The researchers found that older adults who completed a specific speed-training exercise were significantly less likely to develop dementia. Others aren’t so sure.
There’s no shortage of online games and apps that promise to protect brain health and sharpen cognitive function. But despite bold claims, little research has actually proved they work.
A new study, however, suggests that one specific type of brain-training exercise may meaningfully reduce the risk of developing dementia, Science Alert reported.
The research, a randomized controlled trial—considered the gold standard in medical studies—began enrolling participants in the late 1990s. Scientists recruited more than 2,800 adults aged 65 and older and randomly assigned them to one of three types of cognitive training: speed, memory, or reasoning. A separate group served as a control.
Participants completed hourlong training sessions twice a week for five weeks. One year and three years later, they returned for four additional booster sessions. In total, each participant received fewer than 24 hours of training.
Researchers then tracked participants over the long term, conducting follow-ups at five, 10, and most recently 20 years after the study began. At the two-decade mark, Medicare records revealed that people who completed the speed-training program and booster sessions had a 25 percent lower risk of developing dementia. The other two forms of training—memory and reasoning—showed no statistically significant effect.
Speed training involved a simple computer exercise in which participants clicked on cars and road signs as they appeared in different areas of a screen. Researchers don’t yet know why this particular task appeared beneficial while the others did not. But the effect was clear enough to stand out.
Speed training was “disproportionately beneficial,” Marilyn Albert, a co-author of the study from Johns Hopkins University, said, according to Science Alert. “For the first time, this is a gold-standard study that’s given us an idea of what we can do to reduce risk for developing dementia.”
Outside experts, however, urge caution. While the headline figure points to a 25 percent reduction in dementia risk, some researchers say the true impact may be more modest.
Rachel Richardson, a researcher at the Cochrane Collaboration who was not involved in the study, noted that the margin of error suggests the real effect could range anywhere from a 41 percent reduction to as little as five percent, she told the Science Media Centre. She also pointed out that the study excluded people with conditions such as poor vision or hearing, meaning the study misses much of the general population.
Baptiste Leurent, a medical statistics expert at University College London, expressed similar reservations. The study, he said, has “substantial limitations,” according to Science Alert. Although one subgroup produced a significant result, he added, “this single finding is not generally regarded as strong enough evidence to demonstrate the intervention’s effectiveness.”
Even the study’s authors acknowledge that more research is needed. Albert said future work should focus on understanding the mechanism behind speed training’s apparent benefits, which could help scientists design more effective cognitive exercises, Science Alert reported. And importantly, she emphasized that the findings apply only to this specific program, not to the many commercial brain-training games currently on the market.
Still, the potential implications are significant. Dementia affects about 57 million people worldwide and is the seventh leading cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization. Albert noted that if dementia rates in the U.S. population could be reduced by 25 percent, it could save an estimated $100 billion in patient care costs.
This post originally appeared at inc.com.
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