lead to poorer educational and intellectual performance, but that heavy cannabis use is associated with slightly poorer exam results at age 16. The ...
Brain activity provides evidence for internal 'calorie counter'
20 hours ago
As you glance over a menu or peruse the shelves in a supermarket, you may be thinking about how each food will taste and whether it's nutritious, or you may be trying to decide what you're in the mood for. ...
User comments
Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
Display comments: newest first
antialias_physorg
5 / 5 (1) 3 minutes ago
Well, as another study a few years back exposed: Brain games work. They make you better at the game. But that's about it.
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
0 comments:
Post a Comment