French Brain Training Survey Misses The Point? News

Nintendo and Dr. Kawashima, or more specifically their partnership on the unit-shifting Dr. Kawashima: Brain Training, has come under scientific criticism during the weekend.

Following news of positive reports from a team of researchers based in Scotland last year, The Times is reporting on a French survey that suggests the title brings no benefits, and could actually make your memory worse!

The survey tested 67 ten-year olds split into four different groups.  The first two groups used Brain Training for seven weeks, the third did puzzles with pen-and-paper, while the fourth did nothing other than attend school as normal.  The children were set a variety of tasks before and after the duration of the test.  Researchers found no significant improvements in memory tests for those using Brain Training. 

The team did find that 19% performed better in mathematical tests, however this was offset by the fact that the children using pen-an-paper saw the same improvement, while those just attending school did 18% better.  In terms of the memory tests the pen-and-paper group saw a 33% improvement; however those using Brain Training were 17% worse.  Finally, in terms of logic tests those using Brain Training and pen-and-paper both saw a 10% improvement, but those who had no specific training beyond school recorded a 20% improvement.

Now forgive us if we're wrong as it's been a considerable time since we last studied the intricacies of the human brain, but surely the survey based on groups of 10-year olds is missing the point.  Isn't Brain Training specifically targeted towards those of a slightly older age? 

Would the survey's results change, we're not entirely sure, but the survey's lead scientist Professor Lieury dismisses this notion, claiming "That's the age where you have the best chance of improvement," before claiming, "If it doesn't work on children, it won't work on adults."

So the motto of the story... stay in school kids!