CyberSightings

In the Spotlight

“Brain training” is an emerging area of research that aims at designing tools that enhance the cognitive abilities of healthy individuals or reduce impairments related to age. The rationale of brain training is based on neuroplasticity, which is the innate capability of the brain of “rewiring” itself in response to experience. Neuroplasticity mechanisms are involved in processes such as learning, memory, and recovery from brain injuries. The concept of brain plasticity, however, is not new; this notion was addressed by philosopher and psychologist William James as early as 1887. He stated, “organic matter, especially nervous tissue, seems endowed with a very extraordinary degree of plasticity” (W. James, “The Laws of Habit,” The Popular Science Monthly, Feb 1887, p. 434). However, it wasn't until the second decade of the 20th century that the first empirical evidence of the existence of brain plasticity was provided, thanks to the pioneering work of Karl Lashley, who was able to show changes in the neural pathways of rhesus monkeys. A further milestone toward the demonstration of brain plasticity was set in the early 1960s by D. H. Hubel and T. N. Wiesel, who identified a developmental critical period for environment-influenced receptive field plasticity in the visual pathway. They demonstrated that occluding one eye of a kitten led to a reduction in the number of cortical neurons responding to that eye, but only if the occlusion occurred during an early critical period. A few years later, Rosenzweig and Bennett (1972) discovered that stimulated rats had a thicker cortex, heavier frontal lobe, and a thicker cerebral cortex. They placed rats into two different environments: enriched (characterized by many toys to play with) and deprived (no toys to play with). When studied postmortem, the rats brains showed that the stimulating environment had increased the thickness of the cortex. Significant evidence of experience-dependent plasticity in humans continued to be produced in the 1970s and after from scientists including Michael Merzenich, Paul Bach-y-Rita, Jon Kaas, William Greenough, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, among others.

The discovery of experience-dependent neuroplasticity has introduced the possibility of designing tools and exercises to “train the brain.” In recent years, a number of programs have been proposed that promise improvements in memory, attention, concentration, and other neurocognitive functions. Although the actual effectiveness of these programs in enhancing mental performance remains controversial, there is some evidence of the preventative potential of cognitive training for neurodegenerative disorders. A recently published report (2010) funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that among all the strategies that might delay or prevent cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (including diet and dietary supplements, physical exercise, social engagement, and other leisure activities), cognitive training is one of the most protective factors.

If cognitive training shows some promising potential, can interactive technologies be used to enhance the effectiveness of this strategy further? Existing computerized-based brain training programs include interactive videogames, virtual reality tools, neurofeedback tools, brain–computer interfaces, and mobile applications. Most of these products have been designed to improve memory, concentration, visual and spatial skills, verbal recall, and executive functions of healthy or brain-injured individuals. Advocates of computerized-based brain training programs suggest some potential advantages of this approach over conventional exercises. Technology-based brain training exercises can be customized and personalized according to the specific needs of the trainee. The use of computerized training provides users with rich and immediate feedback on the cognitive task at hand, and monitors improvements in performance over time in a more automatized way. Further, presenting the cognitive exercises in the form of interactive games provides the trainee with more motivation, satisfaction, and enjoyment; for example, trainees can share their performance and improvements over their social network and compete with peers. Finally, the increasing diffusion of ubiquitous technologies such as mobile devices and smartphones allows users to do training exercises wherever and whenever they want to.

Although there is a strong rationale for the use of technology in brain training, the actual effectiveness of this approach has not yet been clearly assessed. Unfortunately, there are very few controlled studies that have compared the effectiveness of this approach with conventional cognitive training or treatment, with mixed results. Moreover, most of these studies do not address the central issue of whether the ameliorations in performance gained from training transfer to other untrained tasks or lead to any general improvement in the level of cognitive functioning. Further, a potential limitation of technology-based brain training is that some users (e.g., seniors) may not find it easy to use computerized tools. Although these issues are complex, the potential of using interactive technologies to support cognitive training is interesting and deserves to be investigated in more depth by cyberpsychology researchers and practitioners.

Internet Corner

This issue provides a list of web resources related to brain training and cognitive enhancement.

• Sharpbrains (www.sharpbrains.com/) provides plenty of scientific and technical resources concerning the basic of brain training/fitness and an overview of the marketplace for cognitive health.

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