From the Times of London:

The survey of ten-year-old children found no evidence to support claims in Nintendo's advertising campaign, featuring Nicole Kidman, that users can test and rejuvenate their grey cells. “The Nintendo DS is a technological jewel. As a game it's fine,” said Alain Lieury, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Rennes, Brittany, who conducted the survey. “But it is charlatanism to claim that it is a scientific test.”

Nintendo claims its “edutainment” programmes, such as Big Brain Academy and Brain Training, can improve blood flow to the brain and thereby improve “practical intelligence”.

The company suggests that its programmes can make users “two to three times better in tests of memory.” It claims to assess capacity by measuring “brain age” and says that older people can keep their minds young by using the console. Nearly 90 million DS units have been sold worldwide. ...

Professor Lieury said that helping one's children with their homework, reading, playing Scrabble or Sudoku or watching documentaries instead of soap operas matched or beat the console. [Link]

The study tested 67 ten-year-olds, on the theory that their more plastic brains would show the greatest impact. If the games don't work for kids, they won't work for adults, the researcher argues.

What the study doesn't seem to account for is how well children will be motivated to engage in a given learning activity. It's pretty safe to say that playing platform games is more fun for most kids than Sudoku (which is itself included in BrainAge 2) or getting help with homework. For many kids, this can make a big difference in how much exposure to material they get, and how well they fit it into their daily routine. - Jeremiah