Learning to Remember What You Thought You Knew

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  • Cogmed Newsletter #7, June 2008
    posted on July 01, 2008 08:53:37 am
    - New research tackles skepticism on brain training
    - Science based training casts broader net
    - California boy finds confidence through Cogmed
    - SharpBrains.com proves useful resource on brain fitness
  • Boston Globe, June 30, 2008
    posted on July 01, 2008 08:50:22 am
    An article in the Boston Globe examines how growing research is challenging long held assumptions about attention and our ability to improve it. The piece highlights leading studies – including Dr. Tokel Klingberg’s breakthrough research on Cogmed Working Memory Training - that are providing new insights into how kids and adults focus in an increasingly distracted world.
  • The Psychologist, May 2008
    posted on July 01, 2008 08:49:46 am
    In a recent lecture at the annual conference of The British Psychological Society, Susan E. Gathercole, PhD, examines the impact of working memory problems on grade school and high school students. She provides a compelling profile of a student struggling with working memory who is often mislabeled as inattentive and ultimately bound for academic failure. Focusing on the classroom, Gathercole details how Cogmed Working Memory Training spells new hope for the 10 percent of students who experience working memory problems.
  • Hamilton Spectator, April 25, 2008
    posted on May 29, 2008 11:53:02 am
    An article on Cogmed training at Dr. Steve Barker's practice in Hamilton, Canada, and on the emergence of cognitive training sofware as a new industry. The story features the case of 10-year-old Samantha and the remarkable improvements in her school life after completing Cogmed training.
  • Reuters, March 12, 2008
    posted on March 20, 2008 08:20:26 am
    A March 12 article on the budding brain fitness market leads with the story of Alex George, a young boy from Ventura County, CA who dramatically improved his academic performance after completing Cogmed Working Memory Training. Cogmed's CEO, Jonas Jendi comments in the article as well, stressing the importance of sound peer-reviewed research in validating brain training products for all ages. The story ran in numerous publications, including Scientific American and the Hamilton Spectator.

Groundbreaking Research Reported by the National Academy of Science:

Improving Intelligence through Working Memory training

 

On April 28, 2008, the National Academy of Science released research which indicates that working memory training actually improves a person's intellectual abilities.  The article, entitled, "Improving fluid intelligence with working memory training" outlines the following:

    1. Fluid reasoning is generally the ability to reason and to solve new problems independently of previously acquired knowledge.
    2. Fluid reasoning is considered one of the most important factors in learning.
    3. Fluid reasoning is closely related to professional and educational success, especially in complex and demanding environments.
    4.  Previously, no training has been shown to improve fluid reasoning, aside from directly "teaching the test" (and this training does not transfer to real life functioning).
    5.  Research now indicates that training on a demanding working memory task is shown to improve individuals' fluid reasoning (both for low level and high level individuals).
    6.  The training is dosage-dependent. The extent of gain in intelligence depends on the amount of training -- the more training, the more improvement in fluid reasoning.
 
    Additionally, Cogmed has recent research which shows that Cogmed working memory training improves working memory for normal adults.  These two factors combined have important implications:
    a) Cogmed working memory training should improve individual's working memory and intellectual functioning;
    b) Going through Cogmed's training should help students learn better, develop better problem-solving abilities, and should improve their performance on tests (both classroom tests and nationally standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT and MCAT).
 

 

 

Cogmed Updates
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  • Reuters, March 12, 2008
    posted on March 20, 2008 08:20:26 am
    A March 12 article on the budding brain fitness market leads with the story of Alex George, a young boy from Ventura County, CA who dramatically improved his academic performance after completing Cogmed Working Memory Training. Cogmed's CEO, Jonas Jendi comments in the article as well, stressing the importance of sound peer-reviewed research in validating brain training products for all ages. The story ran in numerous publications, including Scientific American and the Hamilton Spectator.
  • New Scientist, Jan 12, 2008
    posted on February 05, 2008 10:42:06 pm
    A January article in New Scientist examines the brain fitness trend, evaluating the increasing number of programs popping up on the market. The article features Cogmed founder, Dr. Torkel Klingberg, who cautions people to be scientific when approaching cognitive training. "Brain training is where internal medicine was in the 19th century. We need to find the specific conditions under which it works," said Klingberg, who points to working memory training as one successful application.
  • Parents, teachers and doctors are discovering the importance of executive function
    posted on February 05, 2008 10:56:02 pm
    Is your kid smarter than his grades indicate?

    For years parents, teachers and even kids have been puzzled by grades that dona??t seem to match up to intelligence.

    Today, prompted by recent scientific insights into the human brain, many parents and teachers are discovering that some childrena??even very intelligent childrena??are underachieving in school because they have problems with executive function.

    Executive what?

    Executive function is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of essential brain functions that together allow us to prioritize activities, sustain attention and mentally manipulate information.
  • Identifying and addressing executive function problems in your child
    posted on February 05, 2008 10:56:38 pm
    A Q&A with Dr. Tarnow

    Jay Tarnow, M.D., is the founder and director of the Tarnow Center for Self Management based in Houston. He has been treating children and adults with attention deficits and learning disorders for more than 30 years.

    How do executive function problems affect children?
    The development of executive functioning occurs throughout a childa??s life. The aspects of dysfunction that you see in ADHD and kids with attention problems are that these kids as adolescents and adults have problems with prioritizing, organizing, and being able to keep track of their things. They lose things. They have difficulty with time management. They have difficulty in controlling and managing their emotions.
  • Cogmed unveils working memory training program for adults - Cogmed QM
    posted on February 05, 2008 10:57:19 pm
    Attention issues are a lifelong condition for many people. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that almost 50 percent of children with ADHD still have symptoms that require treatment in adulthood. For those with milder, but still significant attention challenges, the problems also often persist, going from school problems to professional obstacles.

    Cogmed Working Memory Training has been used by adults for several years with great success. And research shows that adults of all ages can improve their working memory capacity by an average 20 percent through the Cogmed program.