According to a statement released by the Stanford University Center on Longevity and the Berlin Max Planck Institute for Human Development, there is no solid scientific evidence to back up this promise. Signed by 70 of the world’s leading cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists, the statement minces no words: “The strong consensus of this group is […]

Many “brain-training” games may be marketed as a way to boost people’s alertness and intelligence, but scientists are now warning that such claims are not based on actual science. Read the full article at NBC News.

In the commercial world, hyperbole reigns. App stores are littered with brazen claims — Elevate-Brain Training, for example, is “based on extensive research.” Ulman Lindenberger, a director at the Max Planck Institute, recently published a study that found that 100 days of cognitive training yielded a “relatively minor” improvement in working memory. Soon afterward, a […]

Aging baby boomers and seniors would be better off going for a hike than sitting down in front of one of the many video games designed to aid the brain, a group of nearly 70 researchers asserted this week in a critique of some of the claims made by the brain-training industry.  Read the full story at […]

Your brain is a tree. Or, perhaps more fittingly, a bank account. With metaphors like those, brain-game companies entice people to buy subscriptions to their online training programs, many of which promise to increase customers’ “neuroplasticity,” “fluid intelligence,” and working memory capacity. They even claim to help stave off the effects of aging. Leading scientists have criticized […]

“It is customary for advertising to highlight the benefits and overstate potential advantages of their products,” said Laura Carstensen, a Stanford psychology professor and the director of the Center for Longevity, in a press release.”But in the case of brain games, companies also assert that the products are based on solid scientific evidence developed by […]

Sixty-nine scientists at Stanford University and other institutions issued a statement that the scientific track record does not support the claims that so-called “brain games” actually help older adults boost their mental powers. Read the full article at Stanford Report.