Computerised training more effective than crosswords, new study suggests
24 Nov 2011 Duncan Ferguson, Elite Minds
Interim results have been published (BMJ Open) re a new study measuring the impact upon cognitive functioning of training with computerised cognitive training software compared to training with crossword puzzles. The preliminary results from the study, which has been funded by the American National Institute of Health (NIH), were presented this week at the Gerontological Society of America’s annual meeting in Boston.
Presentation highlights:
- It found that 10 hours of using cognitive training software significantly improved cognitive function on several standard neuropsychological tests.
- Importantly from a scalability aspect this was the case in both subjects who trained in a clinical setting and those training self-administered at home.
- The positive changes were observed within an 8 week period and were sustained over 12-months.
- Participants were broken into two different age-groups, 50 to 64 and 65 to 87.
- The improvements for younger participants were just as large as for older participants.
The study is due to be completed in January and we look forward to viewing the full results then. From a general industry perspective we at Elite Minds find these preliminary results encouraging. We would also like to remind our readers that the results apply to computerised cognitive training tools that have a high-degree of scientific validation and that our readers should not extrapolate the findings as applying to other computerised cognitive training programs unless they too carry a high degree of scientific validation.
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