cogmed
access all three versions of the product – cogmed rm, cogmed qm and cogmed jm .
read more about the cogmed © program at cogmed. com’s frequently asked questions page .
access cogmed training at urltoken (formerly www. training. cogmed. com) .
the cogmed working memory training app now features all three training programs, cogmed jm, cogmed rm and cogmed qm. this release also includes general stability and performance improvements .
cogmed webinars help you learn more about cogmed and working memory. current offerings include :
cogmed coach certificate that authorizes you to offer cogmed to your patients anywhere in india .
the cogmed network now includes about 150 cogmed qualified practices and reaches 25 countries on six continents .
the training program is available through our authorized cogmed practices and cogmed coaches, all trained and qualified by pearson .
please contact a cogmed consultant for details at cogmed. canada @ urltoken or at 1 - 866 - 335 - 8418 .
january: cogmed is feasible for preschoolers. young children exhibit improved wm and attention after cogmed training. (thorell et al. , 2009 )
cogmed training is not typically covered by insurance. investigate the possibility of coverage with your insurance provider or talk to the cogmed practice of your choice .
january: cogmed for stroke victims. adults with stroke show improved wm and attention and decreased cognitive failures after cogmed. (westerberg et al. , 2007 )
february: cogmed alters brain biochemistry. changes in the density of cortical dopamine d1 receptors observed in adults after cogmed. (mcnab et al. , 2009 )
december: cogmed is feasible for children with low socio - economic status. teachers report decreased adhd symptoms in children after cogmed. (mezzacappa & buckner, 2010 )
cogmed coach training and certification is mandatory for mental - health professionals such as psychologists or doctors, who would like to offer cogmed working memory training to their patients .
july: first independent cogmed research study is published. children improve wm, instruction following, and math after cogmed in school. (holmes et al. , 2009 )
2010 on june 28th cogmed is acquired by pearson and becomes part of pearson clinical assessment group. cogmed represents pearson group’s first entry into the evidence - based cognitive training market .
2008 word spreads around the world about cogmed research and the expansion in the u. s. cogmed partners with beterbrein of holland and with dr. roby marcou in singapore. the cogmed jm program for preschoolers is introduced. helena westerberg ph. d. , of the karolinska institute presents her data on cogmed training on normal adults. chris lucas, m. d. of new york university presents his data on cogmed training for children with adhd .
how educators can create academic and behavioural transformation for students with adhd using review360 and cogmed .
other investigators have used a shortened version of cogmed and compared that to the standard version (mawjee, et al. , 1025). one study used parent training combined with cogmed and compared that to using cogmed alone (steeger, et al. , 2015) .
one complete 25 - day cogmed training (jm, rm or qm version, based on the age - group you would like to offer cogmed to). this training is for your personal use to help you familiarize yourself with cogmed and experience its benefits for yourself .
as a cogmed coach, you will be playing an important role in motivating the cogmed user along the way and ensuring a successful completion of the program, for optimal user benefits .
read through this list of frequently asked questions to learn more about the cogmed training program and our company. because cogmed is a new program, we understand that you have many questions .
cogmed is for anyone who is constrained by their working memory and wants to improve their attention .
● improvements for clients with a bad internet connection we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
the cogmed working memory training app now features support for the cogmed questionnaire. we have also done a number of graphical and user interface improvements, smaller bug fixes and performance improvements on ios7 .
finally another investigation looked at combining english language training while conducting cogmed with one group and comparing that to cogmed alone or english language training alone (hyashi, et al. , 2015) .
the user / family sets the training schedule with the cogmed coach, with plenty of flexibility .
the cogmed training web gives all users online access to their own training results and progress status .
cogmed is an evidence - based tool for you to help your patients in a meaningful way .
no, it is not. in the case of users on adhd medication, cogmed training is a complementary intervention. stimulant medication and cogmed training impact the brain in different ways. medications will have effects that cogmed training does not, particularly regarding hyperactivity. cogmed training will also, in many cases, have effects that cannot be achieved by medication only. talk to your doctor to learn more .
this group will receive intervention with the cogmed training program and coach over a period of 5 weeks .
each user has a cogmed coach who leads the training, tracks results and gives support and motivation .
there are a variety of ways researchers have attempted to optimize cogmed. in a 2016 publication by appelgren, bengtsson & soderqvist investigators used questionnaires to measure the mind - set and intrinsic motivation and how it influenced compliance to complete cogmed. the results of this study can help other professionals to optimize how they implement cogmed. another study investigated how meta - cognitive training affected cogmed training (partanen, et al. , 2015). the meta - cognitive training was conducted 3 days a week after cogmed training session .
training sessions run five weeks, five days a week, for an hour each day. the fee for cogmed © working memory training is set by each individual cogmed © qualified practice and varies by location .
april: after cogmed, children with special needs improve wm and reading comprehension. (dahlin, 2011 )
don’t put it off. my only regret is that i didn' t know about cogmed sooner
1. cogmed training is backed by solid research that no one else can match. 2. cogmed training is provided exclusively by a network of carefully trained and qualified professionals. they make sure each cogmed trainee gets the coaching needed for the best possible results. 3. an outstanding track record of strong and lasting effects in our thousands of trainees in america and around the world show that cogmed training makes a real difference in people’s lives .
2001 the results from the first randomized, placebo controlled study on cogmed training show very promising results. the results are soon published in the first paper on cogmed training. the results inspire the team to partner with karolinska innovation ab to create the company cogmed and to seek funding to build a stable product and test it large scale .
all students (who completed cogmed) improved on the measure of being able to work more independently .
cogmed is developed by leading neuroscientist and proven to be effective in rigorous research published in peer - reviewed journals .
training is provided excusively by a qualified cogmed provider, through an alied health care professional and / or an educator. support provided by the cogmed provider is critical to staying motivated and completing the program and building metacognitives skills .
the conceptualization of ef will be considered in this webinar as well as a number of cogmed - specific studies .
yes, our research and our clinical experience show that the effects of cogmed training last after training. the reason is that once working memory capacity increases, you naturally continue to use it at its new level, which serves as constant maintenance training. each cogmed trainee also has access to optional cogmed extension training at no extra cost .
the acquisition of cogmed exemplifies pearson clinical assessment’s commitment to innovation in serving customers to the best of our ability. cogmed’s products are leading interventions in the area of cognitive training and link assessment to scientifically developed and empirically validated interventions .
november: the training works. children with adhd show improved wm after cogmed. (klingberg et al. 2002 )
august: cogmed highlighted in science as most researched executive function intervention for children. (diamond & lee, 2011 )
the cogmed extension training allows the user to further sharpen the acquired capacity and to verify how the results hold over time .
october: older adults improve wm, sustained attention, and episodic memory after cogmed. (brehmer et al. , 2011 )
there are different versions of cogmed for different age groups. jm for preschoolers, rm for school children and qm for adults .
train at home option for all - cogmed is now accessible online, allowing completion both at home and at work / school .
cogmed has been proven to be effective for attention deficits due to adhd, brain injuries, and normal aging, among others .
you don’t need any additional qualification beyond your current formal education, to function as a cogmed coach. you will be able to start functioning as a cogmed coach after receiving our training on the theoretical and applied aspects of this solution, from our expert trainers .
cogmed working memory training is a computer - based solution for improving attention by increasing working memory capacity over a five week training period .
v4. 4. 1 update: fixed issue with multiple clicking on login buttons. we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
this is a demonstration of the idea that cogmed can benefit a variety of different clinical populations with wm deficits. children who have undergone radiation and chemotherapy are at risk for attention and wm deficits and cogmed may play a role in helping these survivors to return to function .
the cogmed program is for children and adults who want to improve their attention by training their working memory. more on working memory here .
cogmed working memory training is an evidence - based program for helping children, adolescents and adults sustainably improve attention by training their working memory .
please contact cnld if you know of someone experiencing wm difficulties or if you are interested in more information about wm training, specifically cogmed .
cogmed working memory training is an evidence based program for helping children, adolescents, and adults sustainably improve attention by training their working memory .
cogmed has unique and outstanding records of strong and lasting results in education and health care, making significant difference in improving people' s lives .
cogmed working memory training is an evidence - based computerized training program designed to improve attention by effectively increasing working memory capacity through a systematic training period .
cogmed working memory training is provided as an intervention by both educators in schools and healthcare professionals (psychologists, ot’s, slps) in private practice .
the program is based on strong scientific research and it is done in the convenience of your own home under the supervision of a qualified cogmed coach .
september: brain injured adults who did cogmed self - report decreased cognitive failures and improved occupational performance and satisfaction. (lundqvist et al. , 2010 )
april: adolescents born at extremely low birth weight improve their wm and verbal learning at 6 months post cogmed. (løhaugen et al. , 2011 )
may: cogmed improves wm in preschoolers but, there is no evidence of transfer to nonverbal reasoning. (bergman - nutley et al. , 2011 )
fixed bug that was introduced in v4. 5. 0 that caused problems with starting up the training. we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
cogmed working memory training is a training program for people with poor working memory and attention deficits. the program is based on published studies and developed by a team of neuroscientists. the peer - reviewed studies show that cogmed training reduces symptoms of inattention in children and adults, by addressing weaknesses in working memory capacity .
may: fmri with healthy adults after cogmed reveals wm - related brain activity significantly increased in middle and inferior frontal gyrus. (westerberg & klingberg, 2007 )
january: changes in brain activity after cogmed – increased activation in pre - frontal & parietal brain areas after wm training. (olesen et al. , 2004 )
holmes, et al. , (2015) research informs our understanding of how working memory relates to english language learning (ell) and what role cogmed can play
cogmed training is done at the user’s home, in school, or at work. the program is web - based and compatible on any computer that supports flash .
v2. 0. 3 updates: - improved user interface when starting next trial. - updated and improved cogmed rm graphics. - smaller bug fixes and performance improvements .
cogmed© stands by its promises and past research, however consumers of this alternative therapy should know that the scientific community is not unanimous in its support of working - memory training .
pdf: holmes, et al. , (2015) research informs our understanding of how working memory relates to english language learning (ell) and what role cogmed can play
video: holmes, et al. , (2015) research informs our understanding of how working memory relates to english language learning (ell) and what role cogmed can play
august: cogmed is feasible for hearing impaired children. transfer effect to language (sentence repetition) observed at 6 month follow - up. (kronenberger et al. , 2011 )
children - research and clinical data show improved grades following cogmed training. parents and teachers also report mproved social skills, taking initiative, remembering instructions, and completing assignments more independently .
december: genetics make a difference. different dat1 genotypes – which impact dopamine availability in the brain – influence wm plasticity and effect of cogmed. (brehmer et al. , 2009 )
november: impact of cogmed investigated in the view that wm consists of secondary memory and primary memory. parent report improved adhd symptoms in children. (gibson et al. , 2011 )
cogmed provides a new, proven and effective approach to addressing the serious challenges of attention problems in adhd, traumatic brain injury, stroke and other conditions. there is a strong research case and logic behind the intervention. the implementation is highly structured, ensuring excellent clinical results. working with cogmed adds an evidence - based and non - pharmacological tool to your client work .
kristina k. hardy, a neuropsychologist at children’s national medical center in washington, is testing the use of cogmed with childhood cancer survivors, whose ability to learn is sometimes significantly reduced after chemotherapy and radiation. founded by a swedish neuroscientist, cogmed was bought in 2010 by pearson, the largest provider of testing and teaching materials, and is offered via psychologists and other clinical specialists .
2005 the data from the 2002 study is published in the prestigious journal of the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry. leading american psychologists and psychiatrists begin to contact cogmed in stockholm, interested in evaluating the training program in their practices. in the summer, scientific american highlights the dramatic findings causing increasing professional interest in the u. s. cogmed decides to expand into america .
you will be able to offer cogmed training to any child or adult who is struggling with attention problems, in your clinic or your neighbourhood, all from the comfort of your home, after an initial set of face to face interactions. this is because you will be able to track user progress on cogmed using our online portal, that lets you log in anytime, anywhere .
september: children with adhd show 6 months lasting effect of cogmed. wm training gains result in a wider effect on executive functioning than stimulant medication alone. (holmes et al. , 2010 )
the three other large cognitive training services — lumosity, cogmed and posit science — dance around the question of whether they truly raise i. q. but do assert that they improve cognitive performance .
the breakthrough idea that started cogmed came from torkel klingberg in 1999. a decade later, we have come from a research idea worth exploring to a set of research - proven and real - life tested solutions used by thousands people around the world. and this is only the beginning. to give you a sense of cogmed’s path to our present position, we list the key milestones below .
2009 independent leading british working memory researchers from the university of york publish two articles on the results they have seen following cogmed training. the studies are the first to show academic improvements following training .
february: replication. klingberg replicates the first cogmed study with a randomized, double - blinded, placebo controlled, multicenter trial – drawing attention to wm training. (klingberg et al. , 2005 )
december: children with social, emotional and behavioral problems show improved iq, inhibition, test anxiety and teacher - reported behavior, attention and emotional symptoms after cogmed. (roughan & hadwin, 2011 )
2002 all effort from the team, now including ceo jonas jendi, goes into planning and executing a larger study to replicate the initial research findings. 2003 a project is launched to test the transferability of cogmed training outside of academic research to daily life. the first version of the cogmed coaching method is developed and the first paying customers, spread out across sweden, are carefully coached with excellent results .
cogmed is more than a video game. this brain - training software program promises to reduce inattention and hyperactivity, and improve memory in people with adhd. what you need to know to assess it .
cogmed training is a scientifically determined program that changes the way you process information and research shows the effects last once training is completed. it is not about teaching behavioural strategies for coping with memory deficits .
perhaps that reflects the company’s origins. whereas the founders of posit, cogmed and lumosity all have advanced degrees in psychology and neuroscience, the founder of learningrx obtained his ph. d. in pediatric optometry .
the program is based on strong scientific research, is delivered under the supervision of a qualified cogmed coach, and can be done either in the convenience of the client’s home or at a designated healthcare facility .
upgrades and enhancements provide an easier and more robust implementation allowing you to help trainees achieve better results. learn about some of cogmed' s new features in this short video. see v4. 6 release notes .
‐ updated cogmed questionnaire (english speaking markets only). ‐ first‐time login guide. ‐ a first version of cogmed start‐up session (selected accounts only). ‐ bold block numbers in the calendar view to indicate when the trainee is not training according to recommended protocol. ‐ added
extended
state to the status column in the trainings view. ‐ several smaller fixes on both front‐ and back‐end, e. g. : ‐ fixed index rounding error on subtraction between max and baseline. ‐ propeller now scores the coach training only after all questions have been answered. we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed v4. 3 .
cogmed working memory training is an evidence - based, computerized training program designed by leading neuroscientists to improve attention by effectively increasing working memory capacity over a 5 week training period (with variations to that protocol) .
the cwmt (cogmed) method consists of 25 training sessions done online. each participant assigned to the training group will complete eight exercises for five weeks with five sessions every week. each session consists of a selection of various tasks that target the different aspects of attention / working memory. participants will engage in weekly discussions over the phone for about 1 hour with an assigned cogmed coach who will provide support and encouragement over the 5 weeks .
cogmed training is an evidence - based, computer training program that can be effectively implemented in schools, private practice or in the health service, to improve one’s working memory capacity to be better equipped to meet daily challenges .
missing values in coaching center cpi add up graphs are now removed. fixed issue with sessions sometimes being reshuffled in coaching center
block
graphs. improved hit area in exercises cube, rotating dots and space whack. fixed drag issues in cpi listen - up. fixed issue with cogmed questionnaire ‘checkpoint’ appearing 3 times in a row. fixed that the last item disappeared too soon in space whack. we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
if you are a psychologist or medical doctor experienced in working with children, adolescents or adults with attention deficits, and are dedicated to using evidence - based treatments in your practice, contact us to offer cogmed to your patients .
neuroplay brain training is dedicated to helping children and adults learn in a different way. you can choose from executive function coaching, cogmed, pace, or neurofeedback. click on the links in the menu to learn more about each approach .
with cogmed as part of our portfolio, we can better meet your needs. in addition to offering assessments that diagnose and assess cognitive functions and impairments, we will now be able to offer a solution to assist you in improving these conditions .
in 2002, cogmed co - founder torkel klingberg published the results of a study that suggested students engaged in working - memory training could improve their scores on standardized tests after roughly five weeks of use. a similar study published in 2008 went a step further, suggesting that a person could boost her iq by a full point with each hour of working - memory training. since 2002, more than 25 additional studies have supported the efficacy of the cogmed © working memory training program on improving adhd symptoms .
the programs offered by posit, lumosity and cogmed are now being used by psychologists not affiliated with the companies to help people with diagnosed cognitive disorders, including traumatic brain injury, a. d. h. d. , and the aftereffect of chemotherapy .
pearson is pleased to announce the acquisition of cogmed, a technology - based program for working memory training, developed at the karolinska institute in sweden. working memory is the cognitive function responsible for keeping information online, manipulating it, and using it in thinking .
● negative feedback after each trial has been removed. ● improvements to the space whack exercise ● no training exercises on cpi blocks (25 - minutes protocol only) ● protocol changes for more consistent start index calculations ● improved cogmed questionnaire reporting ● various fixes and improvements
if you are a mental - health professional (such as a psychologist or a medical doctor) in private practice or working with an institution, focused on using evidence - based interventions to help your patients with attention deficits, you will find cogmed relevant for your practice .
v4. 5. 0 update: - improved blocks view - add ability to add important notifications directly at login - added version number in training client - better error messaging - localization of v4 to swedish - various bug fixes and improvements we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
cogmed’s research - based training program and implementation method, combined with the company’s close customer relationships optimizes end - user results and has contributed to its success in turning a basic research breakthrough into an intervention successfully implemented in health care practices and schools in the united states and around the world .
in our research and in the practical experience of the cogmed practices, 80% of users see measurable improvements. that does not mean you can be sure to get results. no intervention works for everyone. 80% is a number we are proud of, but we cannot provide guarantees in any particular case .
cogmed emerged out of leading neuroscience research establishing that working memory capacity is not fixed, but can be changed. the highly structured program combining working memory exercises and coach support has been shown to be effective in improving working memory for a wide variety of populations. the evidence comes out of rigorous research published in peer - reviewed scientific journals .
this webinar denotes a more differentiated consideration of reasonable expectations for the effects of cogmed on children with adhd and those who are designated to have working memory deficits. while adhd predominantly inattentive type presents similarly in patients as those with working memory deficits. those with working memory deficits would still be considered have less severe deficits than those with adhd .
v4. 2. 0 update: - improved graph readability by updating color schemes. - updated help texts for the help icon. - improved handling of new id quota. - fixes in cpi graphs. - improved video handling in propeller. - about 20 smaller fixes and improvements. we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed v4. 2 .
v4. 4. 0 update: - adjusted criteria for automatic removal of cpi “add up” - adjusted trigger criteria for mandatory break - added possibility to reinstate cpi “add up” and mandatory break after removal - removed verbal suggestions to take a break - added help information for adjusting training weights - minor improvements and fixes we hope that you will enjoy using cogmed .
march: brain injured adults report decreased cognitive failures and improved occupational performance and satisfaction after cogmed. (johansson & tornmalm, 2012) march: older and younger adults improve on wm, a test of sustained attention, and self - rating of cognitive functioning in daily life. gains maintained at 3 month follow –up. (brehmer et al. , 2012 )
melby - lervåg first became interested in working - memory training because she works with children who have learning disabilities, and she knew their parents were signing up for cogmed. pearson is a respected name that is strongly associated with education. “since they work with children with learning disabilities, they have a responsibility to market programs that are evidence - based, ” she said. “it’s unethical. ”
the management of working memory deficits has for a long time focussed solely on teaching behavioural strategies for coping. working memory training instead, focuses on strengthening working memory capacity with specific and intensive practice of working memory tasks. the majority of individuals who train with cogmed show improvements in working memory and non - trained behaviour such as improvements in inattention and capacity to learn, that are sustained after training .
additude talked with bradley gibson, ph. d. , lead author of the uncontrolled study, published in 2007 by the university of notre dame, and barbara ingersoll, ph. d. , a clinical associate professor in west virginia university’s department of behavioral medicine and psychiatry and a cogmed © trainer, to learn how the program works from two of its proponents. here is what they said :
patients diagnosed with any type of multiple sclerosis (ms) who show objective evidence of attention problems will be randomized to standard medical care (treatment as usual) or attention training, which will be completed at their home using a commercially available attention training task (cogmed working memory training - cwmt) for 5 weeks. patients will undergo cognitive testing before and after intervention and at 6 months follow up .
julie schweitzer, director of the a. d. h. d. program at the university of california, davis, published a study in july finding that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who used cogmed for 25 days were significantly better able to stay on task and to perform on a test of working memory — the ability to not just hold but to juggle items in the mind despite brief distractions .
while this webinar will spend approximately half of the hour on cogmed as an evidence - based intervention for adhd it will consider other options as well. however, as is well known by clinicians, researchers and educators there is no way to do an exhaustive review of evidence - based interventions of adhd in 1 hour or less, let alone 30 minutes or less. what we will be able to provide is some data for your consideration of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the existing evidence thus far. some time will be spent considering the impact of medication, cogmed and other innovative approaches to managing adhd. we consider this topic worthy of several hours of webinars and as such while we expect we may open up more questions than answers we thought this is useful to provide a forum for consideration of this topic .
one of the challenges of understanding the effects of working memory training is grasping what might be considered the mechanism of change in those who complete the program. working memory is the target of the program and certainly is considered one mechanism of change. however with some consistency other ‘near transfer’ effects, particularly in what are categorized as executive functions (ef) have been found to have improved in peer reviewed published studies of cogmed .
we have been trying to use the cogmed ipad version for several weeks because the ipad provides a better interface than using a pc / mouse. unfortunately, after we enter our login information, the program freezes as soon as we login. we tried downloading the new app to go with the new ios but it also freezes and does not even load up the images. app is not ready for action as of the date of this review .
an intriguing aspect of working memory (wm) is the fact that so many patients with a range of disorders include deficits in wm (traumatic brain injury (tbi), stroke, schizophrenia, adhd, anxiety, depression, etc .). while early work with cogmed has focused upon patients identified with either cognitive deficits (adhd, tbi, stroke, etc .) or healthy clients, more recent work has moved into disorders in which anxiety is the primary deficit .
in 2014 there were two cogmed - specific studies with college aged adults with adhd (albeit older and with a broader age range than most “college - aged samples”) (gropper, et a. , 2014; mawjee, et al. , 2014). in 2015 two new studies were added to the literature (liu et al. , 2015; mawjee et al. , 2015). the study by gropper, et al. , 2014, focuses upon adults who are adhd or ld. the mawjee, et al. (2014), pilot study addressing issues of engagement, motivation and expectancy and was followed up with a larger study by mawjee et al. , in 2015. an unusual study by liu et al. was published in 2015 that considered eeg data. we will review this data as well as the research and salient conceptual context that will help you to make sense of adult adhd and how cogmed might play a role with this population .
additionally, they argued that there were some promising studies for improvements in academic abilities but that more controlled studies were needed before we could make strong and specific claims on this topic. the recently published study: “predictor and moderators of treatment outcome in cognitive training for children with adhd” by van der donk, et al. , (2016) tested those arguments empirically. drs. shinaver and entwistle will review this study with some detail along with other salient cogmed - specific data to update the empirical status of the position they argued in 2014 .
articulating the implications of this finding is the focus of this webinar. this will include defining working memory in context of other memory functions. we will briefly distinguish this from improved attention, the second most supported effect of cogmed. we will also consider data related to the length of time these effects have been found to last. and finally we will consider possible implications of this striking finding that working memory can be improved as it relates to: the decline of working memory over the lifespan, how working memory deficits relate to a number of mental health disorders and the educational implications of working memory .
an early study by beck, et al. 2010 of school - aged children with adhd found improved ef. yet, improvements in ef have been found with increasing regularity in more recent studies across a range of ages and presenting problems. improved ef among groups of school - aged adhd children and some with learning concerns has been found in recently published studies (roording - ragetlie, et al. , 2016; bigorra, et al. , 2016; van der donk. , et al. , 2016). au, et al. , 2014 found an improvement in organizing thoughts among school - aged children who had fragile x syndrome. foy and mann, 2014 found that preschoolers from economically disadvantaged communities who completed cogmed improved in executive control. hyer, et al. , 2016 found a lack of declining executive functioning among older adults with mild cognitive impairment as measured by self report on the functional activities questionnaire (faq) whereas the control group continued to decline in this area .
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pilot indicating for the 1st time that wm is plastic and can be improved. (klingberg et al. )
july: review article summarizes extant evidence for wm training. (klingberg, 2010 )
november: children exhibit reduced adhd symptoms according to parent report. (beck et al. , 2010 )
june: individual variations in lmx1a gene – which is thought to influence transmission of dopamine – impact wm training related gains in verbal wm. (bellander et al. , 2011 )
copyright © 2016 pearson education, inc or its affiliate (s). all rights reserved .
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in this exercise at learningrx in upper montclair, n. j. , a trainee tosses a bean bag on the beat of a metronome while doing addition or recalling a sentence, one letter at a time .
in the back room of a suburban storefront previously occupied by a yoga studio, nick vecchiarello, a 16 - year - old from glen ridge, n. j. , sits at a desk across from kathryn duch, a recent college graduate who wears a black shirt emblazoned with the words “brain trainer. ” spread out on the desk are a dozen playing cards showing symbols of varying colors, shapes and sizes. nick stares down, searching for three cards whose symbols match .
“oh, man, ” mutters nick, his eyes shifting among the cards, looking for patterns .
across the room, nathan veloric, 23, studies a list of numbers, looking for any two in a row that add up to nine. with tight - lipped determination, he scrawls a circle around one pair as his trainer holds a stopwatch to time him. halfway through the 50 seconds allotted to complete the exercise, a ruckus comes from the center of the room .
“nathan’s here! ” shouts vanessa maia, another trainer. approaching him with a teasing grin, she claps her hands like an annoying little sister. “distraction! ” she shouts. “distraction! ”
there is purpose behind the silliness. ms. maia is challenging the trainees to stay focused on their tasks in the face of whatever distractions may be out there, whether twitter feeds, the latest tumblr posting or old - fashioned classroom commotion .
“we measure every student pre - and post - training with a version of the woodcock - johnson general intelligence test, ” said ken gibson, who began franchising learningrx centers in 2003, and has data on more than 30, 000 of the nearly 50, 000 students who have been trained. “the average gain on i. q. is 15 points after 24 weeks of training, and 20 points in less than 32 weeks. ”
“your brain, just brighter, ” is the slogan of lumosity, an online company that now has some 25 million registered members. according to its web site, “our users have reported profound benefits that include: clearer and quicker thinking; faster problem - solving skills; increased alertness and awareness; better concentration at work or while driving; sharper memory for names, numbers and directions. ”
those results are achieved, the companies say, by repurposing cognitive tasks initially developed by psychologists as tests of mental abilities. with technical names like the antisaccade, the n - back and the complex working memory span task, the exercises are dressed up as games that become increasingly difficult as students gain mastery .
conceived to appeal to adults, especially baby boomers looking to stanch the effects of aging, lumosity now draws one - quarter of its audience from students between the ages of 11 and 21, according to michael scanlon, the company’s scientific director. “i was taken aback that so much of our user base is so young, ” he said. “the particular audience i had in mind at the earliest stages of the company was my mother. ” in response to requests from schoolteachers, the fee is now waived — $ 15 a month — for students in their classrooms. more than 1, 000 teachers and 10, 000 students have enrolled this year, mr. scanlon said .
for the one - on - one training at learningrx, fees are decidedly higher, from about $ 80 to $ 90 an hour in upper montclair. the students come with learning disabilities, with grades they want to improve in a competitive academic environment, all with hopes of just being sharper .
taylor webster, 16, trains daily for lacrosse with a personal coach. “she has natural athletic ability, ” said her mother, samantha newman - webster. “but it’s really through her training that she has been able to achieve to the point where she’s being sought out by college recruiters. ” would brain training, the family wondered, do for her grades what physical training did for her lacrosse game ?
ms. newman - webster enrolled taylor, already a b student at the private montclair kimberley academy, at learningrx in february. “i felt like i wanted to do whatever i could to make her learning easier, faster, deeper, ” she said. “i knew she was going to be taking the sats, and they say it will improve whatever you’re trying to do. ”
speaking by cellphone on the way to a lacrosse game, taylor explained, with a laugh, what it’s like: “in the beginning your head is sore. honestly, i had headaches after going there the first few times. it was kind of tedious and made my brain hurt. but i started getting better and better at it. it kind of became a competition for me to do better each time. ”
she’s now studying for the sat. “it used to take me an hour to memorize 20 words. now i can learn, like, 40 new words in 20 minutes. ”
others — a majority, according to learningrx — seek cognitive training in the hopes of remediating a learning disability .
of his brain training, he said, “i don’t know if it makes you smarter. but when you get to each new level on the math and reading tasks, it definitely builds up your self - confidence. ”
nick vecchiarello struggles with attention deficit disorder. “during middle school we had every kind of tutor known to man, ” said his mother, diane. “name it, we’ve done it” — stimulant medication, sessions with a psychologist. “he never liked anything to do with education. ” a brochure from learningrx showed up in the mail, and the scientific aura around the program impressed the vecchiarellos. they decided to spend $ 12, 000 for a year of visits, one to three times a week .
“it has been a financial strain, ” acknowledged nick’s father, richard, a fifth - grade teacher in nearby fair lawn. “yes, i think it’s made a change in nick. his grades are better. if it gives him a leg up on life, you can’t put a price on that. ” in september, after six months, nick and his parents decided he had made enough progress to stop his medication .
for all the glowing testimonials, there are postings to be found online from parents of children with learning disabilities, complaining about substantial fees and minimal benefit .
whether the results last beyond the blush of training — indeed, whether i. q. can truly be bolstered in a meaningful way — are questions on which serious scientists still disagree. studies have been published in recent years finding that intelligence can be improved through training, but not enough of them are of sufficient scientific quality to convince everyone in the field .
nick vecchiarello, 16, of glen ridge, n. j. , finds the patterns in a learningrx exercise .
one skeptic is douglas k. detterman, professor of psychology at case western reserve university and founding editor of the influential academic journal intelligence. his research would seem to offer reassurance to college - bound brain trainees, because he has found a close correlation between i. q. and sat scores. “all of these tests are pretty much the same thing, ” he said. “they measure general intelligence. ”
the catch, however, is that dr. detterman believes that cognitive training only makes people better at taking tests, without improving their underlying intelligence. dr. detterman said of brain training, “it’s probably not harmful. but i would tell parents: save your money. look at the studies the commercial services have done to support their results. you’ll find very poorly done studies, with no control groups and all kinds of problems. ”
executives at traditional tutoring and test - prep services tend to share dr. detterman’s view — perhaps not surprisingly, because some of the brain training programs pitch themselves in direct contrast to standard tutoring. (“brain training vs. tutoring, ” says the headline of a learningrx brochure. “is tutoring what your child really needs? ”) bror saxberg, chief learning officer of kaplan inc. , questions whether improving performance on an intelligence test will translate directly to improved grades and test scores .
still, a new and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that cognitive training can be effective, including that offered by commercial services .
he’s now conducting a follow - up study of college students in texas and, he said, sees even stronger gains when the training is offered one on one .
michael merzenich, who spent years conducting brain plasticity research in animals as a professor at the university of california, san francisco, started posit science to make the results of his research more widely available. “this is medicine, ” he insisted. “it is driving changes in the brain. ”
“i entered this work with some skepticism that just doing some computer work at home could help anybody, ” she said. “i thought we wouldn’t be able to move the needle on their cognitive abilities. and not everybody has been able to make gains. but i’ve had some kids who not only reported that they had very big changes in the classroom, but when we bring them back in the laboratory to do neuropsychological testing, we also see great changes. they show increases that would be highly unlikely to happen just by chance. ”
“we got positive results, but it was a very small study, ” she said. it involved just 26 children. even so, she said: “in general, i’m cautiously optimistic about the potential for cognitive training. i’m concerned that some of the studies out there have not had the rigor that ought to be there. but i think the potential is there. ”
at lumosity’s headquarters on the sixth floor of a rehabbed building in downtown san francisco, bicycles line a wall, the meeting room has foosball, and the intensely focused young employees tap at their computers in a sprawling room without cubicles. it could be mistaken for a satellite office of google. except, oh, wait a minute, that guy who won the american crossword puzzle tournament five times in a row? he actually quit google last year to work here .
“i looked around for a place that would get me closer to the kinds of games and puzzles i enjoy, ” said tyler hinman, who is now a software developer and game designer at lumosity. “but where crosswords and sudoku are intended to be a diversion, the games here give that same kind of reward, only they’re designed to improve your brain, your memory, your problem - solving skills. ”
not all the exercises offered by the commercial services carry the scientific pedigree of the n - back. some offered by learningrx exude an undeniable whiff of the theatrical, like having trainers shout and clap to help students learn to ignore distractions .
“largely my focus was on visual training, ” dr. gibson said. treating children with problems involving focusing or eye movement, he developed an interest in dyslexia and other learning disorders. “i realized i could help those who had eyes crossed, but i wasn’t helping very much with their academic performance, ” he said. “i started reading the literature about training abilities of every skill, not just visual, but auditory and memory and speed of processing. ”
dr. gibson is self - taught in the field of psychology; his confidence in his program, he said, comes from the gains students make on i. q. tests. trainers and franchise owners must be college graduates but need not have expertise — beyond the training given to them by learningrx. ms. duch and ms. maia, the montclair trainers, have b. a. ’s in psychology .
“this has been a process since 1986, ” dr. gibson said. “we have so systematized the program that the educational background of the trainers and franchise owners is not an issue. i don’t come from the perspective of an academic. we’re not part of duke university or harvard. we have to get results to justify the fees that we charge and get referrals. ”
back at the franchise in upper montclair, nathan veloric is trying to do his “speed numbers” exercise just a bit faster, in 45 seconds rather than 50, still without missing a single pair of numbers that add up to nine. four times in a row he goes down a list, each time missing just one of the pairs .
“o. k. , try it again, ” says ms. duch. “i know you’re getting tired. just give me two more tries. ” and again she starts the timer .
dan hurley is a neuroscience reporter writing a book on new research into intelligence .
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cogmed is a working memory and attention training program developed by torkel klingberg , a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the karolinska institutet of stockholm brain institute . 
cogmed is a working memory and attention training program developed by torkel klingberg, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the karolinska institutet of stockholm brain institute.
cogmed is a working memory and attention training program developed by torkel klingberg, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the karolinska institutet of stockholm brain institute.