Brain games don’t work, say experts. Or do they…?

Brain training games have sold in untold millions around the world. Perhaps you've succumbed, believing that a few minutes a day doing simple sums and other semi-cerebral challenges will give your grey matter a much-needed workout. You may well have seen your calculated ‘brain age' reduce from that of a doddering pensioner to a sprightly Ph.D student too.


However researchers at France's Rennes University and a panel of experts assembled by Which? are having none of it. The French academics even produced a study of ten year-old children which, they claim, shows that brain training games provide no more benefits in terms of improving mental speed or acuity than, say, playing scrabble or doing the crossword. Meanwhile their UK counterparts, drawn from three leading UK universities, rejected the brain-boosting claims made by manufacturers as being ‘flawed’. Does that mean that titles such as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training, Lumosity and Mindfit are all a big con?

Well, that depends. Nintendo, for their part, say they never made any scientifically-proven claims for their software. They probably never did either, although you'd be forgiven for believing otherwise. In any case aren’t such games supposed to be F.U.N first and foremost - so what if there are no deeper or long-lasting physiological benefits?

That view is at least semi-shared by Martyn Hocking, Editor of Which? "If people enjoy using these games, then they should continue to do so - that's a no-brainer. But if people are under the illusion that these devices are scientifically proven to keep their minds in shape, they need to think again," He says.

Meanwhile Michael Scanlon, a neuroscientist working for Lumosity.com, defends his company’s research standards, stating that the test subjects of their clinical trials showed a marked improvement in memory and attention after repeated usage of the software.


It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other, then. But what's your viewpoint or experience of such games? Does the French study simply confirm what you already know, or have the mental gymnastics really helped to sharpen you up? Speak your brains below...