Cognitive Exercise Update

In the HABIT program, we discuss the benefits of cognitive exercise as one aspect of our brain wellness series and our patients and partners receive subscriptions to BrainHQ which they activate and practice in our cognitive exercise class. If you'd like to learn more about BrainHQ, I would encourage you to check out their You Tube Channel, which has a number of explanatory videos. In our own independent comparative effectiveness study comparing the five components of HABIT to one another, we found that BrainHQ-based cognitive exercise class had a positive impact on psychomotor speed and basic attention abilities at 12 months post-HABIT. And if the cognitive exercises were continued post-HABIT by the patient, they show even more benefit at 12 months.

With that background in mind, I found this announcement from Posit Science, the company behind BrainHQ, rather exciting so I wanted to bring it to your attention!

From Posit Science

"A year ago, I shared news that Posit Science received an NIH grant to develop a model curriculum for community-based classes in dementia prevention with the YMCA of San Francisco and experts at UCSF. It's a year later, and the curriculum has been developed, and the first class (of many planned classes) at the Y has graduated.

The news team at CBS San Francisco (KPIX TV) has covered both the grant and experiences of a program graduate. You can learn more here and here.

The model program arose from the Lancet Commission finding that 40% of dementia cases could be prevented through known lifestyle adjustments, studies of BrainHQ in the areas of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment, and the experience of the Y in its highly successful model Diabetes Prevention Program."

So, whether you are a HABIT alumni or other individual living with MCI or just interested in healthy cognitive aging, this is more data indicating the importance of cognitive exercise. BrainHQ is one of those ways--Are there BrainHQ users out there who want to give their impressions?  What other ways are you keeping cognitively active?