Brain training habits not associated with general benefits to cognition: online study of more than 1,000 'brain trainers'.

Stojanoski, B., Wild, CJ, Battista, ME, Nichols, ES, and Owen, AM (2021). Brain training habits are not associated with general benefits to cognition: an online study of more than 1000 "brain trainers." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(4), 729-738. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000773

Commentary

It is commonly believed that computer games designed for brain training can enhance cognitive function. Moreover, there are strong incentives to improve cognitive performance, which has historically driven a billion-dollar industry.

However, there is an ongoing debate as to whether brain training can truly produce these desired results.

There is an abundance of research in the literature that uses criteria that are not clearly defined to establish transferable improvements in cognition in part, and often presents results using single training and outcome measures on small samples.

In this study, we overcame this limitation by conducting a large online study to determine whether practices and beliefs about brain training are associated with better cognition.

A diverse sample of more than 1,000 participants was recruited who had used a variety of brain training programs for up to five years.

Cognition as an outcome was assessed using multiple tests that measured attention, reasoning, working memory, and planning.

Even among the most dedicated brain trainers, no association was found between measures of cognitive function and whether or not the participants continued to do "brain training.

The results also showed no relationship between duration of brain training and measures of cognitive ability, indicating that there was no effect of these trainings regardless of the age of the participants, the brain training program used, or whether or not they expected the brain training to work.