Study: In Short Term, Brain Trainers Don't Work

Nintendo's Brain Training and games of its kind have no meaningful impact on cognition nor do they help fight Alzheimer's, says a new UK study claiming to be the largest yet conducted on the matter. The over 11,000 participants in the six-week trial did not show any change against key benchmarks before and after they played, and any improvements in the players' game skills were attributable to practice, according to a report in the UK Telegraph. The study's control group simply surfed the internet for the same amount of time, and at the study's conclusion, the results for these participants were equal to the Brain Training players. Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge led the study. "The results are clear," said the unit's assistant director, Dr. Adrian Owen. "Statistically, there are no significant differences between the improvements seen in participants who played our brain training games, and those who just went on the internet for the same length of time." However, Clive Ballard, director of the UK's Alzheimer’s Society, did note: "The next question is whether brain training can help maintain your brain as you get older." Commenting on the study, Nintendo asserts it never explicitly promised that the games would improve brain health. "Nintendo does not make any claims that Brain Training or More Brain Training are scientifically proven to improve cognitive function."