Can you really train your brain? There are many companies now promoting “brain training” technologies, particularly for the treatment of attention deficit disorder or ADD. Not surprisingly, most of them have little or no research publications to support their spectacular claims. Is brain training technology really a legitimate alternative to medication? Buyer beware, these high tech tools for improving brain function are often just high tech marketing.

But Cogmed Working Memory Training caught my attention – no pun intended. The Cogmed program, originally developed in Sweden by a team of neuroscience researchers at the Karolinska Institute, is research-validated with more than 1,400 children and adults treated in Europe to date. Their program, showing 80% of patients have measurable improvements in brain function after treatment, is now coming to the U.S.

What is working memory training? Working memory is the brain process that allows us to hold information “online” for brief periods of time. In daily life, working memory helps us to solve problems, remember instructions, and focus attention. Think of Cogmed’s Working Memory Training program as a fancy video game that self advances to the user’s skill level while improving focus, impulse control, problem solving skills, and academic performance. Training working memory in the brain involves practice and repetition, analogous to building muscles in your body by lifting heavier and heavier weights. Cogmed clients train for approximately 30 min a day, 5 days per week for 5 weeks.

Research articles on Cogmed’s Working Memory Training program have been published in reputable journals including The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2005. All publications can be downloaded from Cogmed’s website www.Cogmed.com. Additionally several prominent academic institutions in the U.S- Notre Dame, Harvard, New York University- are now conducting similar studies to validate the research done in Europe.

Promising aspects of Cogmed’s Working Memory Training Program are:

• The program is research validated
• Easy to use, client can do the training in the comfort of their own home
• Non-invasive, no gel, no wires - just a computer needed.
• It’s internet based so a clinician can review results with clients by phone
• Training can be done with or without medication
• Other brain functions show improvement, not just working memory and attention

We are considering offering Cogmed’s exciting new technology to our clients, but we want to get your input first. Please respond to our website blog at www.addhealthandwellness.com and let us know what you think!

Last 5 posts by Dr. Theresa Cerulli

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 8th, 2007 at 10:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Findings, Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.