Brain Fitness Australia

Working memory is my really weak point (as shown on the Brain Fitness Program) and my heart sank when the next session indicated that I was to be working on it again!.

The dreaded working memory again!

In this Insight exercise we have the same principles at work as the BFP: but this time training visual working memory (of less than a minute) with a gradual increase in task difficulty. The number and distance between items to be recognised and/or matched in peripheral vision is increased as you progress.

After a tutorial, the Master Gardener assessment took 10 minutes to establish my visual working memory starting level.

Baseline: 545ms.

Goal: 360ms

I really like what Posit Science says in Page 2 of the Overview which comes with the disk.

“Our approach is more like the one a good gardener takes: we don’t just tend the flowers and leaves (memory tasks). We understand that no matter how much you care for the flowers and leaves, the plants won’t be healthy unless its roots (sensory perception) are also in good shape. The roots must be able to take in and deliver crucial nutrients (information) to the rest of the plant for it to thrive.”

How true that is for plants, trees and even large stable eco-systems! Posit Science claims that “Insight exercises a key set of these roots”.

A paced approach to training on Insight:

Look at the advice bubble! It deals with tension….

Take your time....

Pause, review, get help, look at the flowers, exit or take a break!

Even the “THUNK” sound when you get it wrong is more gentle than in the Brain Fitness Program. That sounded like a hammer in a metal bucket …..I found it quite punishing! In fact towards the end of the Brain Fitness Program I ended up with a tea-towel over the top edge of my computer screen to avoid seeing the red arrows and red squares reflecting my inevitable working memory failures as I worked towards the final session.

But I was determined to finish. Malcolm Fraser’s well-worn phrase sums it up , “Life wasn’t meant to be easy!” This has generally been taken as a gloomy explanation of life’s difficulties, but for him rather it was a reason to take on difficult tasks. I quite like that.

The Attention Buttons on Insight and BFP

Visual and auditory processing
Both programs are concerned with sensory input, one auditory (the BFP) and one visual (Insight)

• GET READY! Start buttons demand our attention in both programs.

Auditory Sweeps Identification

Horizantal bars of varying widths and intervals move in and out.

In the Brain Fitness Program, auditory sweeps UP or DOWN of varying frequencies and interval are presented through your earphones. You are required to select the correct order using the arrows.

In Insight, visual sweeps, horizontal or vertical bars of varying widths (frequencies) move IN or OUT , and are presented in a game context. You are required to select the correct order from the buttons “IN or OUT” with rewards attached.

Visual sweeps IN or OUT are indentified in a game format

• speed of processing

The sweeps in both programs measure speed of processing in the auditory or visual sensory systems.

• baseline assessments

You also are given a baseline assessment and tutorials in each sub-program, however there is choice built into Insight but not in the BFP.

• getting it right

The same old personal trainer is sitting at your elbow, making sure you are getting it right ( see my post on errorless learning)!

• rewards

You can skip rewards in the BFP , but in Insight you get them awarded regardless. Actually they are graphically quite delightful and contribute to the enjoyment of the exercises.

Bird Safari has some of the features of “Match-it” in the BFP, with the identification of the target bird and its position in space becoming increasingly difficult. I imagine that as the birds get more visually similar and demand greater acuity it will be of the same genre as “Tell us Apart” in the BFP. In that exercise using computer generated syllables, it became more and more difficult to discriminate between them.

“Master Gardener” is concerned with visual memory, rather like

“Sound Sequencing” in the BFP where auditory sequential memory was tested. In Master Gardener the correct identification is required but the sequence is immaterial and makes it easier (I think!). Some visual acuity is certainly required and UFOV is involved.

The rules of the game

I was glad to feel the similarity between the two programs in terms of structure, assessment, goals, timing and calibration. I feel I know the rules of the game! They are very different experiences, however. Methinks there has been some neuro-plasticity occurring in Posit Science?

Anyone done (or doing) both programs and see any similarities (or differences)? Any preferences?