‘Brain training’ cuts dementia risk in healthy adults by 48pc, says study that contradicts sceptics

A computerised brain training programme cut the risk of dementia among healthy people by 48 per cent, US researchers said on Sunday in reporting an analysis of the results of a 10-year study.

The preliminary findings, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, are the first to show that any kind of intervention could delay the development of dementia in normal, healthy adults.

To date, cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have largely rejected evidence that computer-based cognitive-training software or “brain games” have any effect on cognitive function.

The new findings would be quite promising if they hold up through peer review and publication in a scientific journal, said Dr John King, an expert in social research at the US National Institute of Ageing. The institute is part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study.

King worked on the original clinical trial on which the new analysis is based. The study, known as Active, examined the effects of cognitive training programmes on 2,785 healthy older adults.

Participants were divided into three groups. One got training for memory improvement, one for reasoning and one with computerised training in speed-of-processing.