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Brain Training

Evidence-based computerized activities as part of Remy Care's multi-modal approach to cognitive health.

Overview

Remy Care includes computerized brain training activities as part of the multi-modal approach to improving cognitive functioning and reducing risk of dementia. There is ample evidence that computerized brain training tasks can improve the specific cognitive abilities that are trained.

For example, a meta-analysis (a type of study that combines the results of multiple published studies) that examined 97 randomized control trials showed a small, but significant improvement in the areas of cognition that were trained when compared to individuals who did not participate in brain training [1].

Benefits for Mild Cognitive Impairment

Importantly, brain training can benefit individuals with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, known as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). A recent meta-analysis published in the journal Neurology combined the results of 30 published studies, which included over 2000 research subjects [2]. The study found that persons with MCI who received computerized cognitive training showed significant improvement in their overall cognitive abilities.

How Brain Training May Help

Scientists aren't certain why brain training improves cognitive functioning in older adults, but several mechanisms have been suggested.

Neuroplasticity

First, everyone's brains have the ability to adapt, or change, through a process called neuroplasticity. It is thought that engagement in brain training and other cognitively stimulating activities increases neuroplasticity. This means that the brain can develop new pathways when areas are damaged — like a driver finding an alternate route when a road is closed. Through neuroplasticity, your brain can also recruit resources and other brain networks to compensate for damaged or weakened areas [3].

Structural Brain Changes

There is also research that shows that brain training can result in structural changes to the brain — leading to increases in the size of certain brain regions and integrity of the brain's pathways [4], [5], [6].

References

  • Mewborn, C. M., Lindbergh, C. A., & Stephen Miller, L. (2017). Cognitive interventions for cognitively healthy, mildly impaired, and mixed samples of older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. Neuropsychology review, 27(4), 403-439.
  • Guan, Y., Zhang, S., Jiang, Y., Zhang, Q., & Xiong, P. (2026). The effects of computerized cognitive training on cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of neurology, 273(6), 312.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-026-13843-9
  • Gates, N. J., Rutjes, A. W., Di Nisio, M., Karim, S., Chong, L. Y., March, E., ... & Vernooij, R. W. (2020). Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (2).
  • Wu Q, Ripp I, Emch M, Koch K. Cortical and subcortical responsiveness to intensive adaptive working memory training: An MRI surface-based analysis. Hum Brain Mapp. 2021;42:2907–2920.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25412
  • Nguyen, L., Murphy, K., & Andrews, G. (2019). Cognitive and neural plasticity in old age: A systematic review of evidence from executive functions cognitive training. Ageing research reviews, 53, 100912.
  • Dai, X., Liu, S., Li, Y., Long, S., Li, X., Chen, C., ... & Zhang, Z. (2024). White matter plasticity underpins cognitive gains after multidomain adaptive computerized cognitive training. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 79(4), glae046.