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As one of the broadest studies in the field, the COGITO-study proves the efficiency of brain training. The study was conducted by Prof. Dr. Ulman Lindenberger, Florian Schmiedek and Dr. Martin Lövdén of the Max Planck Institute in cooperation with the Center for Research on Education and Human Development of the German Institute for International Educational Research, the Department of Psychology of the Lund University and the Humboldt University Berlin in 2010.

Study
The study’s focus was set on the question whether cognitive capacities could be improved through brain training and how the participants’ age correlates. In the assessment of the study, special attention was paid to the transfer effect, hence whether an improvement of cognitive capacities could go beyond the trained exercises to everyday challenges. In contrast to the critiqued study conducted by the BBC and the University of Cambridge’s Medical Research Council questioning the potency of brain jogging, the COGITO-study adapted the training modules to individual performances and ran for a time span of 100 days.

Composition
The COGITO-study was conducted with 101 younger adults aged 20-31 and 103 older adults aged 65-80. The scope of the study was set to 100 brain training sessions consisting of one-hour intervals. Participants were divided to one training- and one no-training control group. They were further divided to clusters of 6 persons per lab room, one per computer. The exercises were conducted every 2-3 days. The training and no-training control group corresponded in age, initial cognitive status, and education.

Each practice session of the training group consisted of 12 different tasks:
 * 6 for perceptual speed
 * 3 for the working memory
 * 3 for the episodic memory

The tasks were carried out with individualized levels of difficulty depending on each person’s progress.

Assessment
The result was clear and demonstrated an increase of cognitive capacities through brain training. While the pre-test differences between the training and the control group were marginal, the post-test COGITO-assessment was the following: The scores of the training group were significantly higher in all categories, namely perceptual speed, working memory and episodic memory leading to the following conclusion:

Intense and long-term brain training or brain jogging results in a significant increase of cognitive capacities including a strong transfer effect. The improvement of mental abilities can thus be observed in everyday life. As expected, the results of the study show a higher efficiency of brain training in earlier stages of adulthood rather than in later ones. Yet, surprisingly the working memory demonstrated similar improvements in both age groups.

Market for Brain Training
The potential of cognitive improvement has sparked the growth of numerous companies devoted to digital health. One of the most senior and best-known ones is the US brand Lumosity. While also active in Europe, the current market leader is NeuroNation from Germany. While the effectiveness of brain training has often been questioned, the companies increasingly point to the scientific successes such as Susanne Jaegi’s Dual N-back study as well as the results of the COGITO study and point to the possible improvement of the working memory through personalized brain training.

Literature
Brehmer, Y., Li, S.-C., Müller, V., von Oertzen, T., & Lindenberger U. (2007): Memory plasticity across the lifespan: uncovering children’s latent potential. Developmental Psychology 43, 465-478.

Lindenberger, U., Lövén, M. & Schmiedek, F. (2010): ‘Hundred days of cognitive training enhance broad cognitive abilities in adulthood: findings from the COGITO study’, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, July 13, 2010.

Shing, Y., L., Werkle-Bergner, M., Li, S.-C. & Lindenberger, U. (2008): ‘Associate and strategic components of episodic memory: a life-span dissociation. Journal of Experimental Psychology General 137, 495-513.