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With 524 participants, the IMPACT study is the largest clinical trial ever to examine whether a specially designed, widely available

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Ed. Note: To coincide with Independence Day celebrations, we’re offering an educational 4 part series “Saluting our Soldiers.” We’re taking

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SAAGE™ Design Protocol

Navigating the cluttered world of “brain fitness”
Unique from other “brain training” approaches, Posit Science cognitive fitness programs are based upon a specific, data-driven understanding of the root causes of age-related cognitive decline. Incorporating the feedback of world-renowned neuroscientists and physicians, we have developed the SAAGE™ protocols that are included in the design of all Posit Science programs to directly improve fundamental brain function.

The acronym SAAGE™ stands for Speed, Accuracy, Adaptibility, Generalizability, and Engagement, but to be fully SAAGE™-compliant a program must follow the rigorous, specific requirements in each of these categories.

SAAGE	What to look for to effectively improve cognitive function	Why SAAGE is essential
SPEED S	A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that drives the brain to process information more quickly at the millisecond level—the speed of everyday life.	The aging brain slows down, becoming less able to keep up with the rapid pace of incoming information. It must relearn to take in this information at the speed of everyday life.
ACCURACY A	A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that continuously adapts to challenge the individual on a trial-by-trail and sesssion-by-session basis.	The aging brain processes information less accurately, leading to problems correctly classifying confusable inputs. Those inputs must be resolved correctly.
ADAPTIVITY A	A training program that continuously adapts to challenge the individual on a trial-by-trial and session-by-session basis.	Exercise challenge must be maintained at a precise level customized for an individual at each specific point in time in order to drive brain change.
GENERALIZABILITY G	A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that has specific design features, such as naturalistic stimuli types, to drive "real-world" improvements.	To be of real value to users, improvement on a training program must generalize to improvement in real-world activities so that they see changes in their everyday life, not just in the exercise task.
ENGAGEMENT E	A training program based on a rigorous set of scientifically verified compliance standards that engages and disengages attention, reward, and novelty systems several hundred times per training hour.	The brain systems that gate learning and memory—including acetylcholine, dopamine, and norepinephrine—gradually turn off with age. These systems must be re-engaged.

SAAGE-based programs do not teach people memory tricks, how to perform an exercise, or other ways to compensate for deterioration in cognitive function. Instead, they target the root causes of cognitive difficulties to generate widespread improvements in cognition. People who use SAAGE-based programs see the positive changes they experience extend to standardized cognitive assessments—tests that are widely used by doctors and scientists—not just on the training program itself.

The IMPACT Study
In the recent IMPACT study—the largest ever clinical trial of a widely available cognitive training program—an experimental group did the SAAGE™-compliant Posit Science Brain Fitness Program, while the control or “treatment-as-usual” group followed a program in which participants learned from and took quizzes about interactive, computer-based educational content that was similar to the Brain Fitness Program in novelty and intensity but was not SAAGE™-compliant.

Each group was assessed using a battery of well-known, standard cognitive tests and self-report questionnaires before and after they finished their respective course. The participants who used the SAAGE™-compliant Brain Fitness Program experienced significant improvements in memory, processing speed, and other cognitive functions, while those in the control group did not. This proves that simply using the brain for new learning does not have the same positive effect as using specially designed SAAGE™-compliant exercises. Other peer-reviewed, published studies have shown similar results.

The SAAGE™ protocol can help people navigate the increasingly cluttered world of “brain fitness” aids. People who are looking to improve their brains—or give advice to others on improving their brains—can feel confident that SAAGE™-compliant programs are designed to rigorous neuroscientific standards, and are proven effective.