Lumosity effectiveness

[displace]

I'm curious if luminosity actually improves brain function or just makes you better at their games?

Does it seem to help you away from the game (actual recall/focus/etc) if you use it? If so, when did you notice a difference?

Are there independent studies supporting it?

Are there other/better programs? Should I just take fake IQ tests for fun but less interaction?

I'm on my phone and can't do much research about it and I'm curious.

[SJ.]

I read an article online that said it just makes you better at their games.  I don't have time right now to find it.  Sorry!  

[Guest]

I am not sure. I have played them, but, unsurprisingly, I like the games that I am best at! One game I played to try and make my "brain better" was a game where different characters come, introduce themselves, and order food from your stand. This is to help recognize people and put faces to names. I am somewhat face-blind, so I was hoping it would help. The game was fairly fun, but I think if you could get to a level that might improve your skill, you probably won't enjoy the game at that point.

 

There was one game my son (who has great orientation/spatial skills) loved, but I despised! I am NOT good at directional orientation, and the game was impossible for me.

 

I don't know if there are other or better programs. Oh, one other thing: I don't like the ipad ap much. I like playing on the site. It seems like the ipad ap limits you to just a few games, although I might just be doing it wrong.

[MistiDelaney]

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/21/brain-training-online-neuroscience-elizabeth-day

 

Probably not. 

[displace]

Good article. I would think logic games might do something but the few times I did the luminosity app it seems like it was just fast speed reaction. I need to check out the website too.

 

Playing video games may be even better according to the article? Awesome!

[Jean in Newcastle]

One note - the site is called Lumosity, not Luminosity.  http://www.md-health.com/Does-Lumosity-Work.html

 

I don't know if it works or not.  Our family has been doing it at least 3x a week, and I've been doing it daily now for over a month.  It was recommended to us by our neuro-psychologist.  The free version is not exactly the same as the pay version and is a "lighter" version, from what we've seen.  I am improving on skills.  I took a brain test (aka neurocognitive assessment) at the start.  I still have 23 days before I take another test (which is different from the daily games) to see if there is any improvement.  

[abba12]

We did some research into this. Their 'skill scores' are completely false. EVERYONE appears to improve. You know why? Because some of their games are leveled. What this means is, the first time you play the game you begin at level 1 and only earn, for example, 100 points. (I forget their scales). But when you play the game after 10 instances you might be allowed to start on, say, level 3 and earn 300 points. Accessing level 3 wasn't an option the first time you played because of the way it was set up so you couldn't possibly access 300 points, yet on their chart it is called an improvement. 

 

So yes, everyone's points improve and increase over time. The point increases have nothing to do with your improvement outside the game. Neither do the original point scores. 

 

As for their help? I have seen research to suggest it can actually help, but I've also seen some to debunk it. The fact is, we don't know anywhere near enough about how the brain works to know. We know that a skill or muscle used is one which is strengthened, and using those skills in real life definitely improves them (if you memorize a lot, your memory will be better, if you are a taxi driver, your directional skills will be better) but whether playing a game has the same effect as doing a skill in real life is questionable. My family played with it for awhile, but when it claimed that my husband, who has to use post it notes to remember anything and still gets lost in places he knows well, had a better memory than me, a visually impaired person who absolutely relies on my memory every day for simple navigation and involvement in activities, and who can mentally map just about anywhere I've been a few times from memory, including slopes/steps/etc, and has never needed a to-do list or journal for memory, ever. Yeah...  That was because I only played the memory games occasionally while he worked on them frequently so his score displayed higher.

 

The games may help, so if you want to play them go ahead. Just don't put any stock in their scoring system.

[displace]

One note - the site is called Lumosity, not Luminosity.  http://www.md-health.com/Does-Lumosity-Work.html

 

 

 

Thanks for this correction.  I wasn't sure how to spell it.  :blushing:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thanks for this correction.  I wasn't sure how to spell it.  :blushing:

I pointed it out because I kept misspelling it at first.  

[PeacefulChaos]

Meh.

Totally anecdotal, but I did it daily (free version) and never noticed a difference in anything.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

OK - I just finished my morning 15 minutes of Lumosity and kept this thread in mind!  I've never done the free version but my kids have and they both say that the free version is lame compared to the paid version.  (Again - since I haven't done both I don't know if I would agree with them or not.)  Some things you definitely can get from doing math games or crossword puzzles etc.  But my kids enjoy the game format and do this much more happily.  Some things you could probably get from other computer games.  

 

This morning I:

 

did a game where I had to keep track of up to 9 objects (fish).  It was hard!  And really worked on my concentration.  Since the game is specifically designed to work on "divided attention", I'd say that it did its job.  

 

did a game where I had to process information quickly to see if it matched or not.  I'm sure I could do that game somewhere else including in a card game.

 

did a game where I had to ignore irrelevant data and focus only on the relevant.  It was hard!  

 

did a game where I had to come up with words within a certain time frame.  Yes, there are lots of games like Bananagrams were I could do similar or at least adapt it to do similar but I don't think it was a waste of time to do it  here.  The purpose was word recall.

 

did a game where I had to do math without pressure and then under pressure.  I'm sure there are other places I could do that too but I don't think it was a waste of time.  The specific purpose was not to work on math skills but on processing while under pressure.  

 

I have absolutely no idea if this will actually help my brain function but I don't think it hurts.  I do like seeing my child with LDs laugh with glee when she's started to master some games involving memory etc.  I don't get that response with other schoolwork.  Part of this is because she's competing against herself only.  When she plays games with others she can never really compete and just ends up feeling worse about herself and stops trying.