Brain Exercise Computer Games can Improve Cognitive Functions

The brain exercise game “Brain Age” can improve executive functions and processing speed, even with short usage, according to a study published in the journal Plos ONE.This recent study compared the cognitive functions for 32 elderly test subjects for a four week period, before and after they played the brain training games “Brain Age” or “Tetris,” for 15 minutes per day, at least five days a week.

After the end of the four week period, researchers learned that those who played Brain Age showed a bit of improvement in their executive functions, and processing speeds, but their other cognitive functions were not impacted at all.

Rui Nouchi of Tohoku University in Japan, where the Brain Game was made, feels that short training time used in the study confirms that one can sharpen and improve their cognitive functions relatively quickly.

Results from past studies have confirmed that brain exercise games are just as beneficial for children as they are for adults. In a January 2011 study conducted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, researchers showed that video brain games enhance abstract reasoning and problem solving skills.

This was revealed when they gathered 62 middle school children, and selected 32 of them to play brain training computer games for a month, for 15 minutes each day. All 62 children were then tested, and it was shown that those who played the brain training games showed noticeable improvement in their problem solving and abstract reasoning abilities.