Technology a big part of World Alzheimer’s Month

With September being World Alzheimer’s Month, it comes as no surprise that millions of people are joining together in the global fight to raise awareness and end stigma surrounding the disease. With Alzheimer’s being the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and 5.4 million Americans currently battling the disease, volunteers and advocates alike are tirelessly pushing for the critical medical support, research, and developments needed to prevent and cure Alzheimer’s. One company working towards achieving these much-needed neurological breakthroughs is Posit Science with its flagship brain-training program BrainHQ. Created by well-respected scientist, Dr. Michael Merzenich – a UCSF professor emeritus in neurophysiology, member of the National Academy of Sciences, co-inventor of the cochlear implant, and Kavli Prize laureate – and an international team of top neuroscientists, Posit Science’s plasticity-based software is being used to treat people with a multitude of severe neurological disorders, mental illnesses, and brain injuries, changing the way we think about medicine in the process. Dr. Merzenich is one of the few scientists who, in the past 30 years, has dedicated his life to transforming the field of neurology through disproving the conception that the brain is fixed and unmalleable. Cognitive impairments and neurological maladies – dementia, schizophrenia, strokes, autism, and traumatic brain injury – are commonly seen as untreatable, however, Dr. Merzenich’s comprehensive and long-term studies have proven otherwise. In fact, just this summer, the Alzheimer's Association highlighted a landmark study on cognitive training that used a brain-training exercise developed by Dr. Merzenich – the longitudinal study tracked older adults over 10 years and showed a 50% decrease in risk of dementia among those who used a particular type of cognitive exercise that trains visual processing speed. The study additionally showed several other cognitive benefits of speed training, including improved cognitive function, better health and mood, more self-confidence, and even fewer car accidents. It's worth noting that this is the very first time that any intervention – brain-training program, physical exercise, diet, or drug – has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia.

Posit Science is the leading provider of clinically proven brain fitness training. Its exercises, available online at www.BrainHQ.com, have been shown to significantly improve brain speed, attention, memory and numerous standard measures of quality of life in multiple studies published in more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in leading science and medical journals. Three public television documentaries as well as numerous stories on news programs, in national magazines, and in major newspapers have featured Posit Science’s work. The company’s science team is led by renowned neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, PhD.