The Brain Fitness Programme takes a distinctive approach to brain fitness. In addition to exercising memory directly, our programs target key roots of cognitive function – the brain’s ability to take in information from the senses quickly and accurately.
The Brain Fitness Programme focuses on the auditory system of the brain. It speeds up and sharpens the ability to take in speech, so that the brain can hear and remember more details. This ability is essential to overall fitness, because so much of what we want to react to and remember comes in through speech, whether it’s a request from a friend or a funny joke at the dinner table. When people are able to grasp what they hear more quickly – and remember it accurately later – they often feel sharper, more engaged, and more connected to the people that matter to them.
The Brain Fitness Programme features six easy to use, computer-based exercises that improve the auditory system in several ways, these include:
Speeding up auditory processing. This helps you keep up with rapid-fire speech you might hear when participating in an important meeting, talking to your grandchildren, or listening to a lecture.
Clarifying sound discrimination. Hearing each sound in a word with greater clarity lets you store clearer, more detailed memories. Later, you can recall these memories more quickly and accurately, helping you be more fluid in conversation.
Sharpening sound precision. Training your brain to hear similar sounds (such as d and t ) with greater precision helps you encode memories more accurately. This comes in handy when you want to remember a new acquaintance’s name or keep up with conversation in a crowded place.
Improving sound sequencing. Improving the brain’s ability to recall what you hear in order and remember strings of information long enough to use them can help you stay on top of daily tasks.
Strengthening auditory working memory. Enhancing your auditory working memory enables you to better remember information you need for short periods of time, such as automated phone menu’s or other instructions.
Enhancing narrative memory. Much of what we hear comes in from streams of information people tell us. Remembering these narratives more clearly can help you feel more confident and capable. For example, recalling more of what is said at meetings can help you do a better job at work or while volunteering.
Each of the six Brain Fitness Programme exercises has a primary cognitive focus, but they are designed to work together to help you strengthen your cognitive abilities.
| Exercise |
Cognitive focus |
Game conecept |
| High or Low? |
Auditory Processing Speed |
Identify sounds that “sweep” up or down |
| Tell Us Apart |
Discriminating Sounds |
Choose between two similar syllables |
| Match It! |
Sound precision |
Click “cards” to match sounds together |
| Sound Replay |
Sound Sequencing |
Listen to a series of syllables and play them back in order |
| Listen and Do |
Working Memory |
Listen to a series of instructions, then click characters and locations in the correct order. |
| Story Teller |
Narrative Memory |
Listen to a story segment and answer questions. |
Large studies conducted by researchers at Mayo Clinic, the University of Southern California, and other institutions show that the Brain Fitness Programme
- Increases auditory processing speed by an average of 131%
- Improves memory by an equivalent of 10 years on average
- Benefits everyday life – 3 out of 4 program users report positive improvements.
The Brain Fitness Programme includes several features to help users understand and individualise their experience.
Challenge meters and progress screens enable users to track their performance.
Video segments and information screens explain the science behind the exercises and the benefits to expect from them.
Exercises continually adapt to individual performance, so that each person is always training at the right level for him or her.
The program is easy to use, even for individuals with no computer experience
Our Brain fitness programmes have been tested in randomized controlled clinical trials –the gold standard of scientists worldwide. The development team led by Dr Mike Merzenich together with a global team of more than 40 university based researchers have committed to more studies than any other Brain fitness products available today.
The Brain Fitness programmes meet rigorous design protocols that leverage our neuroscientific experience in brain plasticity. Brain plasticity describes the capacity of the brain to rewire itself – for better or for worse – at any age. The programmes don’t just drill memory or teach compensatory tricks instead they target the root causes of cognitive decline – the ability of the brain to process information from the senses (the eyes and the ears) – to rewire the brain for better function.