Source: Kotaku
Recent study by British scientists found out that Brain Age and all those other 'mental training' games do nothing to help improve intelligence. As part of a nationwide study for a BBC television program, over 11,000 individuals used the "brain training" games for six weeks. Those in the study were up to the age of 60 years old and "trained" for at least ten minutes three times a week. Worth noting they didn't actually use the Brain Age software for DS, but a similar replacement.
According to the BBC, the games did not improve things like memory, concentration, planning skills or problem solving.
Ahem. You don't blame Nintendo's Brain Age games for not being able to improve intelligence, because it simply does not. Intelligence is gained by reading real books and stuff like that. I thought Kawashima's exercises were meant for, I dunno, keeping your brain active? It's like physical exercise, you keep your body fit, and that's all there is to it. Here, you just keep your brain fit. You're not going to gain telekinesis powers by playing Brain Age.
Also, the same exercises in Brain Age can also be found in books published by Dr. Kawashima himself, the ones in question being the Stroop Test and lots of maths problems. To solely bash the video games is a fallacy. Try to debate the entire point of his research while you're at it. Stupid.
Great post, thank you! Since we are on the topic of Brain Training, have you tried this recently released - free - BrainAgeTest iPhone app: http://www.revelmob.com/brain-age-test What's your mental age?
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