New brain training app looks like digital Ritalin

Can an app improve concentration??

Experts have now developed a new free brain training app that greatly improves owner concentration. The program works like digital rialin, so to speak. Doctors hope that the app can replace the use of certain drugs.

Scientists at the internationally acclaimed University of Cambridge have tested an app in their current research that helps improve concentration. The researchers published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience".

A newly developed app can improve concentration and thus perhaps replace the use of Ritalin in the future. (Image: HERRNDORFF / fotolia.com)

Concentration is difficult for many

The emergence of new technologies increasingly requires working on multiple projects at the same time. For example, texts have to be edited, social media monitored and e-mails quickly answered. This can lead to problems with the maintenance of concentration and increased distractions. The difficulty of focusing and concentrating attention is compounded by stress, jet lag due to frequent travel and poor sleep.

App improved attention within a month

The University of Cambridge Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute experts have now developed the free App Decoder. This game should help to improve the attention and concentration. The app is based on the team's own research and has been scientifically tested. The physicians noted that playing decoder on an iPad over a period of one month increases the attention and concentration. This form of attention activates a so-called frontal-parietal network in the brain, say the scientists.

Performance improvement through the app was significant

In the study, 75 young adults were divided into three groups. One group played decoders, one control group played bingo and a second control group played no game at all. The participants of the first two groups were invited to eight one-hour sessions over the course of a month in which they played under the supervision of either decoder or bingo. For all 75 participants, a CANTAB Rapid Visual Information Processing Test (RVP) was performed at the beginning of the study and after four weeks. This highly sensitive test checks for attention and concentration. The results of the study showed a significant difference in attention. When the subjects played decoders, they achieved better results compared to the bingo gamers and subjects who had not used the game at all. The performance difference was significant and significant, as it was comparable to the effects associated with stimulants such as methylphenidate or nicotine, the physicians explain. The first drug, also known as Ritalin, is widely used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Attention and concentration have been improved

In order to ensure that decoder improves attention and concentration, the researchers additionally tested the abilities of the participants in a so-called trail making test. The use of the Decoder App also improved the results in this commonly used neuropsychological test of attention shifting.

Further studies are being carried out

Many people explain that they have difficulty focusing their attention. Decoder should help them improve their ability to do so, explains study author Professor Sahakian of the University of Cambridge. The experts hope the game will not only help healthy people, but also patients with impaired attention. To test this, a study with patients with traumatic brain injuries is planned to be carried out this year. (As)