The Science Behind Lumosity v2

The Science Behind Lumosity
VERSION 2
Joseph Hardy Faraz Farzin Michael Scanlon
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 2 The Incredible Changing Brain ........................................................................................................... 3 Behavior Changes the Brain ..................................................................................................... 3 Training Can Improve Cognitive Performance ...................................................................... 4
The Lumosity Product ........................................................................................................................... 7 Exercises ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Assessments ................................................................................................................................ 9 Training Components .............................................................................................................. 10
The Lumosity Research Platform ...................................................................................................... 11 Scientic Research with Lumosity ......................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 19 References ............................................................................................................................................ 20
October 23, 2013 | 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Executive Summary
Until quite recently, most scientists believed that core aspects of cognition were essentially xed from a young age, with little or no room for improvement. Capacities like memory, attention and sensory processing were thought to be largely permanent after a relatively brief period of development during early childhood. In this worldview, those who were endowed with strong cognitive capacities through genetics and early development were destined to operate at a high level throughout much of their lives. Those not so fortunately endowed were out of luck. The emerging ndings from neuroscience research are changing the way we view these issues. We now understand that, with the right kind of stimulation and activity, the brain can change and reorganize itself to become more efficient and effective in processing information, paying attention, remembering, thinking creatively and solving novel problems. Lumos Labs has drawn upon this cutting edge science to create Lumosity a collection of weband mobile-based applications that empower people to exercise their brains. The games and assessments offered through Lumosity are based on scientic principles and ndings, designed and presented in an appealing, engaging form that makes it fun to keep the brain active. Through the Human Cognition Project (HCP) and Lumositys Education Access Program (LEAP), Lumosity is being used as a platform technology for studying the impact of cognitive training on individuals, including healthy children and adults as well as individuals with specic clinical conditions. While the research is still evolving, results from studies in different populations demonstrate that training with Lumosity can improve a variety of core cognitive abilities, including attention, memory, executive function and math skills. These improved abilities can enable people to remember more, think faster, and perform better at work, school and in everyday life. And ultimately, live a more productive life.
The Incredible Changing Brain

The capacity of the human brain to make new associations and acquire new knowledge has been appreciated for hundreds of years. However, the brains ability to fundamentally reorganize itself when confronted with new challenges is a relatively recent discovery. The brain is capable of reorganization throughout life, and new activities can promote this reorganization. Given the right kind of stimulation, existing connections in the brain become more efficient and effective and new neural connections can form. This power of structural and functional change is referred to as neuroplasticity, and its principles are only now beginning to be fully appreciated.
individuals (Maguire et al., 2000). They sought to discover what changes occur in the brains of taxi drivers as they go on The Knowledge. If the brain were a relatively static receptacle, passively absorbing information, then researchers would have expected to see few, if any, major changes in the brain. What they saw was dramatic and surprising. Researchers observed that the hippocampus, a brain area critically involved in memory and navigation, was larger in those who had acquired The Knowledge compared to those who had not. The greater brain volume was found to be related to the expansive spatial expertise acquired by London taxi drivers (Maguire et al., 2006). Another example of brain plasticity in everyday life comes from medical students who have been found to undergo brain changes similar to those observed in the London taxi driver study while studying for exams
Behavior Changes the Brain

Throughout the past decade, researchers have observed brain changes associated with learning new, complex and challenging tasks. Below are several examples of research showing the effects of brain plasticity in response to learning new skills or knowledge. Learning-related brain changes. In order to obtain a license to drive one of the famous black cabs around the serpentine urban streets of London, one must rst pass a rigorous exam testing knowledge of point-to-point routes throughout the city. These routes are referred to as The Knowledge, and would-be taxi drivers spend months on The Knowledge, studying the map of London in hopes of passing the exam. In 2000, researchers at University College London published an intriguing brain imaging study involving these
(Draganski et al., 2006). Similarly, preparation for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has been found to strengthen brain connections between regions involved in reasoning and problem solving (Mackey et al., 2012). Another study found differences in auditory and visual brain regions between musicians and nonmusicians that were associated with extent of music practice (Gaser and Schlaug, 2003). In the domain of language, bilinguals who became procient in a second language showed greater brain volume compared to monolinguals in a region associated with verbal tasks. The amount of change was dependent on the age of learning the second language (Mechelli et al., 2004). Lastly, volunteers who learned a 3-ball juggling routine showed functional changes in brain areas associated with visual areas important for processing motion that the non-jugglers did not show (Draganski et al., 2004; Scholz et al., 2009). All of these results are among the growing evidence that the human brain changes when faced with new challenging tasks.
Video game-based brain changes. Cognitive abilities are affected by other kinds of activities as well, not just those traditionally associated with learning. Some interesting evidence supporting the brains ability to change comes from the world of video games. Green and Bavelier (2003) showed that rst-person action video game players performed better in measures of visual attention than non-players. Furthermore, when non-players played an action video game intensively over a period of several weeks, their visual attention capacities improved to resemble the capacities of gamers. Haier and colleagues (2009) asked a group of adolescent girls to undergo an MRI scan before and after practicing the game Tetris for a period of three months. The brains of these girls showed changes in cortical thickness in temporal, parietal and frontal cortex following the practice. These studies demonstrate that some aspects of videogame play, like learning, can induce neuroplasticity.
Cognitive training in older adults. One area of active research using cognitive training is for preventing cognitive decline associated with the normal course of aging. The ACTIVE study. The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study was a large, randomized, controlled trial testing the effects of three kinds of cognitive training (Ball et al., 2002). The 2832 participants in the study, all 65 years of age or older, were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions. One group received no training and served as the control. The three intervention groups received memory, reasoning or speed of processing training. Participants in each intervention group underwent approximately 10 one-hour sessions of training over about six weeks. A number of interesting results have come out of the ACTIVE trial. As expected, participants in all groups learned to perform the training tasks more efficiently. What was more impressive was that the
Training Can Improve Cognitive Performance

Interactive technology, like that used to design video games, can also be used to create and deliver specic cognitive tasks in a form that is intensive, engaging, repeatable, adaptive and highly targeted. This advance in technology, combined with a growing appreciation of the brains ability to reorganize itself, has led to an explosion of interest in uncovering the impact of cognitive training using computerbased technology. Here we present recent research studies conducted using structured, targeted and computer-based brain training programs that have shown positive outcomes on a range of cognitive abilities in young and old adults as well as children.
effects of the training generalized to measures of real-world function. For example, those receiving training in speed of processing and reasoning showed signicantly slower declines in instrumental activities of daily living compared with individuals in the control group (Willis et al., 2006). Individuals in the speed of processing intervention group also showed signicant improvements on a variety of health-related quality of life self-ratings at the year 2, 3 and 5 follow-ups (Wolinsky et al. 2010). In addition, participants who received these training programs were about half as likely as control participants to be in a motor vehicle accident following the study (Ball et al., 2010). These functional benets were observed ve years after training was completed, indicating that the gains were sustained for a
signicant period of time. The ACTIVE study suggests that cognitive training can have useful real-world benets for older adults. However, the study had several limitations that made it difficult to rule out placebo effects and untrained task transfer effects, and difficult to determine whether cognitive training would similarly benet individuals younger than 65 years. In addition, the training program involved touch-screen monitors and required in-person supervision, making it challenging to deliver the intervention outside of the laboratory or clinic setting. The IHAMS study. To address these limitations, the Iowa Healthy and Active Minds Study (IHAMS) was conducted (Wolinsky et al., 2013). IHAMS included 681 participants in two age groups (group 1: 55-64 years and group 2: 65 years and older), who were randomly divided into four groups: the rst received the same speed of processing training used in the ACTIVE study. The second group received the speed of processing training with an additional booster training after 11 months. The third group completed the speed of processing training on a personal computer without supervision. The fourth group completed computerized crossword puzzles that served as an active control to evaluate any placebo effects. All groups were assessed on standard neuropsychological assessments prior to the start of the study, at 6 to 8 weeks into the study and at 12 months. The results of IHAMS demonstrated that targeted cognitive training enhanced performance in the trained domain of visual processing and the untrained domain of executive functioning signicantly more than the crossword puzzle activity. The observed
improvements were equivalent between the groups who trained in the clinic and at home and between the younger and older participants. Lastly, the researchers found that the improvements were substantial after 12 months. The results of the IHAMS study supported and extended the ndings of the ACTIVE study and demonstrated again that cognitive training can be benecial. The COGITO study. A separate group of researchers sought to investigate the effects of cognitive training in young adults as well as older adults. This study, called the COGITO study, included twelve computerized tasks that exercised processing speed, working memory and episodic memory. Participants, both younger (20-31 years) and older (65-80 years) adults, completed 100 daily 1-hour sessions of training (Schmiedek et al., 2010). The results from this study showed improved cognitive outcomes on several individual tests of near- and far-transfer of processing speed, working memory and episodic memory in each age group. Cognitive training in children. Research related to the enhancement of core cognitive abilities through cognitive training in school-aged children is another area of intense interest because of its potential to impact education and longer-term academic outcomes. Executive functions, or the collections of cognitive processes that help us to regulate and control our behaviors, have been shown to correlate with and predict academic achievement (Blair and Diamond, 2008). For example, cognitive abilities such as selective attention, the capacity to focus on relevant incoming information, and inhibitory control, have been linked to both literacy and mathematics (Stevens and Bavelier, 2012; Hillman et al., 2012).
Beyond having the potential to impact academic performance, a recent longitudinal study reported that executive function abilities during childhood were related to outcomes of lifelong health, wealth and public safety (Moffitt et al., 2011). Initial randomized and controlled studies of brainbased cognitive training with children have shown signicant long-term gains. For example, the Perry Preschool Program enrolled 3- and 4-year-olds into intervention sessions targeting a broad range of cognitive skills including decision-making and problem solving for 30 weeks per year until the children were 8 years old, and reported positive outcomes on cognitive performance and longterm records of high school graduation rates (Beleld et al., 2006; Muennig et al., 2009). Another study, the Abecedarian Program, enrolled the same aged children in a full day of individualized cognitive activities, 5 days a week, for 50 weeks a year, and demonstrated important, long-lasting benets (Barnett and Masse, 2007; Campbell et al., 2001). A recent study by Mackey and colleagues (2011) trained older children (7- to 9- year olds) using a program that targeted uid reasoning, or the ability to consider multiple pieces of information when making a decision, and a separate group that trained on processing speed tasks. Children in both groups demonstrated transfer of training to untrained tasks that tapped the trained skill. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden conducted a series of experiments testing the effects of a working memory training program with children with attention decit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The premise of this work was that increasing working memory capacity in these children would improve their ability to attend to and process information
in their environments, and a variety of positive behavioral and school performance outcomes were achieved. In one study, improvements were seen in visual memory and response inhibition after training, relative to children in a control group who did not train (Klingberg, et al., 2005). Increased levels of activation in the prefrontal and parietal cortices, the parts of the brain most responsible for working memory and attention, were seen in children following training (Olesen, et al., 2004). Improved mathematical reasoning performance has also been observed following training (Holmes, et al., 2009). This research lends more proof to the notion that effective brain training can change connections in the brain, improve cognitive performance and support learning. Cognitive training in young adults. Recently, researchers from the University of Michigan examined the effects of a challenging working memory and divided attention task on uid intelligence performance in young adults (Jaeggi, et al., 2008). This task, called the Dual N-Back, requires users to attend to simultaneously presented auditory and visual information and remember both streams. The challenge adapts dynamically to the users performance abilities. Fluid intelligence is thought of as the ability to creatively solve new problems, and it is measured as part of standard IQ tests. Conventional wisdom in psychology had said that intelligence is xed, without much potential for improvement. However, participants who completed the Dual N-Back training in this study showed improvements in working memory and uid intelligence that were signicantly larger than those seen in the control group. The more participants trained, the larger the improvements in uid intelligence were. This research challenged
the view that intelligence could not be enhanced in adults and showed the potential for cognitive training to help even those who are already near the peak of cognitive performance. Lumos Labs worked closely with Martin Buschkuehl and Susanne Jaeggi to make a version of the Dual N-Back task available for use by both Lumosity users and researchers. The studies presented here are merely a sample of the most compelling research showing that cognitive training can be effective in strengthening cognition and enriching real-life outcomes for people of all ages and a wide range of conditions. Reviews are available that present this literature in greater depth (for example, Jak et al., 2013; Hertzog et al. 2009; McGurk et al. 2007). This evidence is merely the beginning of the story. There is a great deal more to learn about how cognitive training can be best applied and optimized for each individuals unique goals. At Lumos Labs, we have created a research platform that allows us to facilitate the exploration of these issues in collaboration with researchers and institutions around the globe. Completed and ongoing research using Lumosity is described below in the section Scientic Research with Lumosity.
Exercises
The core of the Lumosity brain training experience is the more than 40 exercises designed to improve performance across a variety of cognitive functions. Designed and created by scientists working closely with game developers, the tasks are both highly effective brain training and highly engaging games. Each game targets a specic cognitive skill using novel experiences that challenge the brain to create new and more efficient connections. Many games are adaptive, becoming increasingly more difficult as performance improves and becoming easier if performance declines. In this way, the training intensity is optimized to a level that is challenging without being distracting. Taken together, the entire suite of exercises represents a comprehensive brain training system an entire gym for the brain. There are exercises training speed of processing, memory, attention, mental exibility and problem solving. The best way to get a sense for how the exercises work is to look at a few examples.
The Lumosity Product

The Lumosity product suite includes an integrated and growing suite of web- and mobile-based cognitive training exercises and assessments, as well as the supporting systems that help guide users through their brain training experience.
Figure 1. Lost in Migration screenshot
Lost in Migration. In the exercise Lost in Migration, the player must identify the direction that a central bird is facing (up, down, left or right), among a presentation of 5 birds, closely resembling a ock of birds in ight (Figure 1). The goal is to report the direction as quickly as possible while maintaining high accuracy. Sometimes the direction of the center bird matches that of the rest of the ock, which makes the decision easier because all birds are in a single direction, but when the center bird is in a different direction compared to the other birds, the decision is more difficult. The objective in those situations is to focus on the direction of the center bird without letting the other birds become a distraction. This exercise targets visual attention and response inhibition. The player is challenged to focus in the presence of distracting information and to use impulse control. This challenge is similar to a variety of real world contexts, such as driving or sports, where we often have to make a rapid decision based on a stream of incoming visual information.
Memory Matrix. The exercise Memory Matrix challenges the brains ability to remember spatial locations (Figure 2). The players goal in this exercise is to remember the location of squares on a grid. The squares are presented one at a time, and are briey highlighted, before disappearing. The player must then click on the location on the grid where the squares were highlighted. Initially, only 3 squares are presented on a 3 by 3 grid, but with each correct response the number of squares in increased by one and the grid becomes larger. This exercise targets spatial short-term memory, which is closely related to the kinds of memory challenges that we all experience on a daily basis. Speed Match. The goal of Speed Match is to determine whether the current symbol on a card presented matches the previous symbol presented (Figure 3). This task exercises speed of visual processing because the player is challenged to respond quickly yet accurately
Figure 2. Memory Matrix screenshot
Figure 3. Speed Match screenshot
within a xed amount of time. The player is given bonus points for a series of correct responses, and as performance improves, the cards are presented more rapidly. Focus must be maintained as each time there is an equal chance that the card matches and doesnt match the one prior, so the player cannot predict the outcome. This task is designed to translate to the real world ability to process incoming streams of visual information that are changing from moment to moment and to make decisions faster, such as when driving or at work.
the efficacy of Lumosity training for improving cognitive abilities. In an example of this research, a sample of new Lumosity subscribers were sent an email 3 days after subscribing inviting them to take the test. Ten weeks later, these same subscribers were e-mailed with a new invitation to take the test again. Throughout this 10-week period, participants could freely train on Lumosity at their leisure. We analyzed the results of 2045 Lumosity users who participated in the study. Pre- and post-training BPT scores were shown to be highly reliable, indicating that the BPT captures stable differences in cognitive abilities between individuals (Figure 4). Participants who completed more Lumosity exercises during the period between test administrations improved
Assessments
The Brain Performance Test. To be able to measure training-related changes in cognitive abilities, Lumos Labs has created The Brain Performance Test (BPT). The BPT is a brief, repeatable collection of tasks that are based on existing neuropsychological and cognitive assessments and optimized for use on the web. Importantly, the selected tasks measure cognitive abilities that are exercised through Lumosity training, including speed of processing, memory, attention, mental exibility and problem solving, but the tasks distinct from the exercises. This tool allows us to reliably measure cognitive performance independent from performance on the games in order to test the transfer effects of the training system. Transfer refers to the ability to use the trained skills and mental mastery in novel situations and tasks similar, but not identical, to the task used for training. Using the BPT, Lumos Labs continuously evaluates
more on the BPT than those who trained less (p < .001), based on a regression model controlling for participants age and initial performance on the assessment as covariates (Figure 5). An earlier analysis of the BPT was presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Sternberg et al., 2012).
150 Post-training BPT score 125 100 75 50 50 75 100 125 150 Pre-training BPT score
Figure 4. The relationship between a participants pre- and post-training BPT score.
productivity, adapting to changing environment and

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Change in BPT score
multitasking efficiently. Brain Performance Index (BPI). Lumositys BPI is an aggregate measure of performance on the exercises that allows users to track their Lumosity improvement across the ve brain areas Speed, Memory, Attention, Flexibility and Problem Solving, and over time. The BPI lets
54 2+
015 15 5 525 25 6 634 5 34 554 2
users know where they fall with respect to their own performance using a single number. Brain Prole.
Exercises completed
Figure 5. Improvement on the BPT as a function of the number of Lumosity exercises completed.
Lumosity offers its users with an individualized Brain Prole that indicates where the user sits in the overall distribution of Lumosity users and relative to users of a comparable prole. For example, in each cognitive domain, a percentile rank is graphed, indicating how the user compares to peers of the same age. Lumosity Points. Lumosity Points provide an effort-based measure of progress and improvement. The more exercises completed, the higher the point total, encouraging users continue playing.
The fact that improvement on the BPT grew as a function of the amount of Lumosity training suggests that users may be able to improve their cognitive performance through Lumosity training. The BPT will also allow us to develop and test new and improved cognitive training exercises and training systems that will continue to increase the efficacy of Lumositys training platform.
Training components
Training History. A variety of other components support the training experience with Lumosity. These include: Personalized training. The personalized training feature of Lumosity allows users to build their own training program based on the cognitive skills that they want to prioritize during their training. Within each cognitive domain, the user can set goals for everyday skills they would like to improve, such as remembering names, improving Training History presents Lumosity users with both a summary and detailed report of their training, including days of training, total games played and change in BPI scores. These reports are presented through intuitive and accessible visualizations and graphics, in addition to the numbers.
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The Lumosity Research Platform

Lumos Labs research is rooted in open innovation, in which the best researchers in the eld are encouraged to study the Lumosity cognitive training products through ongoing testing and contribution of the best ideas for novel cognitive enhancement solutions. This model, accomplished through The Human Cognition Project, is ourishing because there is a natural virtuous cycle between researchers, developers and the users who benet from training. The technological infrastructure of the Lumosity website, and the back-end data solutions associated with it, make it easy for researchers to gather and analyze data from studies conducted using the software. This allows researchers to focus on the most interesting and important questions in the eld of cognitive training research, rather than needing to develop custom software. In turn, this facilitation allows for rapid deployment of cutting edge training for a wide variety of populations who can benet from these tools. The broad user base itself (Retrieved on October 21, 2013, Lumosity.com had more than 50 million registered users) allows for investigation of basic aspects of cognitive function and cognitive change that could never have been answered in the past without such large samples.
collaborations with university researchers, Lumos Labs also conducts in-house studies of cognitive training using Lumositys large and growing database of human cognition. Both of these endeavors are made possible through The Human Cognition Project. The Human Cognition Project. The Human Cognition Project (HCP) brings together university-based researchers, clinicians and volunteer participants in an effort to better understand the human mind. Through this groundbreaking, interdisciplinary, collaborative
project, we are working together to answer questions about human cognition that have gone unanswered. HCP researchers benet from free access to Lumositys tools and database on human cognition; Lumosity benets by gaining insight into its training program through unbiased research. Completed Research. Below we provide brief descriptions of 7 peerreviewed publications that have been conducted either exclusively by or in collaboration with HCP university-based researchers. These studies have demonstrated that cognitive training with Lumosity is effective in improving important aspects of cognition, across a variety of populations. In addition to published research, we also present
Scientic Research with Lumosity

The Lumosity exercises and assessments are rooted in scientic research. Lumos Labs is continually collaborating with independent research labs at top universities not only to demonstrate and develop effective and engaging cognitive training, but also to advance our understanding of human cognition more generally. In addition to external
our ndings at scientic conferences such as the Society for Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Entertainment Software and Cognitive Neurotherapeutics Society (ESCoNS) and other scientic research meetings. A full list of completed research can be found on our website: http://hcp. lumosity.com/research/bibliography. In 2011, Hardy and colleagues published the
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Figure 6. Improvement in working memory following training on Lumosity.
Figure 7. Improvement in executive funtion following training on Lumosity.
results of an experiment conducted by Lumos Labs to evaluate the effect of Lumosity training on cognition in healthy adults (Hardy, et al., 2011). The study included 23 participants (mean age = 54 years) who were divided into a group that received Lumosity training and a control group that received no treatment. Training consisted of 20 minutes of Lumosity per day, once a day, for ve weeks. All participants cognitive abilities were assessed before and after the training period with measures of visual attention, working memory and executive function. These assessments were versions of standard assessments of cognitive function, adapted for use on the web. Working memory performance was measured using a test referred to as the reverse span board. In this assessment, participants must attend to and remember the order in which a set of blocks were lit up and respond by clicking on them in the opposite order. Participants who engaged in Lumosity training improved signicantly (p<0.01, two-tailed t-test) on this working memory measure following training. Participants in the control group did not
improve signicantly (Figure 6). Similar results were observed in the assessments of visual attention and executive function. The visual attention assessment measured participants ability to accurately process multiple streams of visual information simultaneously. Participants who received Lumosity training showed improvement in this test that was signicantly larger than that of the control group (p<0.01, two-tailed t-test). Executive function is a term that describes the ability to control the various aspects of cognition. This ability is critical for a wide variety of tasks including planning, problem solving and inhibiting inappropriate responses. A standard measure of executive function is the Trail-making Part B test. In this test, participants must click on a series of icons, alternating between letters and numbers, while going in order both numerically and alphabetically. Participants who trained with Lumosity improved signicantly on this measure of executive function (p<.01, two-tailed t-test), while control participants did not (Figure 7).
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Overall, participants in this study improved on the exercises that they played, which is not surprising. What is more interesting is that these training gains transferred to measures of cognitive performance that were not directly trained. Therefore, participants did not simply learn strategies to get better on the exercises; rather, the training changed underlying cognitive abilities. Due to the fundamental nature of this change, these gains may transfer to real world tasks that rely on these cognitive abilities. In a study published in the December 2011 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Brain Impairment, Finn and McDonald, from the University of New South Wales, reported their ndings demonstrating that patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) experienced positive cognitive outcomes following Lumosity training (Finn and McDonald, 2011). MCI is diagnosed when cognitive changes beyond those expected with the typical aging process are present, including difficulties with recall, information processing and planning. MCI is also associated with an increased risk of dementia. In the study, twelve individuals with MCI completed 30 sessions of Lumosity training over 8-10 weeks, while a group of 13 individuals was assigned to a waitlist group that did not complete training until the study was over. All participants underwent cognitive assessment using the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB) before and after the training period. The researchers observed that individuals in the Lumosity training group showed signicant improvement in visual attention compared to individuals in the waitlist group, which is a promising result for those suffering from MCI. In 2013, in collaboration with Dr. Murali Doraiswamy,
a professor at Duke University, Lumos Labs published a paper in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience reporting on a new, web-based, big data approach to understanding human cognition (Sternberg et al., 2013). The objective of the study was to demonstrate the power of Lumositys large database of human cognition by examining how cognitive performance relates to lifestyle factors and how it changes over the lifespan in a demographically diverse, healthy population. Two separate analyses were conducted within the study. In the rst analysis, Lumosity users performance on 3 cognitive exercises: Speed Match (processing speed), Memory Matrix (spatial working memory) and Raindrops (problem solving), along with their data from a health and lifestyle survey, were analyzed. This analysis found that cognitive performance on all three exercises was highest, on average, for users reporting 7 hours of sleep each night. In addition, low to moderate alcohol intake (1-2 drinks per day) was associated with higher performance and progressively decreased with additional alcohol consumption. Figure 8 shows the results from the analysis of performance on Memory Matrix (Figure 2) in a group of 161,717 Lumosity users as a function of sleep and alcohol, controlling for age, gender and level of education. The second analysis included data from Lumosity users ages 18-74 who completed at least 25 training sessions that included cognitive exercises that rely either on uid intelligence (Memory Matrix and Memory Match) or on crystallized intelligence (Word Bubbles and Raindrops). Overall, performance on all four exercises decreased with age and increased with amount of training. However, performance decreased more rapidly with age for exercises that
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ct
= 97,177 (59.8%)
Measure = threshold memory span N = 161,717
males = 65,095 (40.3%), females = 96,662 (59.7%) mean age = 37.97 yrs. (sd=15.7)
Measure = Number correct before 3 errors N = 127,048

males = 53,169 (41.8%), females = 73,879 (58.2%) mean age = 37.34 yrs. (sd=15.6)
Dr. Shelli Kesler, an Assistant Professor and neuropsychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, has been studying the effects of training with Lumosity for several years. Dr. Kesler studies cognition in a few populations of individuals who are challenged due to medical conditions. She has been using Lumosity in this context to understand whether cognition can be improved in these
More than 10
Raindrops number correct

More than 10 10
Memory Matrix threshold
7.6 7.5 7.4 7.3
66 64 62 60 58 56 Less than 4
populations.
5 6
10
Less than 4
More than 10
10 6
per day
Raindrops number correct
Memory Matrix threshold
per day)
9 5
Hours of sleep per day
One study from Dr. Keslers lab involves children with Turner syndrome. Turner syndrome is a genetic condition known to cause several issues, including cognitive challenges particularly related to executive function. In a study published in 2011 in the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Kesler and colleagues showed enhanced math skills and cognitive performance, along with corresponding changes in brain activity, in individuals with Turner syndrome following
Hours of sleep per day
7.60 7.55 7.50 7.45 7.40 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+
66 65 64 63 62 61 60 0
7+
Alcohol (drinks per day)
training with Lumosity (Kesler et al., 2011a). In this 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

Alcohol (drinks per day) years with Turner syndrome study, 16 girls ages 7-14
Figure 8. The effect of reported sleep and alcohol intake on game performance on Memory Matrix.
participated in a 6-week Lumosity training program. All participants completed standardized cognitive tests and math tests before and after completing Lumosity training. Participants also underwent
required uid intelligence compared with exercises that rely on crystallized intelligence. Additionally, the analysis revealed that improvement decreased as age increased. Additionally, the analysis revealed that improvement decreased as age increased at a faster rate for exercises that required uid intelligence compared with those that rely on crystallized intelligence. Together, the analyses published in this paper demonstrate examples of the scientic questions that can be answered through the study of Lumositys large dataset of human cognitive performance.
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while performing a math task before and after training to measure the effects of Lumosity training on brain activity. The girls who completed the Lumosity training demonstrated signicant improvements in processing speed, visual attention and cognitive exibility (p < .05, two-tailed t-test). In addition, fMRI brain scans revealed neuroplastic changes in brain function, with signicantly (p<0.001) increased activation observed in frontal and parietal brain regions areas associated with
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executive function and number skills (Figure 9). This study showed that individuals with Turner Syndrome could improve math and cognitive skills with Lumosity training. Dr. Kesler has also been investigating the use of cognitive training in improving cognitive outcomes in cancer survivors. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy associated with cancer treatment can have negative effects on brain structures, and certain forms of cancer can directly impair brain function. Awareness of the negative effects of cancer and cancer treatment on brain function has been growing in recent years. Terms such as chemobrain or chemofog have been coined to describe this phenomenon. In a study published in 2011 in Brain Injury, Dr. Keslers group enrolled 25 children with leukemia or posterior brain tumors to complete Lumosity training (Kesler et al., 2011b). As part of the study, all children completed standardized cognitive
tests and underwent fMRI scanning before and after training. Participants showed increased scores on Processing Speed, Sort Test, List Memory and Picture Memory tests following Lumosity training. In addition, brain scans showed increased activation in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executive functions including cognitive exibility and decision-making. This study was the rst to show that Lumosity training is effective for improving executive and memory skills in pediatric cancer survivors. Dr. Kesler is also actively engaged in testing the effects Lumosity training in a population of breast cancer survivors. In a recent publication in the peerreviewed journal Clinical Breast Cancer, Dr. Kesler explored whether Lumosity training could reduce or reverse the impairments caused by cancer
Figure 9. Changes in brain activity following training on Lumosity. Red areas represent increased activity while blue areas represent decreased activity following training.
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treatments. Forty-one women who had undergone chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer were assigned to a Lumosity training group or a waitlist group that received Lumosity training after the study was completed. Participants took a series of cognitive tests from standard neuropsychological assessments before and after the training period. The results showed that individuals in the Lumosity training group experienced signicantly greater improvement on the Wisconsin Card Sort Task (WCST), Symbol Search and Letter Fluency compared with the group who did not complete training (Figure 10). The individuals who completed the training also reported improvements in daily planning and monitoring skills. This study revealed that cancer survivors were able to improve their cognitive abilities and that they reported improved quality of life following training with Lumosity. Beyond cognitive training, Lumosity exercises and assessments have also been used as a tool
for researchers interested in studying cognitive performance. For example, Rattray and colleagues at the University of Canberra used Lumositys Speed Match game as a freely available and easy-to-use assessment of executive function during exercise. This work, published in the Journal of Science & Medicine in Sport, examined the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in 20 healthy adults (Rattray and Smee, 2013). While exercise proved to have no effect on participants accuracy on the task, it did improve their reaction time by making participants faster compared with when they had not exercised. Summary of Key Findings to Date. Results observed in training studies conducted with Lumosity show that this training platform can be used to improve cognition in a variety of ways and for a variety of individuals. Improvements in memory, attention and executive function have been seen in healthy adults as well as children and adults with a variety of clinical conditions that impact cognitive functions. Overall, these results demonstrate that training with Lumosity can have wide-ranging impacts in cognitive performance across the lifespan, regardless of ones starting point. Ongoing Research. The completed research described above is just the tip of the iceberg of scientic exploration using the Lumosity platform and database. Lumos Labs supports external, independent research by making available Lumosity exercises and assessments, as well as offering data capture and analysis support. Lumos Labs also facilitates the advancement of scientic research by providing select access to the largest human cognitive performance database to
Figure 10. Changes on various standardized cognitive tests in the Lumosity training group and the Waitlist group.
date.
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Researchers worldwide are currently using the Lumosity platform and database to engage in research studies that span topics including aging, traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, addiction, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exercise. Here are just a few examples of the more than 40 ongoing research studies with Lumosity: Researchers at Harvard University, led by Dr. Christine Hooker have been exploring the effects of Lumosity training on the brains of individuals at high risk for schizophrenia. Dr. Joe Ventura, a Professor at UCLA, is also studying the effects of Lumosity in a day treatment program that serves adults with schizophrenia. Dr. Anett Gyurak, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University is conducting a study to assess whether Lumosity training is an effective intervention for helping individuals cultivate emotion regulation abilities. Dr. Bruce Compas, a Professor at Vanderbilt University is conducting a study investigating the effects of Lumosity on stress and coping strategies in college students. Dr. Michael Weiners group at UCSF is using Lumosity performance in their Brain Initiative project to help identify the progression of brain conditions throughout adulthood. A complete list of ongoing research collaborations can be found on our website: http://hcp.lumosity. com/research/ongoing.
Lumositys Education Access Program. Launched in 2009, Lumositys Education Access Program (LEAP) is focused on discovering the effects of Lumosity training on students cognitive capabilities and academic performance by encouraging and facilitating research in classrooms around the world. Executive functions and other core cognitive abilities serve as critical scaffolding for educational achievement and general life outcomes beyond school. For example, working memory and visual-spatial skills have been associated with math, science and reading abilities. Improving these functions not only prepares the mind for grasping and processing information, it also prepares the student by improving the ability to focus and attend to classroom activities. In addition, several of the Lumosity exercises employ problem solving abilities that include material such as basic math skills that students must master in the classroom. In this way, the training is doubly productive, improving underlying brain mechanisms while simultaneously providing students with basic practice on foundational skills. To date, through LEAP, over 14,000 students in over 700 classrooms worldwide have received free access to Lumosity. Working with teachers, school administrators and education researchers, we are studying the impact of Lumosity on cognitive and academic performance in school-aged children. Lumosity training is well suited to supplement standard curricula in the classroom environment, with engaging and stimulating exercises that aim to strengthen core cognitive skills that can help to prepare students for success in the classroom. Initial ndings from LEAP are providing promising evidence that cognitive training positively impacts
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control
10
intervention
10
Age adjusted change in score
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Change in overall score
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
24 6
55
90
AR
TB
FS
TA
In
de x
Games played
Figure 12. Improvement on the BPT as a function of the number of Lumosity exercises completed.
Figure 11. Changes in BPT score on various standardized cognitive tests in the Lumosity training and the control groups.
students cognitive abilities and has the potential to improve academic outcomes. In a study led by Nicole Ng and colleagues at Lumos Labs (Ng et al., 2013), a group of 1204 students (ages 8-15 years) from 40 schools participated in a semester-long study in which each student was assigned to either complete Lumosity cognitive training as a supplement to their classroom activities or engage in their normal curricular activities. All students were tested using the Brain Performance Test before and after the training period to measure transfer effects of Lumosity training. Lumosity training involved daily training sessions consisting of 5 different exercises that took 15-20 minutes to complete. Students also had the opportunity to complete additional exercises outside of the designated classroom time. The results revealed that students who completed
ra n
Lumosity training showed greater improvement on all BPT tasks compared with students who had not done the training (Figure 11). Furthermore, students improvements on the BPT were related to the hours they had spent training (Figure 12). Collectively, ndings from LEAP both validate the feasibility of deploying a web-based cognitive training program as a supplemental educational activity in a range of ages and classrooms, and establish that a students engagement with Lumosity can have a positive impact on cognitive abilities. Studies like these are encouraging, and open the doors to answering additional questions about the role that neuroplasticity and cognitive training can play in education. The bridge between neuroscience research and educational practice is just beginning to be built and Lumosity is excited to continue supporting it through LEAP.
14
24
0+
55
46
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Conclusion
Recent studies have revealed that the brain remains changeable throughout life, and in doing so, have revolutionized the way scientists view cognition. It is no longer common belief that childrens brains are xed after the end of a critical period in development or that aging is an inevitable precipitous decline in cognitive functions. Rather, there is substantial evidence that, in addition to genetics, which supply the basic blueprint for brain development, there is also a tremendous inuence of environmental factors that can shape our neural circuitry, and ultimately impact the way our brains function. Launched in 2007, Lumosity is committed to pioneering the understanding and enhancement of the human brain to give each person the power to unlock their full cognitive potential. Lumositys online and mobile programs take a personalized approach to training core cognitive abilities such as speed of processing, memory, attention and problem solving. Rooted in neuroscience and designed around key factors such as targeting, adaptivity, engagement, and transferability, Lumosity training can benet a variety of cognitive abilities, to lead to real changes in the brain and to be fun at the same time. There is a great deal more research to be done. Through our collaborative research programs with universities and schools worldwide, we are continuing to learn about the ways in which training can help each user achieve their individual goals, including healthy adults, school-aged children and patients with specic clinical conditions.
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The Science Behind Lumosity

Joseph Hardy Faraz Farzin Michael Scanlon

The Incredible Changing Brain

Behavior Changes the Brain

Training Can Improve Cognitive Performance

The Lumosity Product

Figure 2. Memory Matrix screenshot

Figure 3. Speed Match screenshot

productivity, adapting to changing environment and

015 15 5 525 25 6 634 5 34 554 2

The Lumosity Research Platform

Scientic Research with Lumosity

Figure 6. Improvement in working memory following training on Lumosity.

Figure 7. Improvement in executive funtion following training on Lumosity.

Measure = threshold memory span N = 161,717

Measure = Number correct before 3 errors N = 127,048

Raindrops number correct

Memory Matrix threshold

7.6 7.5 7.4 7.3

Raindrops number correct

Memory Matrix threshold

Hours of sleep per day

Hours of sleep per day

7.60 7.55 7.50 7.45 7.40 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

Alcohol (drinks per day)

training with Lumosity (Kesler et al., 2011a). In this 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

Age adjusted change in score

Change in overall score

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