• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tracking Health and Wellness Applications of Brain Science

Spanish
sb-logo-with-brain
  • Resources
    • Monthly eNewsletter
    • Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle
    • The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness
    • How to evaluate brain training claims
    • Resources at a Glance
  • Brain Teasers
    • Top 25 Brain Teasers & Games for Teens and Adults
    • Brain Teasers for each Cognitive Ability
    • More Mind Teasers & Games for Adults of any Age
  • Virtual Summits
    • 2019 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • Speaker Roster
    • Brainnovations Pitch Contest
    • 2017 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2016 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2015 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
    • 2014 SharpBrains Virtual Summit
  • Report: Pervasive Neurotechnology
  • Report: Digital Brain Health
  • About
    • Mission & Team
    • Endorsements
    • Public Speaking
    • In the News
    • Contact Us

The Benefits of a One-Time Cognitive Training Program Do Last but Wane Over Time

March 15, 2011 by Dr. Pascale Michelon

Do you remem­ber the IMPACT study pub­lished in 2009? It was a ran­dom­ized clin­i­cal tri­al with healthy old­er adults that com­pared a com­put­er-based cog­ni­tive pro­gram that trains audi­tory pro­cess­ing (Brain Fit­ness Pro­gram, Posit Sci­ence) with edu­ca­tion­al video pro­grams (con­trol group). Peo­ple who used the pro­gram improved in the trained tasks, which was not that sur­pris­ing, but there was also a clear ben­e­fit in audi­tory mem­ory, which wasn’t direct­ly trained.

A 2011 paper reports the 3‑month fol­low-up results of the IMPACT study. The 487 par­tic­i­pants in the orig­i­nal study were 65 and old­er. Train­ing was 1 hour a day, 4 to 5 days a week, for a total of 40 hours in 8 to 10 weeks. There was no con­tact with the researchers between the ini­tial train­ing study and the fol­low-up study.

The results showed that 3 months after the ini­tial train­ing most of the improve­ment observed in the train­ing group was still present, although not as strong­ly. In oth­er words, with­out rein­force­ment, the cog­ni­tive train­ing effect was main­tained but waned over time.

So what’s the take-home mes­sage? Let’s look at phys­i­cal fit­ness. We do not expect 2 months of intense abdom­i­nal train­ing to last a life­time but instead reg­u­lar­ly go to the gym. The same is true with brain fit­ness. It looks like you can­not train your brain for a few months and then stop and expect the ben­e­fits to last for­ev­er. Reg­u­lar train­ing is needed.

Relat­ed post: Cog­ni­tive Train­ing can Boost Sense of Control

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pock­et

Filed Under: Brain/ Mental Health Tagged With: Cognitive-Training, cognitive-training-3-month-follow-up, Elizabeth-Zelinski, IMPACT-study, Impact-study-follow-up, Posit-Science, posit-science-brain-fitness-program

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sammi Law says

    March 20, 2011 at 9:51

    My lat­est endeav­or is to final­ly make a com­mit­ment to read­ing more. I put it off for decades, but now I believe it may help me write more effec­tive­ly; and it does seem to be improv­ing my spelling.

    Sim­i­lar to star­ing a phys­i­cal train­ing pro­gram, I had a head ache at first, but I think I got passed that stage.

    Thanks for your arti­cle. I found it encouraging.

  2. Norman Webster says

    March 22, 2011 at 1:59

    In the spir­it of this lat­est update from the IMPACT study and the recent BBC Bang Goes the The­o­ry ~Does brain train­ing games make you smarter ~(what­ev­er that means), I would like to see a sim­i­lar event take place here in North Amer­i­ca, same for­mat, using the show Myth­Busters as the medi­um of choice, BUT THIS TIME, use more sci­en­tif­i­cal­ly plau­si­ble para­me­ters ie restrict the age to say 53 yrs and up, increase the dai­ly work­outs to say 1 hour, and 4 or 5 times a week for say 3 months. After this time peri­od has elapsed, then show the con­trol group vs the brain traing­ing group, live on TV! Just like in Europe. I’m cer­tain the results would be far dif­fer­ent than what was por­trayed via Dr. Adri­an Owen et al. What could then fol­low is a debate between Adri­an Owen and say Michael Merzenich or Eliz­a­beth Zelin­s­ki regard­ing the dif­fer­ences in test results

Primary Sidebar

Top Articles on Brain Health and Neuroplasticity

  1. Can you grow your hippocampus? Yes. Here’s how, and why it matters
  2. How learning changes your brain
  3. To harness neuroplasticity, start with enthusiasm
  4. Three ways to protect your mental health during –and after– COVID-19
  5. Why you turn down the radio when you're lost
  6. Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
  7. Ten neu­rotech­nolo­gies about to trans­form brain enhance­ment & health
  8. Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright
  9. What Educators and Parents Should Know About Neuroplasticity and Dance
  10. The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains
  11. Six tips to build resilience and prevent brain-damaging stress
  12. Can brain training work? Yes, if it meets these 5 conditions
  13. What are cognitive abilities and how to boost them?
  14. Eight Tips To Remember What You Read
  15. Twenty Must-Know Facts to Harness Neuroplasticity and Improve Brain Health

Top 10 Brain Teasers and Illusions

  1. You think you know the colors? Try the Stroop Test
  2. Check out this brief attention experiment
  3. Test your stress level
  4. Guess: Are there more brain connections or leaves in the Amazon?
  5. Quick brain teasers to flex two key men­tal mus­cles
  6. Count the Fs in this sentence
  7. Can you iden­tify Apple’s logo?
  8. Ten classic optical illu­sions to trick your mind
  9. What do you see?
  10. Fun Mental Rotation challenge
  • Check our Top 25 Brain Teasers, Games and Illusions

Join 35,205 readers exploring, at no cost, the latest in neuroplasticity and brain health.

By subscribing you agree to receive our free, monthly eNewsletter. We don't rent or sell emails collected, and you may unsubscribe at any time.

IMPORTANT: Please check your inbox or spam folder in a couple minutes and confirm your subscription.

Get In Touch!

Contact Us

660 4th Street, Suite 205,
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA

About Us

SharpBrains is an independent market research firm tracking health and performance applications of brain science. We prepare general and tailored market reports, publish consumer guides, produce an annual global and virtual conference, and provide strategic advisory services.

© 2022 SharpBrains. All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy