Study shows brain training games won't boost your IQ

 

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Posted on 21 Apr 2010 at 09:08

Although they're sold by the bucket load and millions swear by them, a new study has shown that brain training games don't improve your IQ and make you smarter.

The study followed 11,430 people (viewers of the BBC's Bang Goes the Theory TV programme) over six weeks to see if brain training games could boost brain power or not. At the end of the test the results, published in Nature Journal, showed that brain training games failed to improve intelligence, with no gains in memory, planning, or general reasoning.

The testing required all of the volunteers to take part in a series of brain tests devices by scientists from the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer's Society. After the initial tests, the subjects were split into three groups: the first were given games designed to train reasoning power, planning and problem-solving skills; the second games designed to train short-term memory, attention, mathematical abilities and visuospatial skills; the final group where given general knowledge questions they had to research online.

After six weeks the volunteers were tested again, where no statistical improvements to any group's scores were shown. This seems to prove that brain training has no benefit in real life; the only gains where that people got better at playing brain training games, developing skills in much the same way in any 'normal' computer game.

Nintendo, makers of Dr Kawashima's Brain Training games, has since claimed that it never said that brain training is scientifically proved to boost cognitive skills. In fact, the official Nintendo site has a carefully worded statement about the scientific aspect of the game.

"We hypothesised that the more you train your brain the better the brain can function, just as we can also train our body to help keep it fit," said Dr Kawashima on the Nintendo website.

The question that the study doesn't answer is: is it important that brain training games don't improve your IQ? As with other games, it could well be that the fun of playing outweighs any potential real benefit.

Author: David Ludlow