At some point, most of us have messed around with a Brain Training game or app, such as the ones popularized on the Nintendo DS. It's often fun but, more importantly, it's potentially great for boosting our brain's power in some way.
On the App Store, one ideal way of doing that is through the use of Lumosity. It's an app that offers plenty of different ways of boosting one's problem solving abilities, attention to detail and even mental flexibility. Crucially, research has also found it helpful as a neuropsychological rehabilitation tool.
Our interest piqued by such significant research, we were able to have a brief chat with Lumosity's data scientist, Dr. Daniel Sternberg, who explained more:
"Lumosity [is] based on neuroplasticity, a science grounded in 25 years of neuroscience research, which has found that the brain can change and reorganize itself given the right kinds of challenges. One of the most important things you can do for your brain is to keep using your brain in new and challenging ways. Lumosity's games are designed explicitly with the goal of building core cognitive abilities, such as memory and attention, which are abilities that help you function in your everyday life."
Gathering plenty of user feedback through multiple rounds of testing, the app has taken around 18 months to complete with a recent redesign also being implemented.
Having had some time with the app, I was quite impressed with its tracking abilities, in particular. It's quite fun to use with five different games each day focusing on different cognitive functions, and the results prove quite interesting. It's not cheap, requiring a $79.99 yearly subscription, but given the years of research that has gone into figuring out how to enhance the brain's potential, it doesn't sound quite so expensive. For those with cognitive problems, it might be all the more appealing.
To find out more about the science behind Lumosity, as well as various situations in which it has been applied, check out the project's blog. The iOS app itself is a free download, but don't forget the subscription.
