5 replies to this topic

[~ prometheus ~]

this topic was dealt with earlier. we have our own imminst brainbuilder training program running at www.mybraintrainer.com
i've spent a bit of time working on the exercises, but given that they're elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) i have reservations about how they'll improve cognitive ability.
at the very most i think it may improve attentional abilities because of the reaction time aspect of the tasks, but i don't think that this is anything that one couldn't derive from meditation or even just playing computer games.

there's an article at braintrainer discussing an alleged study looking at the use of their tasks and improvements in IQ. i don't want to sound nasty but there's something fishy about it all because the man who did the study allegedly passed away, and so the webmaster doesn't have the full-length paper available for viewing. the site and community there is great, but if the tasks are worthless then you're just wasting your time.

www.brainbuilder.com have better tasks i think, they focus more upon digit and letter span (both visual and auditory presentation) whose benefits make a lot more theoretical sense. these tasks have higher correlations with g, and load heavily upon working memory capacity. they also have a free 7 day membership, i recommend you all check it out.

in other words, there was no point to this thread, just aimless rambling

[randyh]

I just signed up for braintrainer last week and I agree that the exercises don't seem like they'll increase general IQ. They seem like they'll improve your ablility to make basic logical decisions VERY quickly but that's about it. This would seem to translate to things like driving, sports, and video games pretty well but not much else.

I would argue that these exercises would be better than video games at increasing quick thinking because they isolate the challenge and repeat it so many times. I would compare it to doing curls to increase the size of my biceps instead of swimming. Sure swimming might make them bigger but not as quickly or effectively as the curls. That said, I'm sure there are things that video games will teach you that those exercises won't.

Thanks for the reference to brainbuilder. I'll definitely check it out.

-r

[systemicanomaly]

I've employed both the cognitve exercises of BrainBuilder as well as the ECTs of MyBrainTrainer (and ThinkFast). The former primarily emphasives digit-span memory exercises while the MBT & TF exercises offer a bit more variety. The MBT/TF exercises put more emphasis on reaction time in simple & complex decision-making scenarios thru the use of elementary cognitive tasks.

While there is a bit of overlap, the approaches of BrainBuilder & MBT are quite different and complement each other quite well. My favorite BrainBuilder exercises, the 2 visual focus exercises, are not unlike the ECT-type exercises of MBT. On the other hand, MBT has some non-RT memory exercises even tho' the bulk of their exercises are RT-based (reaction time) ECTs. If memory buiding is your primary focus, then perhaps you would prefer to put more of your time into the BB exercises (I've been using this product since 1999). However, my own preference leans more toward MBT/TF exercises (which I've been using for more than 10 yrs) becuz of the emphasis on RT & rapid decision making... which yields greater brain processing speed.

The reaction time ECTs of MBT do, indeed, have a direct & obvious bearing on athletic performance. I've been playing RT-type video games since the mid-'70s but, in my experience, the ECT (RT) exercises do a much more thorough job of improving both athletic & cognitive function.

Another important use of the MBT & TF exercises is that it can be employed as an excellent barometer for your present alertness & your overall cognitive function. In this capacity, it can be an extremely useful tool for measuring the effectiveness of brain nutrition & nootropics.

Studies have also indicated that quick reflexes (fast reaction times) & IQ appear to have a strong correlation to longevity:

American Psychological Society article
LiveScience article (Health SciTech)

It may not seem readily apparent that the ECT exercises employed by MBT & TF have an appreciable effect on cognitive function. However, studies done by leading psychologists such as Arthur R. Jensen (UC Berkeley), Philip A. Vernon (Univ of Western Ontario), and others have shown as strong correlation between g (general intelligence factor) and ECTs. More can be found about g and ECTs at the following Scientific American article:

The General Intelligence Factor

[~ prometheus ~]

hi systemic thanks for your reply.

i'm familiar with the strong correlation between ECTs and g, but have there been any studies that demonstrate persistent practise of ECTs improves performance on intelligence test items such as raven's matrices? if there have, then this offers support for the mybraintrainer programs.
the correlations between working memory capacity and g have been found to be as .90, some speculate that WMC is in fact g. i favour tasks that load heavily upon WMC for this fact -- studies from scandinavia have found tasks similar to brainbuilder improve performance on raven's matrices for kids with ADHD + normal teens. this means the improvements in the digit span task generalise to fluid abilities (Training of Working Memory in Children With ADHD -- http://taylorandfran...8039UY4TLA.pdf)

if i could afford the time and money i'd do both programs. but i;d like to see evidence that improvements in ECT performance will generalise to other measures of intelligence.
interestingly, i did a 1 week free trial membership with brainbuilder that for some reason has lasted for over 2 wks now...

[popnjon]

Does anyone else use these programs?

I'm thinking about subscribing to mybraintrainer.com but i don't know how useful it will be. How much has this helped you guys in terms of processing speed?

[systemicanomaly]

Does anyone else use these programs?

I'm thinking about subscribing to mybraintrainer.com but i don't know how useful it will be.  How much has this helped you guys in terms of processing speed?

The membership fee at MyBrainTrainer.com is so durned cheap at $9.95 for 4 months you might as well just go for it and judge for yourself. If you use it on a regular basis ( 4-14 times a week) for 4 months, you should be able to determine if it is worthwhile for your needs.