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DynamicBrain Inc.
Tuesday December 9, 2024
Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science, the maker of the brain health and fitness app BrainHQ, will address the 6th Annual What’s Next Innovation Summit at the National Press Club in Washington DC and will discuss how innovation in aging technologies touches everyone’s life.
“Since the 1960s, we’ve seen how America’s investment in NASA has resulted in all sorts of innovations that impact our daily lives,” Dr. Mahncke observed. “It’s a seemingly unrelated and endless list, including GPS, local weather forecasts, digital photography, wireless headsets, self-driving cars, cell phones, memory foam, computer chips, air purifiers, cordless tools, shelf stable foods, CAT scans, LEDs, athletic shoes, modern home insulation, and freeze-dried food.”
“My own journey with the neurotechnology we first developed to help aging older adults is filled with the same sense of wonder about all the unexpected innovations it has led us to,” Dr. Mahncke continued.
The BrainHQ neuroplasticity-based technology was first developed in the early 2000s to address the cognitive decline associated with normal aging. Almost immediately, Posit Science established a global network of independent university-based researchers to run studies evaluating the efficacy of the brain exercises. There are now hundreds of published studies on the efficacy of BrainHQ cognitive assessments and brain training.
“We started by building computerized brain exercises to address the progressive decline in mental speed of processing, which begins in our late 20s and accumulates with passing decades into age-related cognitive decline,” Dr. Mahncke noted. “We found we could reverse effects of aging on cognitive function.”
Studies in aging have shown significant improvement in standard measures of cognitive function (attention, speed, memory, reasoning, decision-making) in standard gerontological measures of quality of life (maintaining independent living, general health, health-related quality of life, mood, confidence), and in real world activities (gait, balance, fall risk, driving safety).
“Then, we learned from researchers that the underlying technology also applied to many health conditions.” Dr. Mahncke continued.
More than 100 studies have been published across many health conditions, including brain injuries (mild to severe traumatic brain injuries, and brain fog associated with cancer, COVID, HIV, and heart failure); mental illnesses (depression, anxiety/stress/fatigue, schizophrenia, bipolar) and neurodegenerative diseases (MCI/pre-dementia, Alzheimer’s/dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis).
“Perhaps, most surprisingly, we learned from American football legend Tom Brady, that you could also use the technology to make very high functioning brains even better,” Dr. Mahncke added. BrainHQ is now used by many peak performers, including elite athletes, special forces, think tank workers, police, emergency services, and SWAT teams.
“To underscore the analogy that investing in aging technology has unexpected multiplier effects — akin to space technology — we are now involved in research for NASA about how to build astronauts’ cognitive readiness to cope with the known cognitively corrosive impact of long space missions,” Dr. Mahncke concluded.
There are more than 200 published studies of the exercises in BrainHQ which have shown benefits, including gains in standard measures of cognition (attention, speed, memory, executive function), in standard measures of quality of life (mood, confidence and control, managing stress, health-related quality of life) and in real world activities (gait, balance, driving, work). BrainHQ is now offered in the US, without charge, as a benefit by leading national and 5-star Medicare Advantage plans and by hundreds of clinics and communities. In Canada, it is offered by the Quebec Federation of Alzheimer Societies and numerous health institutions, rehab, hearing and vision centres. Consumers can also try BrainHQ for free at https://dynamicbrain.brainhq.com.
About Posit Science
Posit Science is the leading provider of clinically proven brain fitness training. Its exercises, available in Canada in English at dynamicbrain.brainhq.com and in French globally at dynamicbrain-fr.brainhq.com, have been shown to significantly improve brain speed, attention, memory and numerous standard measures of quality of life in multiple studies published in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in leading science and medical journals. Three public television documentaries as well as numerous stories on news programs, in national magazines, and in major newspapers have featured Posit Science’s work. The company’s science team is led by renowned neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, PhD.
About DynamicBrain
DynamicBrain is the Canadian partner of Posit Science, providing Canadians and French-speaking people around the globe with brain training and cognitive exercises that are backed by strong science, and improve a person’s quality of life through six key pillars: Attention, Memory, Brain Speed, Navigation, People Skills, and Intelligence (dynamicbrain.brainhq.com and dynamicbrain-fr.brainhq.com). DynamicBrain is passionate about health and new forms of cognitive training with a clear focus on educating the public on the vital importance of improving brain fitness as part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. (www.DynamicBrain.ca)
