Can Puzzles Improve Your Brain?

So-called “brain training” games that are designed to improve overall brain functioning are a lucrative business according to one scientific article published in Nature. However, scientists believe there is no evidence to support the idea that puzzles and similar games can improve mental agility. Although there seems to be some evidence that these kinds of games can improve cognitive functioning in the elderly and small children, as far as their ability to improve brain power is concerned, the evidence is lacking.

The Problem With Puzzles
Sandra Bond Chapman Ph.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and Founder and Chief Director of the Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas, believes that although crossword puzzles and similar games can be beneficial for cognitive performance, they only improve a specific cognitive function. So, if you happen to do a lot of crossword puzzles, with time, you’ll eventually just become better at crossword puzzles and probably expand your vocabulary. However, when it comes to more complex executive functioning, you’d be better off doing more constructive and creative tasks that train your frontal lobe according to Chapman. Sandra Chapman explains that puzzles, Sudoku, and online games train surface-level rote thinking which does not strengthen the connection between different brain areas.

Studies on Brain-Training
When it comes to improving brain functioning, most would agree that the goal is to enhance different areas of cognitive functioning such as memory, task-solving, planning, and other complex executive functions. However, as one six-week online study found, improvements in executive functioning do not happen with brain training programs. The study involved 11,430 participants who took cognitive training tasks that were designed to improve memory, visuospatial skills, reasoning, and attention. The four tests given to the subjects were adapted from a battery of assessment tools that were designed by Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. At the end of the study, the researchers observed an improvement in each cognitive task that was trained but no transfer was evident in untrained tasks even when these were closely related.

Games and the elderly
Similar results were found in the largest randomized control trial of cognitive functioning in older adults called ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly). The participants of this study received training in memory, reasoning, or processing speed. After the training was completed, tests showed that the participants demonstrated an improvement in the particular skill they were training but that there was no transfer to other cognitive abilities. Furthermore, these cognitive test programs showed no effects on the quality in everyday functioning of the participants.

Games and Dementia
Most studies on the role of brain training in improving brain functioning were done with older adults who were at risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. According to a systematic review published in Plos Medicin, there are several studies that found some link between levels of education, mentally challenging leisure activities, and the risk of these diseases. However, the review authors point out to the fact that there could be a reverse causation involved in the results of these studies, i.e. that those who had better brain health engaged in more mentally challenging activities than those who were at risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Neurobiology Studies and Puzzles
Neurobiology studies show similar results when it comes to the effects of puzzles on brain health. One study found that training to recall a test word list of 23 items improved neurotransmitter signaling in the hippocampus which is the brain’s center for memory. Animal model studies showed similar results. However, we need to keep in mind that the hippocampus is not the region of the brain responsible for generating complex cognitive tasks. Similar results were observed in a recent study conducted by a team of researchers from The University of Oregon. The subjects of this study were 27 young men and 33 young women who practiced self-control exercise on a computer designed to improve cognitive performance. What the scientists found after analyzing the fMRI imaging of these subjects were changes in the inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex which are brain regions responsible for inhibitory control. The aim of this particular study was to demonstrate how certain online brain training games really work on brain functioning.

Conclusion
Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and online games are believed to help boost brain power and health, but the truth is that they only train the brain to do specific tasks. In the case of puzzles, these types of problem solving games improve areas of the brain that have to do with memory and probably language. But the skills you improve with such games do not transfer to other more complex cognitive abilities that are expressed by the frontal lobe, the part of the brain that is responsible for complex executive functions. Training the brain should involve complex thinking tasks and significant engagement and creativity which puzzles and similar games, unfortunately, can’t offer due to their limiting effects on brain functioning.

References:
https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health/green-tea-improves-memory.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884087/