Programs that enhance cognitive functions
Of course you know that so many folks are now in the business of selling you on the idea that their programs (generally computer programs) can change your cognitive life. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that often targets the elderly (who think their memory and thinking is slipping) as well as the young who want to develop a super effective brain. Imagine playing computer games designed by neuroscientists who describe their wares as helping you to enhance your memory, attention, problem solving skills while you are having fun with their training modules. It sounds wonderful and even fun.
Most cognitive neuroscientists agree that the current crop of available commercial cognitive tools are presented with lots of hype but are based on little to no data on their effectiveness. In addition the value of these packages of promises defies a logic, which would suggest that they are unlikely to trump all sorts of challenging and interesting experiences that are part of being alive. Why should a module that purports to help make you more attentive be more effective than engaging in interesting challenging activities like learning another language, or tutoring kids, or solving challenging problems, or keeping a well honed diary? No doubt, for those who spend much of their waking day sitting watching television, attention tasks, or memory modules that are part of cognitive programs can provide a cognitive oasis in a desert of inactivity.
If you have nothing better to do with your time and money you might take a look at what some of the brain enhancement companies have to offer. There are quite a few of them including the ‘popular’ Luminosity, Cogmed, Brain games, Cognifit, My Brain Solutions, Your Brain Coach, Mind Habits NeuroNation, Brain Spa and more with even catchier names.
A year ago Patricia Marx wrote an article for the New Yorker (July 29, 2013). The title of her article is ‘Mentally Fit’ and subtitled Workouts at the brain gym. In her article she describes her visit and experiences with all sorts of folks who represent companies in the cognitive enhancement business. Her descriptions of what she experienced were often amusing but in the end she didn’t feel any smarter, more attentive, better at solving problems. She filled out all sorts of questionnaires in the course of her self-help training but concluded that while she could sometimes say that her mood brightened and her sleep improved she also felt she had become a bigger liar in respond to the questionnaires that followed her bouts of training. She certainly did not notice any new cognitive abilities and was ‘slightly less troubled by the size of her hippocampus’.
I would suggest that when you take a close look at the array of companies that purport to improve your cognition that you save your money and engage in lives adventures.
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