Brain-training games shown to slow cognitive aging, study finds

According to researchers, just 30 minutes of targeted mental exercise daily can increase levels of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter responsible for learning, memory, and attention. The study, which observed 95 participants over 65 years of age for 10 weeks, recorded a 2.3% rise in acetylcholine levels. Though modest, this increase effectively offsets the natural 2.5% decline typically seen per decade of aging, suggesting that brain-training activities may rejuvenate cognitive performance by nearly ten years.

However, researchers emphasized that only games specifically designed to engage memory and reasoning, such as Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training, showed measurable effects. Casual titles like Candy Crush or solitaire did not alter acetylcholine levels in participants.

Dr. Kawashima, a leading expert in dementia prevention, helped develop Nintendo’s Brain Age (known in Japan as Brain Training) to encourage daily mental exercise. The original game, released in 2006, included arithmetic and memory challenges and later inspired several sequels, including a 2020 version for the Nintendo Switch.

The findings lend new scientific weight to Kawashima’s original vision that short and consistent mental workouts can help preserve cognitive health well into old age.

Earlier, it was reported that a recent PNAS study challenges long-held views on why women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Although men’s brains shrink faster with age, researchers found this does not explain the higher prevalence among women, suggesting more complex biological and social factors are at play.