Does brain training work?

• There's quite a dispute going over whether brain training can improve cognitive function or not.

Learning RX is putting on a public relations push on June 15 to let people know that "not all mental exercise is brain training. Founder Ken Gibson says a recent study showed no improvement in mental fitness when people used online brain activities for 10 minutes a day, three times a week over a 6-week period, because that routine lacked sufficient intensity.

"Intensity is key," according to Gibson, who likens it to physical training. He advocates for exercises that "continue to push the brain to do more challenging activities, in shorter time, with more distractions and additional tasks." He makes the analogy between a 3-day-a-week 10-minute stroll and the effects of increasingly tough 1-hour workouts six times a week with a personal trainer. He claims that graduates of LearningRX typically show gains between 20 and 49 percentage points across nine cognitive areas. Visitors to www.learningrx.com can download a free book "Unlock the Einstein Inside: Applying New Brain Science to Wake up the Smart in Your Child."