Does Brain Training Actually Work?

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The $4 Billion Question

The brain training industry generates over $4 billion annually, driven by apps like Lumosity, BrainHQ, Elevate, and Peak. Their promise is compelling: spend 10–15 minutes a day doing targeted mental exercises and your memory, attention, and problem-solving abilities will improve in meaningful, real-world ways.

The scientific community has a blunter assessment. In 2014, over 70 leading cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists signed an open letter stating there is "little evidence that commercial brain training programs improve general cognition." So what's actually going on?

The Transfer Problem

The central issue with brain training is transfer — whether skills learned in one cognitive task improve performance in other unrelated tasks. This is the only thing that actually matters. Getting faster at Lumosity's memory game only helps you if that translates to better real-world memory.

Study after study has found that brain training produces strong near transfer (you get much better at the trained task) but weak to non-existent far transfer (your general intelligence, memory, or attention in daily life barely changes). In other words: you get better at playing the brain training games, not at cognition itself.

The Lumosity Case

In 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Lumosity $2 million for deceptive advertising — specifically for claiming their games improved performance at work and school and reduced cognitive decline, without adequate scientific evidence. The company settled and was required to notify subscribers.

This is not to say Lumosity's games are worthless — they are engaging and may improve specific skills. But the broad "boost your brain" marketing significantly overstated what the science supported.

The Dual N-Back Exception?

One brain training paradigm has generated more genuine scientific interest: dual n-back training. Developed by researchers Jaeggi and Buschkuehl, this challenging working memory task involves simultaneously tracking two streams of stimuli. A 2008 study in PNAS reported that dual n-back training produced gains in fluid intelligence — the kind of general reasoning measured by IQ tests.

The result generated enormous excitement, but subsequent attempts to replicate it have been mixed. Several large, well-designed studies found no far-transfer benefits from dual n-back training. The scientific consensus remains skeptical, though the debate is ongoing.

What Does Transfer Well?

While game-based brain training has disappointed, other activities show much stronger evidence for genuine cognitive improvement:

• Learning a new instrument or language — involves complex, multimodal learning that genuinely taxes and builds cognitive networks. Transfer evidence is more convincing here.
• Aerobic exercise — the strongest and most consistent intervention for improving general cognitive function, with well-replicated effects on memory, attention, and executive function.
• Formal education — every additional year of schooling produces approximately 1–5 IQ points of gain, with the effects persisting into adulthood.
• Video games (action games) — somewhat controversially, action video games (not puzzle games) have shown more promising far-transfer effects on attention and processing speed than dedicated brain training apps.

Should You Use Brain Training Apps?

If you enjoy them and find them engaging, they are a harmless way to spend time. Some tasks — particularly those targeting attention and processing speed — may have modest benefits for older adults. But if your goal is to measurably improve your cognitive performance in the real world, brain training apps are probably not your best investment of time.

The evidence strongly favours physical exercise, quality sleep, learning complex real-world skills, and social engagement as superior strategies for maintaining and improving cognitive function. These interventions are less exciting than an app, but considerably more effective.

The Bottom Line

Brain training makes you better at brain training. It does not reliably make you smarter, sharper, or more resilient to cognitive ageing. For genuine cognitive gains, invest your time in the evidence-based strategies above — or at minimum, don't pay a subscription fee for a false promise.