Cognitive Training

This study explored a computerized cooking task (CT) to measure executive functions like planning, memory, and multitasking in a real-world context. Participants completed tasks of varying difficulty that required managing cooking times and setting tables, mimicking everyday activities. Results showed the CT effectively captured executive functions such as strategy, flexible thinking, and rule adherence, which standard neuropsychological tests often miss. The findings suggest the CT could be a more accurate tool for assessing executive function deficits in both healthy and clinical populations.

This study examined how bilingualism impacts brain structure, focusing on the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in elderly individuals. Using neuroimaging, the researchers found that bilingual seniors had greater gray matter volume in the IPL compared to monolinguals, suggesting a neuroprotective effect. Unlike younger adults, where the age of learning a second language matters, proficiency and usage were the key factors for older adults. This is significant as it shows bilingualism could help delay cognitive decline and preserve brain health in aging populations.

This longitudinal study explored how video gaming affects the brain's reward system, focusing on the ventral striatum (VS), which is central to processing rewards and motivation. Fifty participants were split into a training group (played "Super Mario 64" for two months) and a control group. Functional MRI revealed that VS activity remained stable in gamers during reward anticipation tasks but declined in non-gamers. This suggests gaming enhances or preserves reward sensitivity over time, possibly due to its engaging and rewarding nature. The findings highlight video games' potential in cognitive-training and therapeutic interventions by sustaining motivation and reward responsiveness in non-gaming contexts, like learning or rehabilitation.

This study examined whether expertise in video gaming or specializing in game genres (action vs. strategy) improves cognitive performance. Ninety-two participants completed two tasks: the Flanker Task, testing attention, and a Change Detection Task, testing visual memory. Despite earlier claims in video game research, this study found no significant cognitive advantage for frequent or expert gamers in either task. The results challenge the notion that playing video games significantly enhances transferable cognitive skills. The authors suggest prior positive findings may involve methodological biases or limited real-world applicability. This study highlights the need for replication and stricter methodologies in video game cognition research.

This longitudinal study used data from identical twin pairs to examine the effect of reading ability on intelligence development from ages 7 to 16. Researchers found that differences in reading ability predicted later differences in both verbal and nonverbal intelligence, independent of genetic and shared environmental factors. The results suggest that reading ability fosters cognitive development, potentially enhancing problem-solving and general reasoning skills. Interestingly, the association was stronger for reading ability than for reading exposure. These findings highlight reading as a key nonshared environmental factor that can influence intellectual growth.

This opinion article discusses the potential of neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to adapt and reorganize—to improve cognitive function through targeted interventions like cognitive-training, video games, and other neurotherapeutics. It highlights successful studies using adaptive and feedback-driven tasks, such as the game "Neuroracer," which showed significant gains in multitasking and working memory in older adults. Key principles for effective interventions include continuous feedback and task adaptivity tailored to individual performance. The paper emphasizes the need for rigorous, controlled studies to assess long-term benefits and broader applications, envisioning future advancements in personalized, tech-based cognitive rehabilitation tools that leverage real-time brain activity.

This research explores how musical training impacts brain development and cognitive skills. It highlights that learning music enhances brain plasticity, improves memory, language abilities, and executive functions, such as attention and planning. Benefits are observed across ages but are more significant when training starts early due to sensitive developmental periods. Mechanisms like rhythmic entrainment and the rewarding nature of music may contribute to these effects. These insights underline music's value for fostering cognitive and social skills, which extend to broader learning and life domains.

This study examined how engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, particularly games and puzzles, affects brain structure and cognitive function in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Participants who frequently played games showed better memory and cognitive flexibility and had greater gray matter volume in brain regions affected early in AD. These findings suggest that such activities may strengthen brain health and cognitive function, potentially delaying or preventing AD-related changes.

This study explored how training with the video game "Space Fortress," which challenges working memory, attention, and motor control, impacts brain activity and cognitive performance. Participants trained for 15 sessions and showed changes in brain activation, particularly in the superior parietal lobe (SPL) and related regions linked to working memory. Increased plasticity in these areas predicted better performance in an untrained memory task (Sternberg Memory Search). The findings support the idea that brain changes induced by video games can transfer to similar cognitive tasks, highlighting the potential of targeted gaming for cognitive-training. However, improvements were task-specific, with no benefits for unrelated tasks.

This review critically examines claims surrounding cognitive-training and brain games, highlighting mixed evidence for their effectiveness. While users often improve at the specific games they practice, evidence of broader cognitive benefits that transfer to real-world skills remains inconsistent. Studies suggest that structured activities like exercise, learning new skills, or volunteering may offer similar or greater cognitive benefits without relying on brain-training programs. The research emphasizes the need for more rigorous methodologies and real-world impact evaluations.

This review investigates how video games influence spatial abilities, focusing on mental rotation and visual-spatial reasoning. Studies reviewed suggest that video game training modestly improves these skills, particularly in games emphasizing 3D navigation or visual problem-solving. However, results vary widely due to inconsistent methods, small sample sizes, and statistical limitations. Improvements often occur in trained tasks with limited evidence of generalization to broader cognitive domains. Gender-specific benefits were noted, as certain games helped reduce the spatial ability gap for women. While promising, these findings highlight the need for rigorous designs and better controls to draw stronger conclusions about video games' cognitive benefits.

This study examined the effectiveness of a virtual audio-based environment simulator (AbES) for teaching spatial navigation to blind individuals. Participants either explored the virtual environment via a game-based approach or received guided instructions from facilitators. Both methods led to successful navigation of the corresponding real-world environment, but gamers demonstrated superior flexibility, such as finding alternative routes. This suggests video game-based training fosters better spatial understanding and mental map manipulation, potentially aiding orientation and mobility training for the blind.

This study examined how reading a novel affects brain connectivity using resting-state fMRI scans over 19 days. Participants read sections of the novel "Pompeii" for nine consecutive evenings, with scans taken each morning. Results showed enhanced connectivity in brain areas linked to story comprehension and perspective-taking, such as the angular gyrus and temporal gyri. Notably, these changes persisted for several days after reading ended, particularly in somatosensory regions associated with "embodied semantics"—the neural representation of sensory experiences tied to the narrative. The findings suggest that reading a compelling story may foster both short-term and lasting neural adaptations, enriching cognitive and sensory processing.

This review explores how cognitive reserve (CR) helps people with multiple sclerosis (MS) resist cognitive decline despite brain damage. CR combines genetic factors like maximal lifetime brain growth (MLBG) and lifestyle factors such as intellectual enrichment from education, reading, and hobbies. MS patients with higher CR can better maintain cognitive efficiency and memory. Brain imaging shows that intellectual enrichment improves neural efficiency, allowing patients to perform cognitive tasks with fewer resources. The study highlights the importance of building CR to mitigate MS-related cognitive challenges and suggests that activities promoting intellectual engagement may be protective against disease-related cognitive decline.

This study examined whether different genres of video games—action, spatial memory, match-3, hidden-object, and life simulation—improve cognitive skills after 20 hours of training over four weeks. Results showed that action games enhanced attentional control and multiple-object tracking, while match-3 and hidden-object games improved visual search and spatial memory. Life simulation games had minimal impact on cognitive tasks. These findings suggest that video game benefits are task-specific, with each game genre fostering unique cognitive skills, depending on their demands. The study highlights the potential for video games to target specific cognitive abilities, though benefits may not transfer to unrelated tasks.

This paper hypothesizes that learning a new language could act as a cognitive therapy for age-related decline. Language learning engages widespread brain networks that overlap with regions affected by aging, potentially building "cognitive reserve," a mental resilience that can delay cognitive decline. Studies suggest cognitive benefits from bilingualism, such as slower aging-related decline and a delay in dementia onset. The authors argue that foreign language programs for older adults could promote brain health through cognitive and social stimulation.

This French cohort study explored the relationship between board game playing and dementia risk over 20 years in 3,675 participants. Board game players had a 15% lower risk of developing dementia and experienced slower cognitive decline and reduced depression compared to non-players. The benefits were attributed to enhanced cognitive reserve and mental engagement. However, the reduced dementia risk was less clear after adjusting for baseline cognitive performance and depression, highlighting potential confounding factors.

The ACTIVE study examined the effects of cognitive-training interventions on maintaining cognitive health and functional independence in older adults. Participants aged 65+ were assigned to memory, reasoning, or speed-of-processing training groups, or a control group. Results showed specific improvements in the targeted cognitive skills and, over five years, reduced difficulties in daily tasks. Speed-of-processing and reasoning training had added benefits, such as better driving safety and quality of life. These findings highlight the potential of structured cognitive activities to enhance mental and functional abilities in aging.

The Synapse Project explored how sustained engagement in novel and cognitively demanding activities affects brain function in older adults. Participants spent three months learning quilting, photography, or both, while control groups engaged in social or less challenging activities. Results showed that productive engagement, particularly photography, significantly improved episodic memory, while receptive activities did not. This study highlights the importance of learning complex new skills for cognitive health in aging populations.

This study examined whether video games can reduce age-related cognitive decline in older adults (aged 54–86). Participants played either an action video game ("Mario Kart DS") or a brain fitness game ("Brain Age 2") over 12 weeks, or were part of a no-game control group. Cognitive improvements were not significant in either game group compared to controls. However, compliance and enjoyment were higher for the brain fitness game, as older adults found it more intellectually engaging and less physically demanding. Action game players reported low compliance due to discomfort and lack of perceived benefits. The study emphasizes the challenges of designing enjoyable and effective gaming interventions for older adults to support cognitive health.

This study analyzed data from nearly 300 older adults to explore how engaging in cognitive activities throughout life influences cognitive decline in old age. Activities like reading, writing, and problem-solving were linked to slower cognitive decline, even after adjusting for brain pathologies such as plaques and tangles. Early-life cognitive activity, especially during childhood and middle age, also had lasting benefits. These findings suggest that lifelong mental engagement builds "cognitive reserve," helping the brain resist age-related decline and maintain better cognitive performance.

This review explores how playing action video games (AVGs) impacts cognitive functions, particularly attentional control and learning to learn. AVGs improve selective attention in space, time, and objects, enhancing players' abilities to focus on relevant stimuli and ignore distractions. Unlike many cognitive-training methods that provide benefits limited to specific tasks, AVGs foster broader skill transfer by improving the capacity to adapt and learn new tasks. Benefits include enhanced multitasking, task-switching, and probabilistic reasoning. These findings suggest that AVGs may serve as tools for cognitive enhancement and rehabilitation, though effects depend on task relevance and game features like challenge and feedback.

This review highlights how musical training enhances brain plasticity across behavior, function, and structure. Musical practice involves complex interactions between auditory, motor, and higher cognitive systems, leading to both short- and long-term changes. Training modifies neural pathways, increases cortical and subcortical connectivity, and improves skills like memory and sensory-motor integration. These findings suggest music can be a valuable tool for cognitive development, rehabilitation, and potentially delaying age-related declines. Its multimodal nature makes it a strong framework for studying brain adaptability.

This study investigated how a computer-based multitasking cooking task could improve executive function in older adults. Participants practiced managing cooking times and completing a table-setting task simultaneously, targeting skills like planning, memory updating, and task-switching. Results showed improvements in task performance and transfer effects to related cognitive tests, such as sequencing numbers and letters, indicating enhanced executive control. The findings suggest that engaging in structured multitasking activities may boost cognitive flexibility and executive functioning.

This study compared the immediate stress-reducing effects of yoga, humor, and reading among 22 graduate health science students. Each intervention lasted 30 minutes, with participants completing all three interventions over three weeks. Results showed that all interventions significantly reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and stress as measured by the Daily Stress Inventory, with no single method proving superior. These findings highlight yoga, humor, and reading as effective, simple, and quick strategies to alleviate acute stress, making them accessible tools for managing stress in high-pressure environments like academic programs.

This review examines how video games might enhance cognitive skills in older adults, emphasizing brain plasticity and cognitive transfer. The authors suggest that action games, with features like sensory discrimination and adaptive challenges, align with principles of brain plasticity and could improve attention, memory, and reasoning. Older adults who engage in strategy and role-playing games may particularly benefit from enhancements in executive function, multitasking, and problem-solving. While early evidence supports video games as a tool for cognitive improvement, more research is needed to establish long-term benefits and specific game effects for older players. This research underscores the potential of games as an enjoyable intervention for maintaining cognitive health in aging.

This study investigates how exposure to fiction and non-fiction correlates with social abilities like empathy and theory of mind. Using measures like the Author Recognition Test and empathy tasks, researchers found that reading fiction enhances social skills, possibly due to simulating social experiences within narratives. In contrast, heavy non-fiction reading showed weaker or even negative correlations with social abilities. These findings suggest that fiction may uniquely train social cognition by engaging readers in understanding characters' mental states, unlike non-fiction texts.