Research On Lumosity
As a part of the Human Cognition Project, Lumos Labs works with researchers from the top universities across the globe to test and improve the cognitive training exercises on Lumosity. This research is presented at scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed publications; we also communicate the results directly to our members via blog posts and e-mail newsletters. Several prominent research studies using Lumosity cognitive training are described below. In each of these studies, participants were tested before and after training on measures of cognitive performance, including tests of speed of processing, attention, memory, and fluid intelligence, among others. Each of the tests used in these studies is distinct from the training participants received. In other words, the studies show that Lumosity training generalizes beyond the games to enhance core cognitive functions that impact everyday life.
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Dr. Shelli Kesler and colleagues at Stanford University found improved cognitive performance and corresponding increases in brain activity in the pre-frontal cortex in survivors of childhood cancer following training with Lumosity. Participants who trained with Lumosity showed significantly improved processing speed, cognitive flexibility, verbal and visual declarative memory scores. This research was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Brain Injury.
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Dr. Anett Gyurak and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley investigated the effects of Lumosity training on emotion regulation. They found that following Lumosity training participants had significantly enhanced self-esteem relative to a control group that did not receive Lumosity training. In addition, the trained group had improved emotion regulation and reduced ruminative thinking. The researchers attributed the emotional benefits of Lumosity training to improvements in executive functioning -- the ability to mentally control thoughts and emotions. This research was presented at the Determinants of Executive Function and Dysfunction conference in 2010.
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Psychologist Maurice Finn and Skye McDonald from the University of New South Wales found that patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who trained with Lumosity improved their sustained attention relative to controls. MCI is considered a precursor condition to Alzheimer’s disease, and this is the first report of cognitive enhancement with training in this population. The work was presented at the 2010 Australian Association of Gerontology annual conference.
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In 2008, Dr. Susanne Jaeggi, Dr. Martin Buschkuehl and colleagues at the University of Michigan showed that cognitive training with a task called Dual N-Back enhanced fluid intelligence -- the ability to creatively solve new problems, and a critical component of IQ. This study involved healthy young adults -- mostly students at the university. After as little as eight hours of training, young adults who trained saw significant gains in fluid intelligence and working memory. We have worked with the Michigan group to include a version of their training program on Lumosity . In addition, we have created a game-like version of their task called Memory Lane . This work has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and in the Swiss Medical Weekly.
