Notes

Train THE HUMAN BRAIN With a New $225m Market Based on Latest Brain Health and Fitness Research
A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and "brain training" reflects a growing interest in natural, non-drug-based interventions to keep our brains sharp as we age. This interest is very timely, given the aging population, increasing Alzheimer's rates, and soaring healthcare costs that place more emphasis than ever before on prevention and changing lifestyle.

Earlier this Tuesday, the MIT Club of Northern California, the American Society on Aging, and SmartSilvers sponsored an event on The Emerging Brain Fitness Software Market: Building Better Brains to explore the realities and myths of this growing field. Before the panel, I had the chance to present an overview of the state of the mind Fitness Software Market.

Why are we talking about this field at all? Well, for just one, an increasing number of companies are achieving significant commercial success in packaging "brain exercise". An example is the type of Nintendo games, such as for example Brain Age and Brain Training, that have shipped over 15 million units worldwide despite limited scientific support, since 2005. What's less visible is that several companies and scientists are partnering to create products to advertise with a far more solid clinical validation. We estimate the US market was $225m in 2007 (growing from $100 in 2005). Whereas K12 Education used to be the major segment, adult consumers are responsible for the majority of that growth: we estimate the buyer segment grew from a few million in 2005 to $80 m in 2007.

Who is buying get more info ? Yes, needless to say, many adults over 50 who want to protect their memory are on the list of pioneers. 78 million baby boomers are eager to try new approaches. A growing number of retirement communities and assisted living facilities are offering programs with their residents to expand their usual fitness and social activities. And we can't just forget about K12 education: certain brain fitness software packages have shown they are able to help kids who've dyslexia and related difficulties.

Is there science behind these claims? Do these products work? It depends on how we define "work". If "working" means quantifiable short-term improvements after a number of weeks of systematic "brain training" to improve specific cognitive skills, then your answer is that a variety of programs do seem to work. If , alternatively, "working" means measurable long-term benefits, such as better overall brain health as we age, or lower incidence of Alzheimer's symptoms, the solution is that circumstantial evidence suggests they may, but it continues to be too early to tell.

Any kind of public policy implications? We certainly think that there are. THE GUTS for Disease Control recently partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to develop a comprehensive Cognitive Health road map to raised guide research efforts and improve public education on the approach to life habits that each proud owner of a brain could benefit from following. Given the high rates of traumatic brain injuries and stress disorders within a large number of the men and women coming home from the Iraq war, the military is investing heavily in research to greatly help identify problems to build up tools to resolve them, and we expect that research will result in wider health applications. No presidential candidate, to our knowledge, has directly addressed her or his priorities in the cognitive health realm but, given the growing importance and economic impact of brain-related disorders, we expect that to happen soon.

What exactly are some trends that executives and investors ought to be looking at to understand this growing market? I want to create a few predictions:

1) An increased emphasis on Brain Maintenance, from retirement communities to gyms and health clubs. Will health clubs 1 day offer brain fitness programs, and perhaps "brain coaches"? We think so.

2) Better and much more widely available assessments of cognitive function will enable of all us to establish a target baseline of how our minds are evolving, identify priorities for "workouts" and lifestyle interventions, and help us measure progress. Science-fiction? Not really. there are already very good tests used in clinical and medical environments, the challenge will be to refine and package those assessments in a consumer-friendly way.

3) We will have more and better computer-based tools, each of which may be more appropriate to work on specific priorities. In the same way we find a range of machines in health clubs today, later on we can expect different programs tailored to teach specific cognitive skills.

4) More non-computer based tools may also provide much value. There's a lot more research on how meditation and cognitive therapy, to mention 2 examples, can be extremely effective in literally re-wiring elements of the brain.

5) INSURANCE FIRMS will introduce incentives for member who want to follow brain fitness programs. Maybe even companies will offer you such programs to employees to attract and retain mature workers who want access to the best and the most recent innovations to help keep their minds sharp.

Now, this being truly a pretty new field, many questions remain open. For instance, how will consumers and institutions receive quality information and education to navigate through the emerging research and the overwhelming amount of new programs, separating reality from hype?

In conclusion, what were the main take-aways from the function?

1. Research indicates a number of cognitive abilities (attention, memory...) can be assessed and trained

2. An emerging market is starting to develop-growing from around $100m in 2005 to $225m in 2007, in america alone-, and is poised to keep growing at significant rates.

3. Many companies are currently selling products direct to consumers (as well as through institutions) with sometimes unclear claims - this threatens to confuse consumers and present a significant obstacle to the growth and credibility of the sector.

If you are thinking about this rapidly growing field, please keep tuned in! You can find fascinating research reports every month.

Copyright (c) 2008 SharpBrains

Alvaro Fernandez is the Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com, which will release the report "HAWAII of the mind Fitness Software Market 2008" on March 4th. SharpBrains has been identified by Scientific American Mind and Newsweek as expert resource for Online Brain Training. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning. It is possible to learn more
Here's my website: https://pastelink.net/bf6k3dth