For me it’s a no brainer. Brain fitness apps have become extremely popular, and any company serious about building (or maintaining) its reputation within the brain improvement community should realize the power of building them.

They’re a low cost way to take your training with you, and they serve as a nice taste of what a company has to offer.

Posit chose to focus on memory, specifically name recall, for its app. It’s called iKnowYou, and it’s free!

The iKnowYou application aims to improve your ability to associate names and faces. It gives you a list of important people to train with and also allows you to take photos of people you know to use in your practice.

I’d love to see Posit develop its apps for the BlackBerry also (hint hint hint), but for now this one is only available for the iPhone and Ipod Touch.

You can check out the app on iTunes.

Brain Training 101 chooses products to review based on quality. Some of these products are part of affiliate programs which earn the site a commission. iKnowYou from Posit Science is a product that earns this site a commission. Our philosophy has always been to provide in depth, honest reviews of high quality products regardless of their participation in affiliate programs.

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If you haven’t heard of CogniFit yet, get ready. The company was founded by cognitive psychologist, Dr. Shlomo Breznitz and has been producing award winning brain fitness software for ten years.

The company is gaining popularity, and several of you have emailed me asking what I thought of its programs.

The central brain fitness program, Personal Coach, has just been re-released with technical enhancements designed to provide a more effective training regimen.

The company focused on its patented Individualized Training System which uses complex algorithms which allow the program to adapt to your level of performance in real time. This keeps you from getting too light of a workout without making the exercises so difficult you’ll want to scream quit.

CogniFit personalized brain fitness programs are unique because they begin with a personal assessment that determines the state of your cognitive health and then creates a training system that continuously charts your progress and adapts itself to your changing needs while you use it.

No two people follow the same CogniFit brain fitness program. The exercises that you do are so remarkably effective because they have been tailored to provide you exactly the training you need to achieve optimum brain fitness. – via CogniFit’s website

I will be testing the Personal Coach over the next few weeks, and then I will report back with my own review.

You can check out a free demo of the training by clicking here.

Pricing: The program is available online and will run you $19.95 a month. I would personally go with the bulk purchase option that gives you the following discounts:

If you purchase 6 months, you get one of the months free.

If you purchase 12 months, you get three months free.

If you try the program please post in the comments and let me know what you think!

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If you’ve noticed your driving skills slipping, have been in a recent car accident, or if you’re like me and have trouble seeing well at night, you may benefit from specialized brain training. Whether you’re a novice starting out or a senior at risk of losing the independence that comes with driving, there are certain programs designed to improve your focus, attention and reaction time.

One such program is DriveSharp by Posit Science®, a leading brain health company which builds scientifically validated, non-invasive programs for improving cognitive performance.

According to the company, using Drive Sharp three times a week in 20 minute sessions helps you:

These are some pretty steep claims which are backed up by numerous studies including the National Institutes of Health funded ACTIVE study.

The program consists of two training exercises, Jewel Diver and Road Tour.

In Jewel Diver your task is to track hidden jewels as they move around the computer screen. The exercise increases in difficulty by adding more jewels to follow, increasing the time you follow them, widening the space they move in and lightening the background so it makes it harder to see them.

This exercise is designed to improve your brain’s ability to successfully divide its attention and track several moving objects at once. It also trains your visual precision which the company states is the ability to pick out objects when masked by the background.

How It Applies To Real Life

Training with Jewel Diver increases your ability to

• track multiple moving cars
• keep an eye on multiple children running around a playground
• track teammates (and opponents) in group sports such as soccer, basketball and football
• locate lost items and prevent falls

Try A Free Demo

You can try Jewel Diver for free with the company’s online demo. (You will need to enter your email address to access the demo.)

In Road Tour you hit the start button and are immediately presented with an automobile. At the same time a road sign pops up in the outer circle, and in an instant both are gone from the screen.

Then you are shown two automobiles and must choose the one you just saw on the screen. If you identify it correctly, you are asked to identify the area in which the road sign appeared.

The exercise increases in difficulty as it makes the autos look more similar, adds decoy road signs and then moves them further into your periphery.

Continued training improves visual processing speed and divided attention, as well as expands your useful field of view (the area over which a person can extract information in a single glance without moving his or her head or eyes).

How It Applies To Real Life

Road Tour is designed to increase your ability to:

• determine whether dark areas on the road are shadows or large holes
• notice cars approaching from the side as you near intersections
• determine whether the person coming from the side is a teammate or opponent
• avoid someone about to run into you in a crowded place
• notice children, animals and debris coming into the street when you are looking forward

I Had My Mom Try It Out

I took the software over to my parents’ house and had my mom sit down and try it out. The program began by asking her to create an account. Then an initial assessment was given to determine her baseline scores.

The on screen instructions were easy enough to follow, however if you tend to have a difficult time with computers, you’ll want to have a friend or family member walk you through set up. After that, the program is very user friendly.

She began Jewel Diver and performed extremely well. Her 23 years of teaching may have given her some practice in tracking the movement of several small targets at once.

The program self-adjusts its difficulty level so you are always challenged, but not discouraged. There is also a nice pause button that gives you the option of reviewing the instructions should you become confused or simply need a refresher.

Each training session lasts 10 minutes so you don’t feel like it’s dragging on. In fact, by the end of her Jewel Diver training, she was ready to start another round.

Next, she moved on to Road Tour. This exercise moved extremely fast and required her complete attention. We ultimately had to shut ourselves in a private room due to my dad and the dog making a ruckus in the living room.

(If you can’t train in a private room – or if you have a spouse, kids and/or dogs – you’ll want to wear headphones to block out surrounding distractions. You don’t need anything special – even your mp3 player’s ear buds will work fine.)

I noticed midway through Road Tour, she began to make a long series of errors. Fatigue had set in, and if there was any doubt that 20 minutes of training would be enough, it was fast put to rest.

Both exercises kept her attention, challenged her, and were fun enough that she was excited to continue with the program.

Something Different

Many of the brain training programs on the market require ongoing training to maintain and improve results. I personally think a weekly regimen is a good idea, but for those of you who have difficulty committing to a lifetime of computer-based brain exercise, DriveSharp offers a reprieve.

Just ten hours of total training time gave users the results listed at the beginning of this article, and the improvement lasted several years.

You can certainly train more if you like, and the company suggests repeating the training twice a year if you feel you need a boost.

I spoke to CEO, Steven Aldrich

While I’ve long been a fan of co-founder, Dr. Michael Merzenich, I was curious about CEO, Steven Aldrich, who recently joined Posit Science from a company called Intuit (many of you use their software – QuickBooks).

He kindly agreed to allow me to talk his ear off speak with me, and while I expected a pleasant discussion, I was surprised at the genuine passion and innovation that flowed out of him.

With his undergrad completed in Physics, Steven went on to obtain his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

I liked Steven, a lot. Here’s why. He thinks way outside of the box, and at a time when Posit could rest on its much deserved reputation as the leader in this industry, the company is redoubling its efforts to bring you highly scientific, targeted and engaging training. It also provides a community atmosphere where you have access to the tools and support you need to address your specific brain fitness issues.

The company’s popular flagship offerings – the Brain Fitness Program Classic and InSight require an investment that can be out of reach for some.

Drive Sharp takes two exercises from the InSight program and offers them in an economical and targeted format. As you work through the training, you may decide you want to continue by exploring the rest of InSight.

You can upgrade right from your dashboard, and this gives you the opportunity to increase the scope of your training in steps instead of having to purchase a large program all at once.

Of course you don’t have to upgrade, and you may be content with sticking to the core DriveSharp training.

Steven and the team also want to hear from you – really. I asked him about a possible iPhone app, and while he was unable to give me a definitive yes or no, he was extremely interested in feedback on the issue.

With the response I’ve received here regarding brain training apps, I actually think it’s a no-brainer. However, the company can’t move forward with future offerings unless they know what you want.

So, when you take a look at the website and play around with the programs, remember to let the company know what you liked and what you’d like to see in the future.

You can do this by leaving a comment below, emailing me here or joining the discussions on the company’s message board.

Who’s It For?

Anyone looking to expand their useful field of view, react faster and cut their risk of crash. It should be noted, though, that the specific improvements shown in the supporting studies are those of drivers aged 60 and up.

What’s The Cost?

You can order the program for $89.00 from the company’s website.

If you’re a current AAA (American Automobile Association) member, you may be able to get the software through your local club for $79.00.

Likes:

• Can install the program on multiple computers and link your training between them.
• FUN and engaging training that doesn’t make your head hurt.
• 90 Day Money Back Guarantee
• Real results backed by real science

Dislikes:

• No summary scores after each session. Instead you take periodic assessments to measure your progress.
• The program is set up for one user only. (You must purchase a separate copy for each user you wish to add.)

You can learn more about DriveSharp by clicking here.

Keep Up With Posit Science

Follow Posit Science on Twitter

Join Posit on facebook

Read Dr. Merzenich’s blog

Top Photo: ©istockphoto/jwblinn

Company and Product Images: ©PositScience

Brain Training 101 chooses products to review based on quality. Some of these products are part of affiliate programs which earn the site a commission, and DriveSharp is one of these products. Our philosophy has always been to provide in depth, honest reviews of high quality products regardless of their participation in affiliate programs.Similar Posts:

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Full screen training mode so you can maximize the program to allow for larger, easy to see blocks.

Practice mode where you can work on your trouble areas separately to improve overall performance and get to that next level. This is also a fantastic addition for new users who are having trouble getting the hang of training.

You can choose to work on aural training, visual training or the classic combination. You set the n-back level yourself and can choose from 2 (the easiest) to 20 (ouch!). There’s also a new speed setting that you can set to very slow, slow or normal. On top of that, you are given a Match Feedback Option where the program will display a green checkmark when a correct match is shown.

Continuous training profiles so you can track and measure your progress for as long as you use Brain Fitness Pro. No more starting a new profile each time you complete the 19 day block.

Choice of arrow keys or regular ‘A’ and ‘L’ keyboard input for matches. Some of you didn’t like (or were confused by) the use of the ‘A’ and ‘L’ keys. Now you can simply use the left or right arrows.

In depth stats that give you greater insight to your training progress.

One of the major perks to being a Mind Sparke user is that the upgrades are free! If you are a current MindSparke (PC version) user, you should have received an email from the company containing a link to download your upgrade. The email came out about a week ago, so check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox. If you still can’t find it, email me here and I’ll pass your information on to Martin so he can take care of you.

Note for Brain Fitness Pro Jr. users:

The Jr. version also has an upgrade and you can find it in the same email.

MAC Users

The MAC upgrade isn’t ready yet but hopefully will go live in a few months. Your version already offers a re-sizable screen and block by block stats, but the other features will be added in the upcoming release. Watch your email box, and I’ll also post an update here on the site when it’s available.

Questions?

If you have any questions or feedback, please post them in the comments below. If you’d rather speak privately, you can always send me an email!

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For those of you Mind Sparke fans out there, you can now take your training on the go. The company has just released its own app for the iPhone.

It retails for $3.99, and you can check it out at the iTunes Store.

The app is compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch (2nd generation). Below you can see two of the program’s screenshots.

Currently I am not an iPhone user, so I found a Brain Training 101 reader who is and asked her to begin reviewing iPhone apps for us. We’ll be starting out with the dual n back apps and will then work through the other brain training selections.

The first of the reviews will be up soon, so be sure to check back. If you’re on the mailing list, I will send you an email as they’re posted.

If you’re a fan of a particular app, the creator of an app or if you’re looking for a review before you buy, email me here or leave a comment and we’ll put it on the review list.

Photos: 1) ©fernando780 2 and 3) ©Apple, Inc.

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They each base their training on scientifically designed systems. Both are featured at the innovative San Francisco based brain gym, vibrantBrains, and they are two of the more affordable options on the market. So how do you choose which one is right for you?

Mind Sparke focuses solely on dual n back training which is a protocol that was developed during the now famous Jaeggi study.

You’re presented with a screen where you see a block appear and at the same time you hear a letter called out. After the block disappears, you must remember where it appeared, as well as which letter you heard.

The program increases in difficulty as you are asked to recall the block placement and spoken letter of two spaces back, three spaces back and so on. Confusing? No worries. Everyone gets confused when they first begin dual n back training. After the first few sessions, it begins to make sense – and the quick results are worth it.

MindSparke is either downloaded to your computer or you can have a CD-ROM shipped out to you. You do not need an internet connection to use it, so as long as you have your computer, you can train anywhere.

The program consists of 30 minute sessions performed for 19 straight days, and then you can reduce your training to as little as 1 to 3 times a week. By the end of the first week, you should notice a dramatic increase in focus and a marked improvement in your short term or working memory.

Those 19 days take commitment, and this is why I recommend the program to those in need of concentrated training or those who have the self discipline to exercise their brain even if the exercise isn’t necessarily fun.

Added Bonus: Because Mind Sparke is part of a smaller company, you have more interaction with creator and CEO, Martin Walker. There is also an active and popular blog where users can post their personal training results and get feedback and support.

Who Is Mind Sparke For?

Students looking to perform better in school and/or on standardized/admissions tests like the SAT, GRE, MCAT etc.

Adults looking to function more highly at work, think more clearly and perform better on tests like the Bar, CPA exam, IQ tests, Civil Service exam, etc.

Seniors looking to improve memory, focus, thought speed and clarity.

What is the cost?

Brain Fitness Pro Single User $46.95
Family Pack Multi-User $71.95
(Works on PC or Mac)

Brain Fitness Pro Jr All Siblings $63.95
Family Pack with Jr Multi-User $86.95
(Jr is PC only. Mac version not available yet.)

You can learn more about the Mind Sparke program here.

If you are looking for a more casual form of brain exercise, I would recommend Lumosity. Now, by “casual” I don’t mean less effective.

The brain training is centered around a wide variety of scientifically designed brain games. The company focuses on providing a fun environment so that users are encouraged to continue their training.

Because the program is online, you can log in to your account anywhere you have an internet connection.

After you sign up, you can start Basic Training – a 40 day workout of games that the company designed to, “improve memory, attention, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility.”

You can also choose to skip Basic Training and go straight to the core modules which are each designed to target specific areas such as processing speed, focus, math ability, high school standardized testing and ADHD.

Lumosity gives you more control over your training. If you want to log in every day, there is plenty for you to do. If you can only train a few times a week, that’s fine too.

The company also offers an Assessment section where you can periodically test your improvement within individual cognitive domains. So, say you’ve been training in the core module for attention speed. Click on the attention speed assessment, take it and you can actually measure your improvement.

Added Bonus: This past Spring, Lumosity implemented a nice community feature where you can add other users as friends and keep tabs on how their brain training is progressing. If you’re not into the social scene, you can easily set your profile to private and keep your training to yourself.

Who Is Lumosity For?

All ages, although the company states it is too difficult for young children.

Anyone looking to improve cognitive function in a relaxed and varied game format.

Those seeking tailored brain training modules in order to focus on particular problem areas.

What is the cost?

Monthly Subscription: $9.95

Yearly Subscription: $79.95

You can check out the games by creating a FREE ACCOUNT.

If you’re a Mind Sparke or Lumosity user, leave a comment below and let us know which program you use and what ultimately made you choose it.

Brain Training 101 chooses products to review based on quality. Some of these products are part of affiliate programs which earn the site a commission. Lumosity and Mind Sparke are two of these products. Our philosophy has always been to provide in depth, honest reviews of high quality products regardless of their participation in affiliate programs.Similar Posts:

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When you click over to the home page, you will notice a distinct lack of gloss and flash. The pared down design gets straight to the benefits of the program and is reflective of Walker’s philosophy – let the science speak for itself.

MindSparke is based on the ground breaking study led by Susanne M. Jaeggi which found that specific training of the working memory can improve fluid intelligence – your ability to reason, adapt and problem solve.

The study showed that participants who trained on a specific protocol for 25 minutes a day showed fluid intelligence improvements of 40% compared to the control group. This was huge and spread like wildfire all over the internet last year because it was previously thought that intelligence was set at birth.

Brain Fitness Pro is based on this exact method which simultaneously trains your aural and visual working memory.

The Basics:

You’ll train for 30 minutes a day for 19 days. The benefits come fast.

The Results:

Short term memory scores typically improve 30-40% within the first 8 days of training with increased brain power developing throughout the 19 day training period.

After the initial 19 days, you’ll train for 30 minutes just once or twice a week to maintain your results and continue improvement.

The Test:

I purchased and downloaded the program last night. The exact price of the program is $46.95 if you download it straight to your computer. This is a one time fee, and you can have a physical CD shipped to you for an extra $9.95. Mind Sparke Brain Fitness Pro also comes in a Family Pack for $71.95 which enables you to install the program on multiple computers for all immediate family members.

Update: Mind Sparke has a new Junior version for ages 6-12 which retails for $63.95. The price covers all children in a household. You can also opt for the Family Pack + Junior for $86.95.

A Surprising Bonus:

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Lumosity is a brain training program with scientifically designed games that aim to improve brain function — which can begin to slow as early as age 30. The company bases its research on the ACTIVE study which found that older adults who received training in memory, reasoning and processing speed improved their cognitive abilities and maintained the gains for years afterward.

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