MODERN THINKING
Does Brain Training Work?
By Jenny Brockis
W
ouldn’t it be good if it did?
The idea of using brain
training as a means to
boost our mental capacities, keep
us sharp and one step ahead of the
pack is highly appealing.
“Darling, where did you put my Lycra
shorts? - I’m just off to the brain
gym”
No wonder the brain training
industry has burgeoned into a billion
dollar behemoth as we log onto our
online brain training games on the
way to work, in between meetings,
in meetings...
If you were hoping that brain
training would make you smarter
and boost your intelligence, sorry it
doesn’t. No amount of brain training
is going to make you smarter than
the average bear and most of the
games available at the lower end
of the market while fun are for the
most part just entertainment.
The holy grail of
cognitive advantage.
Training the brain implies we can
drive our neurobiology to our
advantage through our choice
of focus and practice in those
functions we want to get better
at. But as any novice violin player
knows, starting out to learn a new
skill can be awkward, clumsy (and
sometimes excruciating to the
ears), though with practice and
repetition we get better and faster.
Avoiding getting stuck in a brain rut
means trying something new, and
14 ModernBusiness
January 2016
not just one thing either. A cognitive
smorgasbord of delight is ideal
coupled with continuing challenge.
In the workplace we can do this by
choosing to step up to learn new
skills while learning something
new outside of work broadens our
capacity to think more creatively
and widen our lens of perspective.
Brain training can
work when applied
appropriately.
Building our capacity for complex
reasoning and decision-making
is highly desirable, however the
lure of using brain training to
boost performance without first
addressing the modern workplace
maladies of silo mentality, bullying,
and micromanagement is akin to
expecting a course of antibiotics to
work against a viral infection.
These include commercial and
military pilots using cognitive
training for specific transferable
skills. Older drivers using a
structured brain-training program
stay driving safer for longer.
Medical studies are evaluating
the benefit of cognitive training
following stroke, brain injury
or in the recovery from some
There are now a number of wellsubstantiated studies that show
cognitive training programs do
improve cognitive function in
certain groups.