Early Results: European Study Combines Exercise and Brain Training for Memory
I’ve just gotten back from a very exciting scientific meeting in Greece (yes, the life of a brain scientist occasionally has its perks!) I had the opportunity to visit our collaborators in the Long-Lasting Memories consortium. This research group, with members in Greece, Spain, Austria, France, and Cyprus, is working to develop a combined brain & physical fitness program, based on the notion that combining these two forms of exercise should yield synergistic benefits for brain health and to help keep people stay sharp and live independently as they age.
The brain fitness component is our auditory Brain Fitness Program, adapted for use in those European languages. The physical fitness component is custom-built exer-games for the Nintendo Wii, involving balance and movement. These components are integrated into a single platform that allows users to log in, perform brain and physical exercise, and track their progress.
This group has just shared results from their first studies at the Society for Applied Neuroscience. They saw strong improvements in core measures of memory, attention, and processing speed – all areas crucial to maintaining mental sharpness. The study participants also reported enjoying and looking forward to the combined program, which is crucial for their long-term use.
These are early results, and the Long-Lasting Memories consortium is launching the next phase of this research this summer. This will enroll over 150 participants across those five countries, and also investigate the effects of brain training and physical training independently and in combination, to sort out how they interact.
At Posit Science, we’re proud and excited to be helping to share the benefits of brain fitness around the world! And, as you might have guessed, we have lots of volunteers from the company to attend future meetings with this international group…
You can learn more about the Long-Lasting Memories group at http://www.longlastingmemories.eu/, and more about the Society for Applied Neuroscience meeting at http://www.san2011.org/
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Posted: Benefits of Brain Fitness, Brain exercise, Exercise, Memory, Memory, Neuroscience, Physical exercise, Processing speed, Research studies
Posit Science's corporate blog is the place where our employees share their thoughts about Posit Science and its products, brain fitness, breakthroughs in neuroscience, and any other topic they find interesting and relevant. 
June 7th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I’m going to investigate these products. Watching KQED, Channel 9 – from a comfortable place in Woodside,CA
Want to contact Dr. James Dilley in Psychiatry at UCSF for appointment. Met on plane from SF to Atlanta a year or so ago.
Dr. Jonathan Kaplan in Menlo Park, my doctor, is retiring in mid-June, now in other words.
Dr. Michael Merson is on the fund drive for KQED, actually taped in 2008, it said.