Oct 27, 2010 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Namco Networks, a publisher and developer of interactive content for mass-market casual gamers, announced the availability of More Brain Exercise in Apple's App Store, for iPhone and iPad.
According to a release, Dr. Kawashima, the mastermind behind the original brain training game, is back with 15 new puzzlers. While currently also available on mobile, five unique mini-games are substituted in the iOS version. Scientifically proven to stimulate the brain, this game exercises different regions of the mind to strengthen one's memory, logic, visual perception and more.
"Gaming is the ultimate form of entertainment, but being able to actually increase your brain size while doing so is even better," said Carlson Choi, vice president of marketing at Namco Networks. "It's a great learning tool for both kids and adults, even on the go." From iOS to console, Namco Bandai Games America, will continue to exercise both body and mind in Q1 2011 with Body and Brain Connection exclusively for Kinect for Xbox 360, controller-free games and entertainment. Players of all ages must think fast and act even faster as they answer math, logic, reflex, memory, and physical related questions using the full-motion capabilities of the Kinect sensor. Up to four friends can compete in fun and engaging activities as they strive for the fittest brain. A daily tracker makes sure that players are up-to-date with their current progress as they continue to stimulate both mind and body.
Namco Networks America, a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, is a publisher and developer for interactive content across multiple
“Work smarter, not harder” is a common aphorism used by those in constant pursuit of productivity. Generally, it cautions you to avoid hyper-focusing on the work itself, and to make conscious choices about exactly how you are working.
Of course, focusing on both your work and your approach can be a difficult game of mental juggling. Often, you have to simply “be smarter” if you want to “work smarter”. Becoming smarter is not quick and easy, but it’s not impossible either. In fact, a lot of new studies are suggesting that you’re not stuck with the brain that you were born with, and that you can develop your brain much like you’d develop your muscles; with increasingly harder workouts.
Which is exactly what the Lumosity Brain Trainer app is designed for. It’s been downloaded over 4.8 million times in less than 8 months, and was #1 in the app store at one point.
I had the privilege of interviewing Joe Hardy PhD, Senior Director of Research and Development Lumos Labs, about their Brain Trainer and the process of designing apps that actually make you smarter.
Peter North: Your “Brain Trainer” exercises are surprisingly fun. How do you meet the need for intense mental exercise while still keeping the training game-like and enjoyable?
Joe Hardy: All the exercises begin with the principles of neuroscience and brain plasticity. We know what it takes to make an experience that changes the brain in positive ways. We know that it needs to create the right level of challenge — not too easy and not too hard — and adapt to the user as they improve. The task needs to challenge the brain in novel ways, keeping it off balance, in much the same way that muscle confusion is used in physical exercise. Once we have a core task identified, we have an excellent team of game designers that know how to make it fun.
Peter North: What kind of short-term and long-term results can a Brain Trainer user expect?
Joe Hardy: In the short term, many people report experiencing feeling more alert. Many people talk about an improved ability to remember small details. These effects are backed up by controlled trials where objective tests show improvements in attention and working memory following brain training. Over time, being cognitively active builds up what neuroscientists call cognitive reserve. This reserve protects you against memory losses associated with aging.
Peter North: How do you distinguish between increased mental fitness and simply getting better at the exercises themselves?
Joe Hardy: There are two ways to distinguish between just getting better at the exercises and really improving the brain. The first method involves controlled trials with objective tests of cognitive performance. In these kinds of studies, some participants get training [with Lumosity], while others do not. Both groups are assessed for attention, memory, and other aspects of cognition before and after training. In studies of Lumosity training, participants doing training consistently get better at objective tests of cognitive performance that were not part of the training while control subjects do not.
Of course, while it’s great to measure objective performance, we care most about what happens in their real life. Often, we learn the most by simply talking to users and asking what they get out of it. Generally, we use a portfolio of different approaches to understand what brain training can and cannot do.
Peter North: How do you develop a Brain Training course to improve a very specific mental capacity such as memory or attention?
Joe Hardy: There are two basic approaches that we take. The first approach involves taking tasks that we know challenge the targeted area and turning these tasks into exercises. Sometimes, we know a task targets working memory, for example, because behavioral studies have shown that this is the limiting resource for that task.
The second approach involves using brain imaging data to identify a particular task that activates certain parts of the brain. Once we’ve identified the central task, we put our game designers to work.
Peter North: Have there been any independent studies testing the effectiveness of your Brain Training exercises?
Joe Hardy: We work with dozens of university-based researchers all over the world. We typically make our software available to them for free for research purposes. They do whatever studies they see fit. This is a great way to leverage the technology to learn about the benefits and limitations of brain training. You can read about most of these efforts in our white paper The Science Behind Lumosity.
In addition, we’ve done our own studies that show positive effects of Lumosity training for improving attention, memory, and executive function.
After trying the Brain Trainer myself for several weeks, I did feel increased memory, focus and mental clarity. My performance in the Brain Trainer exercises steadily improved at the same pace as my self-reported mental fitness improvements.
The training itself requires a remarkable amount of concentration. In some exercises, you’re asked to identify the direction of the center bird in a large flock. Others ask you to ignore the word “YELLOW,” and successfully identify that it’s written in red ink. Regardless of the details of each exercise, the common thread is intense mental focus, the kind you might not get all day.
The Brain Trainer app is free, but the service itself is subscription-based. The training is highly accessible, offered both on their website and all Apple mobile devices. They have “basic training” to start with, and then courses that specialize in whatever area you’d like to improve. Typical training sessions last about five minutes, and they might be the best five minutes of your day if you ask your synapses.
(Image courtesy of dierk schaefer under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)
Peter is a technology professional living in Washington DC. After studying Spanish and working with various programming languages, he has returned to writing in his native language, English. Peter is always finding enjoyment and satisfaction in his work, often in the strangest places. With 67 percent of Americans overweight, and food addiction a mounting problem, it may be time for neuroscience to weigh in. A method based on brain science launches a new website today, with free courses and membership and special rates on training for those who struggle with food addiction. Previously primarily available through health professionals, the new website makes these tools far more accessible to the public, with specials available through Sunday, October 18th.
According to Laurel Mellin, founder of emotional brain training (EBT), the current approach to overweight may make things worse, "In the last 10 years, we've learned a lot about emotional circuitry. One theory is that the drive to overeat is caused primarily by a circuit formed during stress. The brain encodes a crossed wire the emotional brain, the unconscious memory system. Once encoded, it is easily triggered again, causing a chemical cascade which fuels unstoppable drives for sugary, fatty foods."
"More research is needed, but if the theory is supported by formal study, this may be a way to address the obesity epidemic that is based on neuroscience.
According to Mellin, the breakthrough came about two years ago, when she and collaborators realized that the during a full-blown stress response, the brain forms false associations, and that crossed wire could be at the roots of addiction."
"We all deal with stress on a daily basis, and stress is not bad. In fact, the brain needs a certain amount of stress, but when stress is overwhelming, such as early in life with the prefrontal cortex has yet to fully develop or during trauma, such as a lost relationship, it easily forms these false associations. The most disturbing part of this theory is that to rewire those circuits takes easing stress and using tools of positive emotional plasticity. Dieting ramps up stress, so that more people enter into a vicious cycle of forcing themselves to go against the grain of their survival drives."
EBT emotional brain training (EBT) was developed at the University of California San Francisco. According to Laurel Mellin, who is an associate professor of family and community medicine and pediatrics at the university, "Our preliminary testing in a clinical population is encouraging. The most common response to learning about these circuits is excitement. It's not their fault. It's just a wire and they can learn rather simple techniques to rewire it."
Mellin, a New York Times bestselling author, released a book on EBT Wired for Joy, which describes the recent innovations in the method, including rewiring the "survival drive" for overeating, distancing, merging or staying stuck in a negative mood. It was released by Hay House in June. The method was first developed to treat pediatric obesity, and is widely used in the United States and in the Canadian Health System.
EBT is available nationwide through health professionals who are certified in the method. They facilitate introductory and advanced courses in EBT through groups and coaching. Many offer on site introductions to the method. Certification in the method for health professionals is available through the non-profit organization, the Institute for Health Solutions. According to Mellin, "Health professionals encounter remarkable levels of stress, and suffer from the same stress-fueled circuits that the rest of the nation faces. Certification in the method comes with a bonus: you can't teach EBT unless you have mastered the skills yourself, so the healers who become certified in the method and conduct groups and coaching have the added benefit of healing themselves."
For a free introductory online course in EBT delivered through a video e-course with the method's founder, and a one-month membership to social networking and web-based tools, visit www.ebt.org today though October 18th, 2010. Also, a launch special of courses plus a conference on rewiring survival circuits for food addition is available through Sunday for a reduced fee. For more information, email kelly(at)ebt(dot)org.
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Acclaimed, National Stress Program Makes Proven Training Widely Available Through Launch ... - PRWeb
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 27, 2010 The national epidemic of stress is showing up in rising rates of anxiety, obesity, depression and sleep disturbances. Most of us reach for a pill, a cookie, a drink or the credit cards, but neuroscience is offering another solution: harness the brain's natural pathways to move through stress and back to feeling balanced and positive.
That's the approach of emotional brain training (http://www.ebt.org), a method developed at the University of California San Francisco and the Institute for Health Solutions. Until now the method has been available mainly through certified health professionals. A new EBT.ORG website launches today, making the tools more accessible to the public. A free introductory video course with the method's founder, Laurel Mellin, and free membership in the website with automated coaching and social networking will be available through October 31, 2010 to celebrate the launch.
According to Mellin, an associate professor of family and community medicine at UCSF where she and her colleagues developed EBT, "In the last 5 years, the stress levels have become more than most people using conventional tools such as relaxation and exercise can bear. We now know that recent discoveries in neuroscience offer some solutions to this stress, which health professionals say is the root cause of 80 percent of health problems.”
There are 5 levels of stress in the brain and for each level there is a different natural process back to the state of balance. EBT has codified those pathways into 5 tools that anyone can learn. You simply check in throughout the day, identify your stress level, and use the tool that gives you the easiest, quickest way to return your brain to a state of balance. And when life triggers extreme emotions, EBT gives you a safety net to manage your life and eliminate destructive habits. With time, most stress symptoms – overeating, anxiety, depression – fade, and you will have a new level of control over your life.
Mellin, a New York Times best-selling author, just released a book on EBT, Wired for Joy (Hay House, June 2010), which describes the recent innovations in the method, including rewiring the "survival drive" for overeating, distancing, merging or staying stuck in a negative mood. EBT is available nationwide through health professionals who are certified in the method. They facilitate introductory and advanced courses in EBT through groups and coaching. Many offer on-site introductions to the method. Certification in the method for health professionals is available through the non-profit Institute for Health Solutions (http://www.ebt.org).
For a free introductory online course in EBT delivered through a video e-course with the method's founder, and a one-month membership to social networking and web-based tools, visit http://www.ebt.org and register. A special seminar on food addiction is also available, with training in the use of the EBT tools to rewire circuits that fuel drives for sugary, fatty foods. Both specials are available on the EBT website through October 31, 2010.
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