How To Boost Your Bandwidth — Your Brain’s Bandwidth!

By Joe Hardy, PhD

A recent study from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, shows that working memory exercises not only enhance cognitive performance, but also strengthen connections in regions of the brain critical for memory. The study, based out of the laboratory of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, had participants train on working memory tasks similar to those on Lumosity.com. Participants were tested before and after training to observe how training affected their mental abilities and brain structures.

Using a cutting-edge technique for brain imaging known as fractional anisotropy, the researchers discovered that the neural fiber tracts — known as white matter – that connect key memory areas became thicker after cognitive training. This transformation represents an exciting example of neuroplasticity. Why? Because the thicker the brain’s white matter, the more information it can quickly move around. To put it another way, improving these neural tracks is sort of like boosting the bandwidth of your brain.

Kawashima’s team found that the areas most strongly affected by the training were the intraparietal sulcus and the corpus collosum, both critical information pathways for memory. The researchers also found that the more frequently the participants trained, the greater the increases in white matter thickness.

This new finding further supports the extensive body of evidence showing that the right kind of cognitive training — like that on Lumosity.com — can enhance memory, attention and other cognitive areas. By enhancing these functions through training, you, too, can feel more confident as you carry out the tasks of everyday life.