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Brain Fitness Program
The game: Drawing on research from leading neuroscientists, the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program 2.0 consists of progressively trickier listening exercises. The program comes with headphones — essential for these audio games since you need to distinguish nearly identical sounds (bu and du, for example, or doe and toe). You can adjust the headphones for volume. Suggested playtime: At least 15 minutes a day; for maximum benefit, the company recommends that you complete 40 hours in three months.
The claim: Retraining the brain to hear information will boost memory storage and recall.
The evidence: In a company-sponsored study of 182 older people, nearly all (93 percent) of those who followed the program for eight weeks increased their mental-processing speed. Earlier research showed that the program improves memory by an average of 10 years.
Play-by-play: Brain Fitness feels like strength training — slow and highly focused. As you work on distinguishing sounds, a graphic on the bottom half of the screen gradually develops into a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge or Paris or Easter Island or other scenic spot.
Score: * * * * 1/2
Somehow, the combination of ear training and soothing graphics makes me want to keep going. I like the clear explanations of each task's benefits and the page that charts my advancement. I'm left believing that my brain is getting into shape, a payoff that makes the high cost of this game seem justifiable.
Cost: $395 for a DVD; $495 for two users (positscience.com)
Keep Your Brain Alive
The game: This book, by Duke University neurobiology professor Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., and Manning Rubin, outlines 83 "neurobic" exercises — brain aerobics that use the five senses in unusual ways. Examples: brushing your teeth with your nondominant hand or turning the photographs on your desk upside down. Suggested playtime: Daily (though the program doesn't take much extra time since you are simply doing the same everyday things in a different way).
The claim: Neurobics stimulate nerve cells in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, the areas of the brain that are responsible for memory and abstract thought.
The evidence: The book cites research from several universities showing that active brain cells produce higher levels of chemicals called neurotrophins — a sort of Miracle-Gro that encourages brain cells to create more nerve-to-nerve connections.
Play-by-play: I brush my teeth as a southpaw — it's slow and messy but fun. Inspired, I wash my face with my left hand and promptly drop the washcloth. Next, I flip the photos on my desk and find myself looking at the images with fresh eyes. (Why is my husband dangling upside down in the sky?)
Score: * * * *
Jolted out of autopilot mode, I feel invigorated. I could do neurobics every day.
Cost: $9 (Workman Publishing; workman.com)
