Science: The Results

Memory

It can be a challenge to store and retrieve all the information we need to remember, even if it is just for a short period of time. One of the most important types of memory is known as working memory, which is used for temporarily storing and manipulating information. Working memory is critical in many cognitive processes including reasoning, problem solving and language.

Research presented at the Bay Area Neuroscience Gathering in San Francisco, CA shows that the Lumosity brain games improve working memory.

Working memory capacity of 23 individuals was tested before and after training.

Subjects who trained with several of the Lumosity brain exercises on a daily basis for 30 days improved on the memory exercises. More importantly, the trained subjects also improved on independent tests of working memory (p<.01, two-tailed t-Test), which were not part of the training, while the control group showed no change upon retesting.

For more details, download the white paper or view the scientific poster presentation.

Processing Speed

Processing speed determines how quickly one can perceive and interpret information, and then begin to act appropriately. Processing speed is considered by some to be a bottleneck to other cognitive processes, and it is therefore a focus of Lumosity training.

Lumosity brain exercises are designed to improve processing speed by challenging users to gradually increment the rate of other cognitive processes. For example, users who trained with our arithmetic exercise Raindrops for at least 10 sessions can solve math problems faster and more accurately (p<.001, two-tailed t-Test). Those that completed Word Bubbles at least 10 times improve at word-finding and are able to find more words in a given amount of time (p<.001, two-tailed t-Test).

Further investigations are currently underway to quantify the impact of the program on speed of processing, and to better understand how these increases in processing speed help us think and perform on a daily basis.

Attention

The ability to selectively concentrate on the most important information allows us to follow a conversation, drive safely, and efficiently attend to the task at hand.

Brain training with Lumosity was demonstrated to improve visual attention in a study first presented at the 2006 Society for Neuroscience conference in Atlanta, GA.

Visual attention was measured in intervention and control groups at the beginning and end of the experiment. Trained subjects completed an average of 33 five-minute sessions of Birdwatching, one of the Lumosity visual attention exercises.

Attention and perceptual accuracy improved significantly more in subjects who trained with Lumosity brain games than in those who did not train (p<0.01,>

For more details, download the white paper or view the scientific poster.

Cognitive Control

Cognitive control, also known as executive processing, refers to a set of high-level processes such as decision-making, planning, and suppressing inappropriate behavior. Cognitive control helps align thought and behavior with intentions.

Lumosity includes exercises developed to enhance cognitive control. The effective outcomes of these exercises are currently being studied. Preliminary results include a 9-second (16 percent) improvement on Trail Making, Part B, a common test of executive function, in subjects who trained for 30 days with a subset of the Lumosity exercises (p<0.05,>

More information about this research is available by downloading the poster that was presented at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in 2007.