WA first Australians to take part in new brain fitness program to fight memory loss
Western Australians will be the first in the country to take part in a brain fitness initiative that has been shown to improve a person’s ability to think faster, focus better and remember more.
The brain health initiative was launched by Australia’s Aged Care Commissioner, Rhonda Parker, on behalf of Alzheimer’s Australia WA, at the Duxton Hotel on 19 September, as part of Dementia Awareness Week 2008.
More than 30 peer reviewed papers report on randomised controlled trials using the technology now being offered in two cognitive training software programs being distributed by Alzheimer’s Australia WA.
The studies show that participants using the software programs more than doubled their processing speed and had gains of more than 10 years in standardised measures of memory and attention. This has led to significant lifestyle benefits for people experiencing normal age related changes in brain function.
Alzheimer’s Australia WA General Manager, David Gribble, said the programs that will be offered in Australia were developed and extensively trialled by US company Posit Science, in conjunction with one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Dr Mike Merzenich, and his team at the University of California.
The programs have also been extensively researched over many years by renowned research institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, the University of Southern California and Stanford University.
Alzheimer’s Australia WA identified Posit Science’s brain fitness programs as the world’s most effective memory and sensory enhancement products following an extensive two year search, and a review undertaken by the Centre for Research on Ageing at Curtin University of Technology.
Posit Science vice president, Eric Mann, said the brain fitness programs were designed with the older person in mind and are very easy to use.
“They are meant to be used 40 to 60 minutes a day and for a total of 10 to 40 hours over a 90 day period, in order to match the results shown in the studies,” he said.
“Of course, many people decide just to incorporate brain exercise into their regimen for 3 to 5 hours a week on a continuous basis.”
The levels of scientific scrutiny that have gone into the programs were more extensive than any study into the effectiveness of specific mental activities such as, doing crosswords and Sudoku.
Australia’s Aged Care Commissioner Rhonda Parker said that maintaining mental sharpness is one of the keys to successful ageing.
“As people live longer, mental fitness is as important as physical fitness as we look for ways to extend quality across all our days,’ she said.
For further information, visit:
