Can puzzles and games prevent dementia?

In principle, this makes sense: you exercise your muscles to make them stronger and avoid fragility and decline; shouldn’t your brain work the same way?

This premise launched many brain training websites and apps and quite possibly helped sell countless Sudoku, crossword, and logic puzzle books over the past two decades. It has also inspired many academic researchers to explore whether cognitive training can actually make people smarter and even reduce the risk of dementia.

But, as often happens in science, a seemingly simple idea is more complicated than it seems. Because the answer to the question “is training your brain useful?” » It depends on the type of exercises you do and the benefits you are looking for.

When psychologists conduct research to determine whether it is possible to improve cognition, they primarily use computer games developed to improve a specific aspect of our thinking. Some brain training games teach people strategies to improve a skill or recognize patterns. Others gradually increase speed and difficulty to challenge the brain, said Lesley Ross, a psychology professor at Clemson University.

Many studies have shown that playing these games can improve people’s cognitive abilities, not only for the specific task they are working on, but also for related tasks. This “isn’t really surprising,” said Adrian Owen, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western University in Ontario, Canada, much like someone who practices memorizing phone numbers. would probably improve in his memorization of dates.

The evidence that playing one type of game will make you smarter overall or help you get better at a completely different type of task is less compelling.