Do brain simulator apps help you get smarter?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Alas, miracles should not be expected.

There are many services and applications that offer to develop the brain's abilities: improve reaction, memory and attention, become more creative. Examples include Lumosity, Elevate, NeuroNation, Peak, Wikium and others. As the developers assure, a positive effect occurs if you regularly complete tasks on the device screen - no additional effort is required. Lifehacker tells whether such simulators really develop our mind.

Do simulator apps help improve cognitive abilities?

A person has about 86 billion neurons in the brain - cells that store, process and transmit information using electrical and chemical signals. Throughout our lives, we build bonds between them and strengthen them as we gain new experiences and repeat familiar actions. Memory, attentiveness, imagination, reaction and decision-making skills depend on how developed the neural connections are. And the ability to form them is called neuroplasticity.

Creators of mental simulators are always trying to cite scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of their applications. They argue that cognitive scientists are involved in the development, and their products are useful to everyone. They supposedly help children learn and concentrate better, adults - to work more productively, the elderly - to maintain clarity of mind and reduce the risk of age-related diseases.

But it’s not that simple.

In 2014, more than 70 scientists from Stanford University, Germany's Max Planck Institute and other research institutions released an appeal to the public. They said there was no evidence that mental play was effective in older adults. Scientists also lamented that research that positively evaluates such applications is often funded by the companies-creators.

This statement sparked a controversy between proponents of mind games and their opponents. A group of psychologists from the USA and Great Britain undertook to resolve their contradictions. They conducted an extensive review of research on this topic and came to the following conclusions.

There is a lot of evidence that simulator programs can help you hone specific skills, such as finding the same objects. But until now, it has not been proven that such applications increase the performance of the brain in general.

Also, many studies on the effectiveness of brain trainers have found errors and irregularities in experimental procedures.

A year later, specialists from Pennsylvania published the results of an experiment with 128 participants and the use of MRI machines. Scientists divided the test subjects into two groups. Participants in the first were engaged in Lumosity (the application has more than Lumosity: Brain Training. App Store. 100 million users to date), and the second - played regular video games. In both cases, cognitive and decision making improved by slightly different amounts. Simply put, any activity that engages our attention produces comparable results.

A similar conclusion was reached by the authors of a study published in 2018 in the journal Neuropsychologia.

Several scientific papers have noted the positive effect of practicing specialized applications. For example, a positive effect on working memory and information processing speed in healthy people and episodic memory in patients with mild amnestic disorders. But even their authors admit the results are not the most reliable and require additional study.

Now a group of California psychologists (including those who advocate the benefits of brain simulators) is gathering 30 thousand volunteers for a new experiment in this area. In Does ‘Brain Training’ Actually Work? Scientific American at Scientific American, researchers criticize the methods of all previous work and believe that the effectiveness of applications should be studied not on the average among all users, but on an individual basis.

What are the effects of mind trainers?

Scientists have big doubts Boot W. Do Brain Training Games Actually Do Anything? Here's The Science. Science Alert, whether, for example, searching for birds on a smartphone screen can improve your attentiveness while driving and other skills by analogy. The fact is that most often brain simulators use only our vision, almost without using other senses, and this is very important for neural connections.

To date, there is little evidence that brain simulators develop such complex skills as problem solving and planning. This is despite the fact that such applications have been researched for quite some time.

And of course, playing on a smartphone will not save you from age-related cognitive impairment. The same Lumos Labs, the creators of Lumosity, in 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission fined John T. Brain Game App Lumosity To Pay $ 2 Million Fine For ‘Deceptive Advertising’. Time for two million dollars for misleading ads. It argued that using the app for 10-15 minutes a day lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer's and helps you learn better.

However, since 2016, the market for mind-boosting apps has grown by a third. Today it is estimated at $ 3.2 billion, and experts predict its further growth.

What really helps develop the brain

The creators of brain trainers offer consumers a “magic pill” and a quick solution to all problems. It's easier to download an application than to do something really useful for the brain.

But in real life there are many working ways to improve memory and attention - although, of course, you have to work hard. Here's what Lindberg S. recommends. 13 Brain Exercises to Help Keep You Mentally Sharp. Healthline specialists:

• stimulate all senses, including the sense of smell;
• avoid stress;
• read books, especially fiction - it develops emotional intelligence;
• communicate with people;
• travel and get new experiences;
• study foreign languages;
• take online courses, interactive webinars;
• exercise (aerobics and dancing are especially good for the brain, because they require memorizing long sequences of actions);
• give up bad habits;
• master a fine motor hobby;
• listen to music and / or play a musical instrument;
• be creative;
• play chess;
• collect puzzles;
• meditate.

To use all the senses to train the brain, you can turn to "neurobics" ("aerobics for the mind") professor of neuroscience Laurence Katz. He studied the problem of multisensory perception and, based on this experience, developed exercises to develop cognitive abilities. So, in his book "Neurobics: Exercises for Brain Training", he suggests from time to time to perform actions with the non-dominant hand (for example, right-handers - with the left), study new aromas, change the usual rhythm of life, walk around the house with closed eyes.

Parker C. B. Scientific evidence does not support the brain game claims, Stanford scholars say. Stanford New Service social connections and an active and healthy lifestyle. For example, exercise improves brain plasticity and is recommended by the Alzheimer's Association.

Of course, all of the above does not mean that you need to immediately give up intellectual games, especially if you enjoy them. But you should not expect a magical effect from simulators for the mind.