By Esther Landhuis / Source: ScientificAmerican

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From baby boomers fearing memory loss to college students wanting a mental boost, interest in brain-training products is soaring. Yet among leading scientists, there is persistent scrutiny and skepticism. Last year 70 cognitive researchers signed a statement speaking out against computer-based games that promise better cognitive performance, citing a lack of scientific evidence to back such claims.

Within this morass of hype and hope, at least two companies have committed to rigorous testing of their digital products to treat specific health conditions before making them available on the market. Boston-based Akili Interactive Labs and Posit Science in San Francisco are preparing to conduct controlled clinical trials in order to have their therapeutic games approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—a requirement for medical devices that doctors prescribe. The road to FDA approval is long and expensive but promising preliminary studies have encouraged both companies to move forward. The games under development at the two companies emerged from neuroscience and aging research at the University of California, San Francisco (U.C.S.F.).

At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry on Wednesday, Akili Interactive Labs presented data from a pilot study of its video game, Project: EVO, that showed some positive results in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Approximately 6.4 million in the U.S. and one tenth of children worldwide suffer from the condition and struggle with paying attention and controlling their impulses.

The company paid scientists at Duke University School of Medicine and Florida Clinical Research Center to run a four-week study involving 80 children ages eight to 12—40 with ADHD who were not taking medications and 40 neurotypical, or those whose functions were within a normal range. Participants played the game 30 minutes a day for five days a week.

Based on research by U.C.S.F. neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, the adventure game has modern graphics and immersive features. Players tilt their tablet devices to steer a raft down a winding icy river and tap their screens to catch aliens and other objects while avoiding distractors. As the players improve, the game gets harder.

According to the game’s developers, by having players manage quick decision-making on top of a continuous motor task, Evo’s software is designed to strengthen neural circuits responsible for key cognitive functions, such as attention and working memory, which typically become impaired in those suffering from ADHD. These circuits “enable us to properly assimilate multiple streams of information to control and prioritize sensory inputs,” says Akili co-founder Eddie Martucci. The hope is that “when you engage in the game pretty intensely for long periods of time, it actually reconditions how the brain processes information.”

But the primary aims of the pilot study—typical for initial studies—were not intended as a definitive test of the game’s effectiveness. “We had to make sure the game is safe and well tolerated—to see that kids wouldn’t get bored and throw the iPad against the wall,” says psychologist Scott Kollins, who directs Duke’s ADHD program and helped run Akili’s pilot study.

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