"Brain training" computer games do not significantly improve mental ability, according to the largest clinical trial of such exercises.
"Brain training doesn't do you any harm but you might as well do something else mentally stimulating, like learning a new language - it's as good as brain training and you will be able to speak a foreign language," lead researcher Dr Adrian Owen of Cambridge university told the Financial Times.
Brain training games are a multimillion-pound industry, with manufacturers claiming that regular use can enhance cognitive function. The software is used daily by millions of people who might think it was improving their mental acuity. The study, published by the journal Nature, was carried out by the Medical Research Council's cognition and brain sciences unit at Cambridge, along with King's College institute of psychiatry and the University of Manchester in conjunction with the BBC's science television programme, Bang Goes the Theory .
The trial included 11,430 volunteers whose brain function was measured at the outset by a "benchmark" test. The participants were then randomly split into three groups.
One performed tasks linked to measures of general intelligence based on reasoning, planning and problem solving. Group two practised exercises found in brain training software, testing their short-term memory, attention, spatial judgment and maths skills.
Group three acted as a control and was asked to answer obscure questions by searching the internet.
After six weeks participants again took the benchmark test. Those who had been "training" their brains showed slight improvements, but no more so than the control group. In some tests, the control group had improved more than those who had been training.
Improvements among the brain-trained volunteers were so slight that in order to recall an extra digit in a memory test, the games would have to be played frequently for four years.
Participants did improve their scores in the actual brain training games. "You just get better at the specific tasks through repetition", Dr Owen said.
Brain training games are a multimillion-pound industry, with manufacturers claiming that regular use can enhance cognitive function. The software is used daily by millions of people who might think it was improving their mental acuity. The study, published by the journal Nature, was carried out by the Medical Research Council's cognition and brain sciences unit at Cambridge, along with King's College institute of psychiatry and the University of Manchester in conjunction with the BBC's science television programme, Bang Goes the Theory .
The trial included 11,430 volunteers whose brain function was measured at the outset by a "benchmark" test. The participants were then randomly split into three groups.
One performed tasks linked to measures of general intelligence based on reasoning, planning and problem solving. Group two practised exercises found in brain training software, testing their short-term memory, attention, spatial judgment and maths skills.
Group three acted as a control and was asked to answer obscure questions by searching the internet.
After six weeks participants again took the benchmark test. Those who had been "training" their brains showed slight improvements, but no more so than the control group. In some tests, the control group had improved more than those who had been training.
Improvements among the brain-trained volunteers were so slight that in order to recall an extra digit in a memory test, the games would have to be played frequently for four years.
Participants did improve their scores in the actual brain training games. "You just get better at the specific tasks through repetition", Dr Owen said.
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