Brain Age doesn’t work, claim researchers

Designer called out as a “dream merchant.”

Countless consumers have sharpened their synapses playing Nintendo’s Brain Age games. But according to a new study out of France, they would have done better just sharpening a pencil instead.

As reported by the Times Online, researchers at the University of Rennes, Brittany, claim that the popular DS brain-training game not only failed to improve the cognitive abilities of ten-year-old test subjects, but actually worsened their memory.

Alain Lieury, research lead and professor of cognitive psychology, was not amused.

“The Nintendo DS is a technological jewel. As a game it’s fine,” he said. “But it is charlatanism to claim that it is a scientific test.”

The study split 67 ten-year-olds into four groups: two played Brain Age games, one did pencil-and-paper puzzles, and the fourth was a control group that didn’t alter their typical school activities. The groups took logic tests before and after the seven-week course. While all three groups showed nearly identical improvements in math scores, the Brain Age group actually performed 17% worse in memorization, compared to a 33% improvement in the pencil and paper group and a 20% improvement in the control group.

To really nail home his point, Professor Lieury takes the game’s developer, Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, to task, noting “…there were few positive effects and they were weak. Dr. Kawashima is one of a long list of dream merchants.”

Some researchers disagree with the professor’s disdain for Brain Age, however. Last September, a Scottish study of over 600 students found that playing Brain Age games significantly boosted math scores and improved concentration.