First it was French scientists who said brain training games like Brain Age do not work. Now, it's UK scientists.
As part of a nationwide study for a BBC television program, over 11,000 individuals used the "brain training" games for six weeks. Those in the study were up to the age of 60 years old and "trained" for at least ten minutes three times a week. They did not use Nintendo's Brain Age, but rather, games created by the researchers to "mimic" those currently available.
The findings were published in research journal Nature and show that those who played the brain training games performed no better on a range of tests than those who spent their time simply surfing the internet.
(Right now, you are getting smarter.)
According to the BBC, the games did not improve things like memory, concentration, planning skills or problem solving.
"The brain trainers got better at the things that they were doing," said Dr. Adrian Owen, assistant director of Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, "but the holy grail of brain training is that it has some genuine effect on mental ability or intelligence and that we showed was that was categorically not the case."
The next thing researchers hope to tackle is whether or not these games help users maintain brain power as they age.
A Nintendo spokesperson told the BBC: "Nintendo does not make any claims that Brain Training or More Brain Training are scientifically proven to improve cognitive function."
Popular brain training games 'do not make users any smarter' [Telegraph]