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I'm sorry, can you clarify your point? What is the problem with the idea that difficult tasks (both mental and physical) help to prevent atrophy in a certain pa
by smhost 10y ago
I'm sorry, can you clarify your point? What is the problem with the idea that difficult tasks (both mental and physical) help to prevent atrophy in a certain part of the brain?
- Baeocystin 10y agoBecause although it sounds like something that would make sense, the science does not actually support that conclusion. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-brain-training-work/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-brain-training-work/ The tl;dr is that brain training makes you better at that one particular task. Whether that carries over to anything else is unknown. It is considered a useful technique only insofar as that it is easy to do, and we don't have a lot of other options to try anyway. But actual, measured benefits are difficult to find. I am not against it as a concept. But much more research needs to be done to see if it has any actual value beyond the simple joy of doing such things.
- dangoor 10y agoThe original article actually mentions Sudoku and the simple brain training apps and says that they don't think they're effective because they don't push your brain into difficult territory.
- smhost 10y agoThe essay you linked seems to be a non-sequitur. Berrett suggests in the original article that performing a difficult task increases activity in the cingulate cortex, which might help to prevent aging. The essay you linked merely says that neuropsychological training probably doesn't make people generally smarter. Becoming smarter and preventing aging are two different goals.
- Baeocystin 10y agoLook at the paper linked in the overview that I posted. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0040588 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....
- smhost 10y agoI did look at that paper. Here is a quote from that paper: > Based on this review, all three approaches to computerized training – classic cognitive training tasks, neuropsychological software, and video games – appear to hold promise for improving cognitive abilities in cognitively normal, community-dwelling older adults who have a higher risk of cognitive decline as they age.
- Baeocystin 10y agoYes. And note the sample sizes given a sentence further down. The two best had an n of 12 and 8, respectively. That's why they said 'appears'. It's suggestive, but the amount of available, good-quality data is surprisingly small.
- smhost 10y agoThose are numbers of studies. It's a meta-analysis.
- Baeocystin 10y agoThen I am apparently mistaken. Thank you for pointing it out.
- EGreg 10y agoSo you are using a paper of small sample size, which doesn't even contradict the conclusion, as your main evidence to disprove a conclusion you disagree with? That seems like a logical fallacy.
- Baeocystin 10y agoI was arguing neither for nor against it. My original conclusion wasn't that it didn't work, it was that the amount of actual research done was surprisingly small, and so that we didn't actually know what was being proclaimed as a done deal. It turns out I was wrong, and that there has been more research than I thought.
- ktRolster 10y agohttps://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-brain-training-work/* https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/does-brain-training-work/* That website just shows that brain-training programs like Lumosity* don't work very well. Thy are too simple and narrow in their focus.
- DiThi 10y agoOp's article suggests that there's only "brain exercise" when it's difficult to the point one feels bad or even painful. Very different from "simple joy" as you describe. I'm not saying that there are studies supporting that (I'm not sure), but there's a clear difference we should be aware of before discarding the idea.
- scotty79 10y agoThat's an idea that sounds good. Sounds like something people might want to be true. So any scientist should be extra careful in checking if observations sufficiently support this idea. After all, science is just a process mainly for avoiding lying to yourself about reality.