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DynamicBrain Inc.
Friday July 15, 2020
Three recently published studies add significant new evidence that brain training exercises may provide a new path for treating schizophrenia – one of the most challenging and costly forms of mental illness to treat. All three studies used neuroplasticity-based exercises from BrainHQ made by Posit Science and provided in Canada by their Canadian partner DynamicBrain.
As published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, the TRuSST Study found that a remotely-administered computerized intervention can improve social cognition in people with schizophrenia. The researchers randomized 147 patients at medical centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis into an intervention group training on game-like brain exercises from Posit Science and a control group training on computer games, such as crossword puzzles and solitaire. The study found that training on the exercises for only 28 hours over the course of 3 months significantly improved performance on standard assessments of social cognition, as compared to the control group.
Deficits in social cognition – the cognitive abilities needed to recognize social cues and to successfully interact with others – are a common symptom of schizophrenia that complicate the treatment, relationships and lives of people with schizophrenia. While there is a widely-recognized link between such deficits and poor functional outcomes and illness measures for this population, the researchers note that “no effective treatment for these deficits is applied as a standard of care.”
The researchers reported that, to their knowledge, this is the first study of online training with an active control to show improvement in social cognition, and the largest such study conducted with a remote intervention. The study did not show a significant difference in a functional performance primary measure (which did not target social cognition). However, it did show a significant improvement on a secondary functional measure, which measured the speed and accuracy of activities in a virtual environment.
“To develop these social cognition training exercises, we analyzed a tremendous amount of prior research about how the brain processes social information,” said Dr. Mor Nahum, who led the study while at Posit Science. “It turns out that social cognition requires fast and accurate brain information processing – so we developed exercises that trained the brain to process social stimuli, like faces and emotions, quickly and accurately.”
Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science, added, “We then realized that nearly all of us can benefit from being better in social situations – quickly and accurately reading facial expressions, recognizing people, and recalling facts about them – and decided to include several of these exercises in the commercial version of BrainHQ, under the category People Skills.”
Another study conducted in Brazil and published in Schizophrenia Bulletin compared two groups using different exercises in BrainHQ. One group did visual exercises, while the other did auditory exercises for 40 hours of training over the course of 2-4 months. The researchers found both groups improved in reasoning, problem-solving and reported symptoms, while the visual training group also improved in global cognition and attention, as compared to the auditory group.
In a third study presented at the Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference, researchers at UCLA compared the effect of using BrainHQ alone to the effect of combining the use BrainHQ with an aerobic exercise program. They found that both groups showed cognitive gains and work/school functioning gains. Intriguingly, the gains were about three times as large when aerobic exercise sessions were added, and those that actually did more of the assigned aerobic exercise showed the largest gains.
“This trio of recent studies adds nicely to dozens of prior journal articles in populations with schizophrenia using these exercises,” observed Dr. Mahncke. “Overall, they make a case that the future for schizophrenia treatment will involve a pharmaceuticals in combination with evidence-based cognitive training programs. Treatment standards in schizophrenia are ripe for update – in fact the American Psychiatric Association’s 2019 draft of new consensus clinical guidelines recommends that patients with schizophrenia receive cognitive remediation.”
More than 100 published studies of BrainHQ exercises have shown benefits across varied populations, including gains in standard measures of cognition (attention, speed, memory, executive function, social cognition), 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, everyday cognition, maintaining independence). BrainHQ is now offered in the US, without charge to users, as a benefit by leading national and 5-star Medicare Advantage plans; by the Department of Defense for all servicemembers; and by hundreds of clinics, libraries, and communities. In Canada, it is offered by the Quebec Federation of Alzheimer Societies and numerous 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 online at dynamicbrain.brainhq.com in English and dynamicbrain-fr.brainhq.com in French globally, 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)
Contact
DynamicBrain Inc.
Frieda Fanni
frieda.fanni@dynamicbrain.ca
