How to Stay Smart with Computer Brain Training

Many seniors hope that doing crossword or Sudoku puzzles or using brain training programs on the computer will keep their minds functioning well and prevent dementia. How well do they work? Scientists now have evidence that one type of computerized brain training can be effective.

Which Brain Training Helps Delay Dementia?

Scientists have just published the results of a study they call ACTIVE: Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly. The study included 2,832 volunteers who were at least 65 years old and cognitively healthy at the outset of the study, back at the end of the 20th century. Researchers assigned these participants to a control group who got not training or to one of three computer training groups–speed, memory or reasoning. Half the members of each training group were also assigned to get booster sessions after the regular training. You can read more about that initial phase below.

After ten years, all of the people in the training groups had less trouble with activities of daily living than their untrained peers (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Jan. 2014). People who had trained for speed or reasoning had retained their edge in those areas. Memory training had not lasted that long.

Twenty-Year Follow-Up Still shows Benefit:

Twenty years later, people who did speed training with boosters are 25% less likely to have developed dementia. Training alone, without the boosters, made no difference. Those in the reasoning or memory groups had not gained protection from a dementia diagnosis (Alzheimer’s & Dementia, Feb. 9, 2026). We are impressed that the effects of the speed training are so durable.

As the authors point out,

“No prior cognitive training intervention has been shown to reduce risk of ADRD [Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias] over a 20‐year period.”

Using the Computer to Bolster the Brain:

Ten years ago, a meta-analysis of 50 studies using speed of processing training found that people using this type of brain training could reduce their risk of dementia (American Psychological Association meeting, Aug 4, 2016, Denver, CO). This type of training is also called useful field of view training. It teaches people to pay attention both to the center of the screen and the periphery.

How Well Did Speed of Processing Training Work?

Participants in the studies testing speed of processing software were 48 percent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the course of 10 years if they completed at least 11 training sessions. The chance of dementia dropped by about 8 percent for each session completed.

This training is designed to improve speed and accuracy of visual attention. It appears to improve driving performance as well, since that also requires attention across a field of vision.

ACTIVE Brain Training:

2,832 volunteers between 65 and 94 years old participated in the ACTIVE study (which stands for Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly). Those who completed the brain training improved their cognitive ability, especially attention; mood; ability to function in daily life; and driving. Based on these findings, older people might want to seek out this specific type of brain training. It is available commercially from BrainHQ.com