The study was designed and conducted by clinical psychologist Maurice Finn, and involved 16 participants who completed 30 sessions of Lumosity training over the course of 8-10 weeks. Another group of participants served as controls and received regular treatment without cognitive training.

The assessment of transfer used in this study was Rapid Visual Presentation, a visual attention test from the Cambridge Automated Neuropyschological Test Battery (CANTAB). Finn’s evaluation of the results was promising:

“The results were very positive, with all participants recording significant improvements on all tasks they practiced during the training,” said Finn. “Importantly, the training also resulted in improvements on a task that participants had not practiced, that being fast, accurate performance on a measure of visual sustained attention. This is important as it means the brain has become more efficient at processing information.”

Mild cognitive impairment, which is associated with an increased risk of dementia, creates difficulties with recall, information processing, and planning. MCI is diagnosed when cognitive changes are more severe than expected in the normal course of aging.

These results are preliminary, and more research needs to be conducted to determine the full potential for using cognitive training as a treatment for mild cognitive impairment. This is a particularly encouraging result because researchers had previously questioned whether cognition could be improved in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Lumosity continues to research all the positive outcomes of training. Why not try some training today to see the results for yourself?

The chart below shows the average Brain Performance Index (BPI) for users as a function of the number of Lumosity games played, up to 1000 total games. BPI is Lumosity’s version of IQ — it measures your ability to handle the speed, memory, attention, problem solving, and flexibility challenges on Lumosity. On average, users who played at least 1000 games saw their BPIs more than double — the equivalent of moving from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile. Furthermore, this holds true for people of every age and starting ability. Everyone can improve with sufficient training!

As is often the case, however, looking at average curves obscures some individual differences. The above curves seem to indicate that every time you play a game, your performance will be a little bit better. Anyone who’s ever spent time trying to improve any ability — whether it be memory, a foreign language, or even dancing — knows that progress is not so smooth. There are often periods of seemingly little progress followed by abrupt breakthroughs of improved ability. Examination of many individual improvement curves reinforces this intuition. While average performance appears smooth, individual performance often appears to plateau and then rapidly improve.

This pattern of spikes and plateaus is apparent in my own BPI history. The chart below shows my BPI over the past 50 games:

As you can see, there are strings of many games where my BPI is stable or even declines. This is followed by rapid gains with performance stabilizing at a new plateau.

Neurologically, there are changes going on throughout this training period — however, these changes appear in behavior only intermittently. The reasons for this, at a neural level, are complex and somewhat poorly understood. It’s important to realize that these plateaus are perfectly normal. If you feel that you are stuck at a certain level, don’t give up! Your brain is working away at improving, even if it doesn’t translate into obvious gains immediately.

Keep training and working on your own BPI. You’ll improve a little bit day by day, even when you don’t notice the changes.

The Human Cognition Project makes it easy for neuroscience researchers to study the questions that advance their research in ways that have not been previously possible. The ease of use and engaging nature of the Lumosity programs means that people enjoy doing the training, making it easy to recruit and retain participants in university-based studies. It also means that the database of users worldwide is growing everyday, giving researchers a new venue for exploring cognition not previously available. With over 16 million members worldwide having played hundreds of millions of game, Lumosity has the largest database of human cognition ever assembled. Researchers are actively exploring this database to understand the determinants of cognitive performance and cognitive enhancement — all in an effort to make the world a smarter place.

The best part of the Human Cognition Project — it can directly benefit you, through the power of Lumosity cognitive training.

But in order to get optimal results from Lumosity training, we’re often faced with this question: what’s the best way to train in order to get the most out your time with Lumosity? The research and development team here at Lumos Labs has always focused intently on this question. As our research resources have become ever more sophisticated—we draw data from university-based cognitive training studies as well as our own database of over 15 million members—we’ve been able to discern a distinct pattern.

It’s clear that training on a regular basis yields maximum benefits. Our data shows that 97% of users who train for at least 10 hours improve their Brain Performance Index (BPI), but of these users, those who train for one 15-20 minute session every 1-2 days experience the largest gains for the same total training time. In other words, people who do a bunch of training all at once or who train sporadically derive fewer benefits for the same amount of time and energy invested.

In addition to being maximally efficient, training on a regular schedule is the best way to establish a routine. It’s easier to remember to do something when you do it every day rather than only once in a while. Personally, I like to train 5 days a week and take the weekends off. I find this pattern is easy to remember and stick to, and I feel I can continue to improve over time when training at this intensity. The key is to choose a schedule that is right for you: one that provides regular training for maximum benefits and that you will be able to stick to over the long haul.

Why not start on the path towards better brain health with a few games right now? Don’t forget that Lumosity also offers daily training reminders to help keep our users on track. Good luck, and happy training!

The research, conducted by Lumos Labs scientists, examined the degree to which various Lumosity cognitive training exercises transferred to improvements on standard assessments of cognitive ability. The assessments, modeled on those widely used in the clinical and research communities, were different from the training exercises and were designed to measure the efficiency of participants’ core cognitive abilities. In a general linear model analysis including data from over 1,400 individuals, cognitive training with Lumosity was associated with statistically significant improvements on all 3 untrained assessments of cognitive performance included in this analysis. Researchers found that individuals who did more training saw greater improvements on the assessments. These relationships held even when initial performance level and practice effects on tests were controlled for.

These results were based on Lumosity’s database of cognitive training and assessment performance. With over 300 million results amassed from the activities of almost 6 million monthly users, Lumosity currently has the world’s largest database of human cognitive performance.

Lumos Labs researchers, however, weren’t content to simply sit on their findings: they took the analysis a step further. They were able to predict which exercises would have the greatest impact on which outcome measures. These new findings will help Lumos Labs improve Lumosity and make it even more efficient at achieving desired cognitive benefits. In short, the data that we collect from you, the user, is going straight back to improve your Lumosity experience. Thanks for helping us gather important data about how well Lumosity works—training today will improve your mind, but also improve our ability to help you.

Who wouldn’t like to be smarter? Neuroscientists once believed that this was impossible — the accepted truth was that you were born with a set level of intelligence, and that was that. Fortunately, we now know better. Empowering information about the brain’s ability to change in response to the right challenges and stimuli have come to light. Just this year, 3 articles showing the benefits of cognitive training with Lumosity were published in peer-reviewed journals. These articles demonstrate that Lumosity training can engage your innate neuroplasticity and help make you smarter.

In the first article by Dr. Shelli Kesler, a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine, cancer survivors used Lumosity to help them recover from cancer-related cognitive deficits. Participants showed significantly improved performance on tests of processing speed, cognitive flexibility, and memory. In addition, Dr. Kesler used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visually demonstrate enhanced activation in the prefrontal cortex of participants’ brains.

In a second article by Dr. Kesler’s group, participants with Turner’s Syndrome — a genetic disorder known to affect math ability — trained with a special Lumosity Math Tutor course. Not only did these participants improve in core math skills, but they also demonstrated improvements in basic cognitive abilities such as executive function. Critically, brain areas crucial to math processes showed enhanced activation, as shown by fMRI analysis.

And this summer, researchers from Lumos Labs published the first ever study demonstrating that normal, healthy adults could use online cognitive training to enhance memory and attention. Published in the Mensa Research Journal, this study showed that participants who did Lumosity training 20 minutes a day for 5 weeks saw ~10% improvements in working memory and ~20% improvements in visual attention. Control participants who did not train did not improve.

Improvements in each study were seen on tests of transfer of training — tasks that participants had never seen during training. In other words, people improved such core underlying cognitive abilities as processing speed, attention, and working memory. These core abilities are the building blocks of intelligence; improving them means you really are getting smarter, not just better at doing one task. This new science is great news for all of us — we have the power to make ourselves smarter.

Cognitive training can enhance working memory and the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, according to a study published recently in the journal Science. Researchers based out of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden compared cognitive performance and dopamine activation in training participants, who did 5 weeks of cognitive training, and control participants, who did not receive training. Compared to pre-training levels, training participants saw both improved performance on a test of working memory and increased levels of dopamine release. No such changes were seen in the control group.

This result shows that cognitive training with exercises similar to those on Lumosity can change the way the brain works at a fundamental chemical level. Indeed, we’ve known for several years that the right kind of cognitive training can enhance brain functions like working memory.

But what makes this study novel is the implication that dopamine plays a role in these important brain changes. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter — a chemical used for communication between brain cells — that is critical for many brain functions, and particularly for signalling reward. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter released when the brain signals, “good job, do that again!” The brain releases dopamine in response to all kinds of pleasurable experiences — such as eating a delicious meal — and is critical for learning.

It’s very exciting to see that cognitive training can enhance the functioning of this crucial neurochemical. Do some Lumosity training today and you may experience the effects for yourself.

Participants in the study were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a training intervention group or a waitlist control group. Intervention group participants did Lumosity training 20 minutes a day for 5 weeks. At the end of the period, they saw significant improvements on tests of visual attention and working memory (20% and 10%, respectively). Control participants, on the other hand, did not undergo Lumosity training and did not improve.

This study goes above and beyond others of its kind in building a persuasive case for cognitive training for the general population. Firstly, the experiment used a control group to demonstrate that these improvements were not based on practice effects. Furthermore, the standard assessments of attention and memory used to test the transfer of training effects were distinct from the tasks used for training–thus indicating that cognitive benefits went beyond game-specific abilities. Cognitive improvements were transferable to core cognitive abilities.

The implications of this study are clear and compelling: Lumosity training can improve core underlying mental abilities, abilities that transfer to myriad aspects of our everyday lives. We engage visual attention to focus on our environment, whether it be the webpage we’re reading or the cars on the road. We use working memory for a wide variety of tasks, from remembering the grocery list to solving a complex problem at work. Enhancing these abilities can make you more efficient at the things you do all the time.

Training with Lumosity can enhance cognitive function and change the way the brain processes math, according to a study published this week in the journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Dr. Shelli Kesler, Assistant Professor at Stanford University Medical School, led an investigation into the effects of training with Lumosity’s Math Tutor course. The new course, specially designed in collaboration with Dr. Kesler, comprises various exercises targeted to improve speed of processing, cognitive flexibility, and number sense. Dr. Kesler and colleagues found that the course can improve cognition and math skills in girls with Turner’s syndrome — a genetic disorder known to disrupt cognitive functioning and produce deficits in math ability.

Participants exercised with Lumosity Math Tutor for 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week, over the course of 6 weeks. They were tested before and after training with both performance-based evaluations and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scanning techniques. Participants saw clinically significant improvements in processing speed, cognitive flexibility, visual attention, and math skills. Additionally, brain scans taken during a math task performed before and after training showed changes in neural activity in brain areas related to executive cognitive control and the dynamic control of attention*. These changes were consistent with increased math skills expertise and enhanced cognitive control in these participants.

*Panel above: areas in red represent increased activity; areas in blue represent decreased activity.

This is just one of the latest Human Cognition Project findings that shows how Lumosity training can functionally change the brain. Dedicated training is capable of making the brain more effective at the everyday tasks — like basic math —  that we regularly rely on. Consider signing up for a training course or two today!

The Human Cognition Project makes it easy for neuroscience researchers to study the questions that advance their research in ways that have not been previously possible. The ease of use and engaging nature of the Lumosity programs means that people enjoy doing the training, making it easy to recruit and retain participants in university-based studies. It also means that the database of users worldwide is growing everyday, giving researchers a new venue for exploring cognition not previously available. With over 14 million members worldwide having played hundreds of millions of game, Lumosity has the largest database of human cognition ever assembled. Researchers are actively exploring this database to understand the determinants of cognitive performance and cognitive enhancement — all in an effort to make the world a smarter place.

The best part of the Human Cognition Project — it can directly benefit you, through the power of Lumosity cognitive training.

Would you like to join the Human Cognition Project?

If you’re a researcher interested in participating in this groundbreaking endeavor, please email research@lumoslabs.com.

Learn more about the science behind Lumosity here.