Some evidence that certain memory exercises make people smarter has stimulated the rise of online brain-training programs such as Lumosity. But at least one type of brain training may not work as advertised, a new study finds.
As expected, practicing improved volunteers' performance on tests of memory and the ability to locate items quickly in busy scenes, say psychologist Thomas Redick of Indiana University Purdue University Columbus and his colleagues. That improvement did not, however, translate into higher scores on tests of intelligence and multitasking, the researchers report in the May Journal of Experimental Psychology General.
Redick's investigation is part of a growing scientific debate about brain training, which is promoted by some companies as having a variety of mental benefits. Some researchers say that extensive instruction and training on memory tasks can indeed fortify reasoning and problem solving. Others are doubtful that active memory sessions may boost their working memory, the ability to keep in mind and compare several pieces of information.
Redick's team studied 73 young adults, aged 18 to 30, divided into three groups. One group completed 20 training sessions over about six weeks on a task aimed at boosting working memory, the ability to keep in mind and compare several pieces of information.
A second group in the new study received 20 training sessions aimed at improving the ability to pick out novel shapes from large arrays (阵列) of similar-looking shapes. This group provided a comparison to see whether the effects of memory training differed from training on a different mental skill. A third group received no training.
In the two training groups, volunteers improved with practice on the task they were learning but showed no increases in tests of intelligence and of the total amount of information that could be held in mind.
Participants in the new study didn't receive enough instruction and practice before memory sessions to benefit from the intervention (介入), Jaeggi says. Redick's group also gave volunteers limited time to complete a series of shortened versions of standard intelligence tests, which probably limited any potential for scoring increases, she asserts.
But until larger studies with longer follow-ups are completed, Redick cautions against assuming that memory training smartens people up.
