BRAIN TRAINING PROGRAMS: Lumosity

What are brain training programs like Lumosity?

Lumosity provides research-based brain training games to improve memory, processing speed, and problem-solving for people of all ages and skill levels.¹ Users can choose from more than 50 games in the following categories: speed, memory, attention, flexibility, problem-solving, word, and math. The games are intended to be adaptive and have personalized difficulty. Each game is also derived from a clinically-based assessment that could be done in a research lab.

How can brain training programs like Lumosity help alleviate certain long COVID symptoms?

Cognitive symptoms of long COVID include brain fog (trouble thinking clearly or remembering) and difficulty focusing on tasks. The SARS-CoV-2 virus can directly infect the central nervous system and damage brain tissue, which is hypothesized to lead to cognitive impairment. In addition, the virus possesses a spike protein that studies have associated with memory loss after COVID.² This spike protein can activate neuroinflammation and ultimately lead to memory impairment.

Programs like Lumosity may help with cognitive symptoms of long COVID by training the brain over multiple sessions to improve memory and processing time. As users improve their ability to complete the cognitive tasks for each game, these tasks boost memory and attention in daily activities.

What evidence supports using brain training programs like Lumosity for long COVID?

The founder of Lumosity conducted a randomized study of 4,715 participants who either completed the brain training program for 15 minutes a day for five days per week or online crossword puzzles. After ten weeks, they found that those who used Lumosity improved more on assessments of working memory, short-term memory, processing speed, problem-solving, fluid reasoning, and overall cognitive function.³

Another study conducted in Saudi Arabia had 51 healthy participants randomized to use either Lumosity for 15 minutes a day, at least seven days per week, for three weeks or no brain training as a control. The study found a statistically significant difference in attention-switching tasks and motor speed between the Lumosity and control groups.⁴

However, some argue that brain training programs such as Lumosity only improve a user’s ability to complete specific tasks assessed in the games with little transferability to overall cognitive performance. One study found no evidence of improvement in decision-making behavior, brain response, or cognitive task performance using Lumosity versus playing online video games.⁵

Thus, the evidence for Lumosity is controversial and may not be as effective in improving overall cognitive function. Lumosity has also been used anecdotally by long-term COVID patients, but it has not yet been formally studied in this patient population.

References:

1)      Discover what your mind can do. Lumosity. 2023. Accessed November 9, 2023. https://www.lumosity.com/en/

2)      Li Z, Zhang Z, Zhang Z, Wang Z, Li H. Cognitive impairment after long COVID-19: current evidence and perspectives. Front Neurol. 2023 Jul 31;14:1239182. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1239182

3)      Hardy JL, Nelson RA, Thomason ME, Sternberg DA, Katovich K, Farzin F, Scanlon M. Enhancing Cognitive Abilities with Comprehensive Training: A Large, Online, Randomized, Active-Controlled Trial. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 2;10(9):e0134467. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134467

4)      Al-Thaqib A, Al-Sultan F, Al-Zahrani A, Al-Kahtani F, Al-Regaiey K, Iqbal M, Bashir S. Brain Training Games Enhance Cognitive Function in Healthy Subjects. Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2018 Apr 20;24:63-69. doi: 10.12659/msmbr.909022

5)      Kable JW, Caulfield MK, Falcone M, McConnell M, Bernardo L, Parthasarathi T, Cooper N, Ashare R, Audrain-McGovern J, Hornik R, Diefenbach P, Lee FJ, Lerman C. No Effect of Commercial Cognitive Training on Brain Activity, Choice Behavior, or Cognitive Performance. J Neurosci. 2017 Aug 2;37(31):7390-7402. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2832-16.2017

Active Clinical Trials: Long COVID, brain training | Card Results | ClinicalTrials.gov