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Cognitive Training Tasks, Or Brain Games

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There is no conclusive evidence as to whether or not cognitive training tasks, or brain games, are effective. Companies like Lumosity offer their users different games that target specific cognitive functions: memory, spatial awareness, problem solving, attention, reasoning, and more. Over time, the continued use of the games are supposed to improve cognition, and there are studies that show the effectiveness of the training; however, there are also studies that show how the training is not effective at all. With brain games being a new field of study, there are not many studies available, so there are many discontinuities among results. The purpose of this paper is to explore the different findings from various studies of brain games and their efficacy, and offer insight as to why the discrepancies exist. Brain games are a form of cognitive training and are specifically designed to train the brain by taking advantage of a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is defined on MedicineNet as the “brain 's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life,” and it “allows the neurons in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment” (Neuroplasticity). Cognitive training is anything the works out the muscles of the brain: reading is a form of cognitive training. For this reason, not all games should be considered brain games because most

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