The Science

Behind Lumosity
VERSION 2

Joseph Hardy
Faraz Farzin
Michael Scanlon
Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 2

The Incredible Changing Brain ........................................................................................................... 3

Behavior Changes the Brain ..................................................................................................... 3

Training Can Improve Cognitive Performance ...................................................................... 4

The Lumosity Product ........................................................................................................................... 7

Exercises ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Assessments ................................................................................................................................ 9

Training Components .............................................................................................................. 10

The Lumosity Research Platform ...................................................................................................... 11

Scientific Research with Lumosity ......................................................................................... 11

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 19

References ............................................................................................................................................ 20

October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 1
Executive Summary
Until quite recently, most scientists believed that
core aspects of cognition were essentially fixed from
a young age, with little or no room for improvement.
Capacities like memory, attention and sensory
processing were thought to be largely permanent
after a relatively brief period of development during
early childhood. In this worldview, those who were
endowed with strong cognitive capacities through
genetics and early development were destined to
operate at a high level throughout much of their
lives. Those not so fortunately endowed were out
of luck.
The emerging findings from neuroscience research
are changing the way we view these issues. We now
understand that, with the right kind of stimulation
and activity, the brain can change and reorganize
itself to become more efficient and effective
in processing information, paying attention,
remembering, thinking creatively and solving novel
problems.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Lumos Labs has drawn upon this cutting edge
science to create Lumosity – a collection of web-
and mobile-based applications that empower
people to exercise their brains. The games and
assessments offered through Lumosity are based
on scientific principles and findings, designed and
presented in an appealing, engaging form that
makes it fun to keep the brain active. Through the
Human Cognition Project (HCP) and Lumosity’s
Education Access Program (LEAP), Lumosity is
being used as a platform technology for studying
the impact of cognitive training on individuals,
including healthy children and adults as well as
individuals with specific clinical conditions. While
the research is still evolving, results from studies in
different populations demonstrate that training with
Lumosity can improve a variety of core cognitive
abilities, including attention, memory, executive
function and math skills. These improved abilities
can enable people to remember more, think faster,
and perform better at work, school and in everyday
life. And ultimately, live a more productive life.
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The Incredible Changing Brain
The capacity of the human brain to make new
associations and acquire new knowledge has
been appreciated for hundreds of years. However,
the brain’s ability to fundamentally reorganize
itself when confronted with new challenges is a
relatively recent discovery. The brain is capable of
reorganization throughout life, and new activities
can promote this reorganization. Given the right
kind of stimulation, existing connections in the brain
become more efficient and effective and new neural
connections can form. This power of structural and
functional change is referred to as neuroplasticity,
and its principles are only now beginning to be fully
appreciated.
Behavior Changes the Brain
Throughout the past decade, researchers have
observed brain changes associated with learning
new, complex and challenging tasks. Below are
several examples of research showing the effects of
brain plasticity in response to learning new skills or
knowledge.
Learning-related brain changes.
In order to obtain a license to drive one of the
famous black cabs around the serpentine urban
streets of London, one must first pass a rigorous
exam testing knowledge of point-to-point routes
throughout the city. These routes are referred to as
The Knowledge, and would-be taxi drivers spend
months “on The Knowledge,” studying the map
of London in hopes of passing the exam. In 2000,
researchers at University College London published
an intriguing brain imaging study involving these
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
individuals (Maguire et al., 2000). They sought to
discover what changes occur in the brains of taxi
drivers as they go on The Knowledge. If the brain
were a relatively static receptacle, passively absorbing
information, then researchers would have expected
to see few, if any, major changes in the brain. What
they saw was dramatic and surprising. Researchers
observed that the hippocampus, a brain area critically
involved in memory and navigation, was larger in those
who had acquired The Knowledge compared to those
who had not. The greater brain volume was found to
be related to the expansive spatial expertise acquired
by London taxi drivers (Maguire et al., 2006).
Another example of brain plasticity in everyday life
comes from medical students who have been found
to undergo brain changes similar to those observed in
the London taxi driver study while studying for exams
(Draganski et al., 2006). Similarly, preparation for the
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) has been found
to strengthen brain connections between regions
involved in reasoning and problem solving (Mackey et
al., 2012). Another study found differences in auditory
and visual brain regions between musicians and non-
musicians that were associated with extent of music
practice (Gaser and Schlaug, 2003). In the domain of
language, bilinguals who became proficient in a second
language showed greater brain volume compared to
monolinguals in a region associated with verbal tasks.
The amount of change was dependent on the age of
learning the second language (Mechelli et al., 2004).
Lastly, volunteers who learned a 3-ball juggling routine
showed functional changes in brain areas associated
with visual areas important for processing motion that
the non-jugglers did not show (Draganski et al., 2004;
Scholz et al., 2009). All of these results are among the
growing evidence that the human brain changes when
faced with new challenging tasks.
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Video game-based brain changes.
Cognitive abilities are affected by other kinds
of activities as well, not just those traditionally
associated with learning. Some interesting evidence
supporting the brain’s ability to change comes from
the world of video games. Green and Bavelier (2003)
showed that first-person action video game players
performed better in measures of visual attention
than non-players. Furthermore, when non-players
played an action video game intensively over a
period of several weeks, their visual attention
capacities improved to resemble the capacities of
gamers. Haier and colleagues (2009) asked a group
of adolescent girls to undergo an MRI scan before
and after practicing the game Tetris for a period
of three months. The brains of these girls showed
changes in cortical thickness in temporal, parietal
and frontal cortex following the practice. These
studies demonstrate that some aspects of video-
game play, like learning, can induce neuroplasticity.
Training Can Improve Cognitive Performance
Interactive technology, like that used to design video
games, can also be used to create and deliver specific
cognitive tasks in a form that is intensive, engaging,
repeatable, adaptive and highly targeted. This
advance in technology, combined with a growing
appreciation of the brain’s ability to reorganize itself,
has led to an explosion of interest in uncovering
the impact of cognitive training using computer-
based technology. Here we present recent research
studies conducted using structured, targeted and
computer-based brain training programs that have
shown positive outcomes on a range of cognitive
abilities in young and old adults as well as children.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Cognitive training in older adults.
One area of active research using cognitive training
is for preventing cognitive decline associated with
the normal course of aging.
The ACTIVE study. The Advanced Cognitive Training
for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study
was a large, randomized, controlled trial testing the
effects of three kinds of cognitive training (Ball et
al., 2002). The 2832 participants in the study, all 65
years of age or older, were randomly assigned to
one of four training conditions. One group received
no training and served as the control. The three
intervention groups received memory, reasoning or
speed of processing training. Participants in each
intervention group underwent approximately 10
one-hour sessions of training over about six weeks.
A number of interesting results have come out of
the ACTIVE trial. As expected, participants in all
groups learned to perform the training tasks more
efficiently. What was more impressive was that the
effects of the training generalized to measures of
real-world function. For example, those receiving
training in speed of processing and reasoning
showed significantly slower declines in instrumental
activities of daily living compared with individuals in
the control group (Willis et al., 2006). Individuals
in the speed of processing intervention group also
showed significant improvements on a variety of
health-related quality of life self-ratings at the year 2,
3 and 5 follow-ups (Wolinsky et al. 2010). In addition,
participants who received these training programs
were about half as likely as control participants to
be in a motor vehicle accident following the study
(Ball et al., 2010). These functional benefits were
observed five years after training was completed,
indicating that the gains were sustained for a
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significant period of time.
The ACTIVE study suggests that cognitive training
can have useful real-world benefits for older adults.
However, the study had several limitations that made
it difficult to rule out placebo effects and untrained
task transfer effects, and difficult to determine
whether cognitive training would similarly benefit
individuals younger than 65 years. In addition, the
training program involved touch-screen monitors
and required in-person supervision, making it
challenging to deliver the intervention outside of
the laboratory or clinic setting.
The IHAMS study. To address these limitations, the
Iowa Healthy and Active Minds Study (IHAMS) was
conducted (Wolinsky et al., 2013). IHAMS included
681 participants in two age groups (group 1: 55-64
years and group 2: 65 years and older), who were
randomly divided into four groups: the first received
the same speed of processing training used in the
ACTIVE study. The second group received the
speed of processing training with an additional
‘booster’ training after 11 months. The third group
completed the speed of processing training on
a personal computer without supervision. The
fourth group completed computerized crossword
puzzles that served as an active control to evaluate
any placebo effects. All groups were assessed on
standard neuropsychological assessments prior to
the start of the study, at 6 to 8 weeks into the study
and at 12 months.
The results of IHAMS demonstrated that targeted
cognitive training enhanced performance in the
trained domain of visual processing and the untrained
domain of executive functioning significantly more
than the crossword puzzle activity. The observed
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
improvements were equivalent between the groups
who trained in the clinic and at home and between
the younger and older participants. Lastly, the
researchers found that the improvements were
substantial after 12 months. The results of the
IHAMS study supported and extended the findings
of the ACTIVE study and demonstrated again that
cognitive training can be beneficial.
The COGITO study. A separate group of researchers
sought to investigate the effects of cognitive
training in young adults as well as older adults. This
study, called the COGITO study, included twelve
computerized tasks that exercised processing
speed, working memory and episodic memory.
Participants, both younger (20-31 years) and older
(65-80 years) adults, completed 100 daily 1-hour
sessions of training (Schmiedek et al., 2010). The
results from this study showed improved cognitive
outcomes on several individual tests of near- and
far-transfer of processing speed, working memory
and episodic memory in each age group.
Cognitive training in children.
Research related to the enhancement of core
cognitive abilities through cognitive training in
school-aged children is another area of intense
interest because of its potential to impact education
and longer-term academic outcomes. Executive
functions, or the collections of cognitive processes
that help us to regulate and control our behaviors,
have been shown to correlate with and predict
academic achievement (Blair and Diamond, 2008).
For example, cognitive abilities such as selective
attention, the capacity to focus on relevant
incoming information, and inhibitory control, have
been linked to both literacy and mathematics
(Stevens and Bavelier, 2012; Hillman et al., 2012).
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Beyond having the potential to impact academic
performance, a recent longitudinal study reported
that executive function abilities during childhood
were related to outcomes of lifelong health, wealth
and public safety (Moffitt et al., 2011).
Initial randomized and controlled studies of brain-
based cognitive training with children have shown
significant long-term gains. For example, the Perry
Preschool Program enrolled 3- and 4-year-olds
into intervention sessions targeting a broad range
of cognitive skills including decision-making and
problem solving for 30 weeks per year until the
children were 8 years old, and reported positive
outcomes on cognitive performance and long-
term records of high school graduation rates
(Belfield et al., 2006; Muennig et al., 2009). Another
study, the Abecedarian Program, enrolled the same
aged children in a full day of individualized cognitive
activities, 5 days a week, for 50 weeks a year, and
demonstrated important, long-lasting benefits
(Barnett and Masse, 2007; Campbell et al., 2001).
A recent study by Mackey and colleagues (2011)
trained older children (7- to 9- year olds) using a
program that targeted fluid reasoning, or the ability
to consider multiple pieces of information when
making a decision, and a separate group that trained
on processing speed tasks. Children in both groups
demonstrated transfer of training to untrained tasks
that tapped the trained skill.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden
conducted a series of experiments testing the effects
of a working memory training program with children
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The premise of this work was that increasing working
memory capacity in these children would improve
their ability to attend to and process information
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
in their environments, and a variety of positive
behavioral and school performance outcomes
were achieved. In one study, improvements were
seen in visual memory and response inhibition after
training, relative to children in a control group who
did not train (Klingberg, et al., 2005). Increased levels
of activation in the prefrontal and parietal cortices,
the parts of the brain most responsible for working
memory and attention, were seen in children
following training (Olesen, et al., 2004). Improved
mathematical reasoning performance has also been
observed following training (Holmes, et al., 2009).
This research lends more proof to the notion that
effective brain training can change connections
in the brain, improve cognitive performance and
support learning.
Cognitive training in young adults.
Recently, researchers from the University of
Michigan examined the effects of a challenging
working memory and divided attention task on fluid
intelligence performance in young adults (Jaeggi,
et al., 2008). This task, called the Dual N-Back,
requires users to attend to simultaneously presented
auditory and visual information and remember
both streams. The challenge adapts dynamically to
the user’s performance abilities. Fluid intelligence
is thought of as the ability to creatively solve new
problems, and it is measured as part of standard
IQ tests. Conventional wisdom in psychology
had said that intelligence is fixed, without much
potential for improvement. However, participants
who completed the Dual N-Back training in this
study showed improvements in working memory
and fluid intelligence that were significantly larger
than those seen in the control group. The more
participants trained, the larger the improvements
in fluid intelligence were. This research challenged
6
the view that intelligence could not be enhanced
in adults and showed the potential for cognitive
training to help even those who are already near the
peak of cognitive performance. Lumos Labs worked
closely with Martin Buschkuehl and Susanne Jaeggi
to make a version of the Dual N-Back task available
for use by both Lumosity users and researchers.
The studies presented here are merely a sample
of the most compelling research showing that
cognitive training can be effective in strengthening
cognition and enriching real-life outcomes for
people of all ages and a wide range of conditions.
Reviews are available that present this literature in
greater depth (for example, Jak et al., 2013; Hertzog
et al. 2009; McGurk et al. 2007). This evidence is
merely the beginning of the story. There is a great
deal more to learn about how cognitive training can
be best applied and optimized for each individual’s
unique goals. At Lumos Labs, we have created a
research platform that allows us to facilitate the
exploration of these issues in collaboration with
researchers and institutions around the globe.
Completed and ongoing research using Lumosity is
described below in the section Scientific Research
with Lumosity.
The Lumosity Product
The Lumosity product suite includes an integrated
and growing suite of web- and mobile-based
cognitive training exercises and assessments, as
well as the supporting systems that help guide users
through their brain training experience.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Exercises
The core of the Lumosity brain training experience
is the more than 40 exercises designed to improve
performance across a variety of cognitive functions.
Designed and created by scientists working closely
with game developers, the tasks are both highly
effective brain training and highly engaging games.
Each game targets a specific cognitive skill using
novel experiences that challenge the brain to create
new and more efficient connections. Many games
are adaptive, becoming increasingly more difficult
as performance improves and becoming easier
if performance declines. In this way, the training
intensity is optimized to a level that is challenging
without being distracting. Taken together, the entire
suite of exercises represents a comprehensive brain
training system – an entire gym for the brain. There
are exercises training speed of processing, memory,
attention, mental flexibility and problem solving.
The best way to get a sense for how the exercises
work is to look at a few examples.
Figure 1. Lost in Migration screenshot
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Lost in Migration.
In the exercise Lost in Migration, the player must
identify the direction that a central bird is facing
(up, down, left or right), among a presentation of
5 birds, closely resembling a flock of birds in flight
(Figure 1). The goal is to report the direction as
quickly as possible while maintaining high accuracy.
Sometimes the direction of the center bird matches
that of the rest of the flock, which makes the
decision easier because all birds are in a single
direction, but when the center bird is in a different
direction compared to the other birds, the decision
is more difficult. The objective in those situations is
to focus on the direction of the center bird without
letting the other birds become a distraction.
This exercise targets visual attention and response
inhibition. The player is challenged to focus in the
presence of distracting information and to use
impulse control. This challenge is similar to a variety
of real world contexts, such as driving or sports,
where we often have to make a rapid decision based
on a stream of incoming visual information.
Figure 2. Memory Matrix screenshot
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Memory Matrix.
The exercise Memory Matrix challenges the brain’s
ability to remember spatial locations (Figure 2).
The player’s goal in this exercise is to remember
the location of squares on a grid. The squares are
presented one at a time, and are briefly highlighted,
before disappearing. The player must then click on
the location on the grid where the squares were
highlighted. Initially, only 3 squares are presented
on a 3 by 3 grid, but with each correct response the
number of squares in increased by one and the grid
becomes larger.
This exercise targets spatial short-term memory,
which is closely related to the kinds of memory
challenges that we all experience on a daily basis.
Speed Match.
The goal of Speed Match is to determine whether
the current symbol on a card presented matches
the previous symbol presented (Figure 3). This task
exercises speed of visual processing because the
player is challenged to respond quickly yet accurately
Figure 3. Speed Match screenshot
8
within a fixed amount of time. The player is given
bonus points for a series of correct responses, and
as performance improves, the cards are presented
more rapidly. Focus must be maintained as each
time there is an equal chance that the card matches
and doesn’t match the one prior, so the player
cannot predict the outcome.
This task is designed to translate to the real world
ability to process incoming streams of visual
information that are changing from moment to
moment and to make decisions faster, such as
when driving or at work.
Assessments
The Brain Performance Test.
To be able to measure training-related changes
in cognitive abilities, Lumos Labs has created
The Brain Performance Test (BPT). The BPT is a
brief, repeatable collection of tasks that are based
on existing neuropsychological and cognitive
assessments and optimized for use on the web.
Importantly, the selected tasks measure cognitive
abilities that are exercised through Lumosity
training, including speed of processing, memory,
attention, mental flexibility and problem solving,
but the tasks distinct from the exercises. This tool
allows us to reliably measure cognitive performance
independent from performance on the games
in order to test the transfer effects of the training
system. Transfer refers to the ability to use the
trained skills and mental mastery in novel situations
and tasks similar, but not identical, to the task used
for training.
Using the BPT, Lumos Labs continuously evaluates
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
the efficacy of Lumosity training for improving
cognitive abilities. In an example of this research, a
sample of new Lumosity subscribers were sent an
email 3 days after subscribing inviting them to take
the test. Ten weeks later, these same subscribers
were e-mailed with a new invitation to take the test
again. Throughout this 10-week period, participants
could freely train on Lumosity at their leisure.
We analyzed the results of 2045 Lumosity users who
participated in the study. Pre- and post-training BPT
scores were shown to be highly reliable, indicating
that the BPT captures stable differences in cognitive
abilities between individuals (Figure 4). Participants
who completed more Lumosity exercises during
the period between test administrations improved
more on the BPT than those who trained less (p
< .001), based on a regression model controlling
for participants’ age and initial performance on
the assessment as covariates (Figure 5). An earlier
analysis of the BPT was presented at the 2012 annual
meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Sternberg
et al., 2012).
150
Post-training BPT score
125
100
75
50
50 75 100 125 150
Pre-training BPT score
Figure 4. The relationship between a participants’ pre- and
post-training BPT score.
9
 productivity, adapting to changing environment and
10 multitasking efficiently.
Change in BPT score

9
8
7 Brain Performance Index (BPI).
6
5 Lumosity’s BPI is an aggregate measure of
4 performance on the exercises that allows users to
3
2 track their Lumosity improvement across the five
1 brain areas – Speed, Memory, Attention, Flexibility
0
and Problem Solving, and over time. The BPI lets
25 6

5
15 5

2+
2

users know where they fall with respect to their own

25

34
15

54

54
5-

6-
0-

5-
34

performance using a single number.

Exercises completed
Figure 5. Improvement on the BPT as a function of the
number of Lumosity exercises completed.
The fact that improvement on the BPT grew as
a function of the amount of Lumosity training
suggests that users may be able to improve their
cognitive performance through Lumosity training.
The BPT will also allow us to develop and test new
and improved cognitive training exercises and
training systems that will continue to increase the
efficacy of Lumosity’s training platform.
Training components
A variety of other components support the training
experience with Lumosity. These include:
Personalized training.
The personalized training feature of Lumosity allows
users to build their own training program based on
the cognitive skills that they want to prioritize during
their training. Within each cognitive domain, the
user can set goals for everyday skills they would like
to improve, such as remembering names, improving
Brain Profile.
Lumosity offers its users with an individualized
Brain Profile that indicates where the user sits in the
overall distribution of Lumosity users and relative to
users of a comparable profile. For example, in each
cognitive domain, a percentile rank is graphed,
indicating how the user compares to peers of the
same age.
Lumosity Points.
Lumosity Points provide an effort-based measure
of progress and improvement. The more exercises
completed, the higher the point total, encouraging
users continue playing.
Training History.
Training History presents Lumosity users with both
a summary and detailed report of their training,
including days of training, total games played and
change in BPI scores. These reports are presented
through intuitive and accessible visualizations and
graphics, in addition to the numbers.

October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10
The Lumosity Research Platform
Lumos Labs’ research is rooted in open innovation,
in which the best researchers in the field are
encouraged to study the Lumosity cognitive
training products through ongoing testing and
contribution of the best ideas for novel cognitive
enhancement solutions. This model, accomplished
through The Human Cognition Project, is flourishing
because there is a natural virtuous cycle between
researchers, developers and the users who benefit
from training. The technological infrastructure of the
Lumosity website, and the back-end data solutions
associated with it, make it easy for researchers to
gather and analyze data from studies conducted
using the software. This allows researchers to focus
on the most interesting and important questions in
the field of cognitive training research, rather than
needing to develop custom software. In turn, this
facilitation allows for rapid deployment of cutting
edge training for a wide variety of populations who
can benefit from these tools. The broad user base
itself (Retrieved on October 21, 2013, Lumosity.com
had more than 50 million registered users) allows for
investigation of basic aspects of cognitive function
and cognitive change that could never have been
answered in the past without such large samples.
Scientific Research with Lumosity
The Lumosity exercises and assessments are rooted
in scientific research. Lumos Labs is continually
collaborating with independent research labs
at top universities not only to demonstrate and
develop effective and engaging cognitive training,
but also to advance our understanding of human
cognition more generally. In addition to external
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
collaborations with university researchers, Lumos
Labs also conducts “in-house” studies of cognitive
training using Lumosity’s large and growing database
of human cognition. Both of these endeavors are
made possible through The Human Cognition
Project.
The Human Cognition Project.
The Human Cognition Project (HCP) brings
together university-based researchers, clinicians
and volunteer participants in an effort to better
understand the human mind. Through this
groundbreaking, interdisciplinary, collaborative
project, we are working together to answer
questions about human cognition that have gone
unanswered. HCP researchers benefit from free
access to Lumosity’s tools and database on human
cognition; Lumosity benefits by gaining insight into
its training program through unbiased research.
Completed Research.
Below we provide brief descriptions of 7 peer-
reviewed publications that have been conducted
either exclusively by or in collaboration with HCP
university-based researchers. These studies have
demonstrated that cognitive training with Lumosity
is effective in improving important aspects of
cognition, across a variety of populations. In
addition to published research, we also present
our findings at scientific conferences such as the
Society for Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience
Society, Entertainment Software and Cognitive
Neurotherapeutics Society (ESCoNS) and other
scientific research meetings. A full list of completed
research can be found on our website: http://hcp.
lumosity.com/research/bibliography.
In 2011, Hardy and colleagues published the
11
Figure 6. Improvement in working memory following
training on Lumosity.
results of an experiment conducted by Lumos
Labs to evaluate the effect of Lumosity training
on cognition in healthy adults (Hardy, et al., 2011).
The study included 23 participants (mean age = 54
years) who were divided into a group that received
Lumosity training and a control group that received
no treatment. Training consisted of 20 minutes of
Lumosity per day, once a day, for five weeks. All
participants’ cognitive abilities were assessed before
and after the training period with measures of visual
attention, working memory and executive function.
These assessments were versions of standard
assessments of cognitive function, adapted for use
on the web.
Working memory performance was measured
using a test referred to as the reverse span board.
In this assessment, participants must attend to and
remember the order in which a set of blocks were lit
up and respond by clicking on them in the opposite
order. Participants who engaged in Lumosity
training improved significantly (p<0.01, two-tailed
t-test) on this working memory measure following
training. Participants in the control group did not
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Figure 7. Improvement in executive funtion following
training on Lumosity.
improve significantly (Figure 6).
Similar results were observed in the assessments
of visual attention and executive function. The
visual attention assessment measured participants’
ability to accurately process multiple streams of
visual information simultaneously. Participants who
received Lumosity training showed improvement in
this test that was significantly larger than that of the
control group (p<0.01, two-tailed t-test).
Executive function is a term that describes the
ability to control the various aspects of cognition.
This ability is critical for a wide variety of tasks
including planning, problem solving and inhibiting
inappropriate responses. A standard measure of
executive function is the Trail-making Part B test. In
this test, participants must click on a series of icons,
alternating between letters and numbers, while
going in order both numerically and alphabetically.
Participants who trained with Lumosity improved
significantly on this measure of executive function
(p<.01, two-tailed t-test), while control participants
did not (Figure 7).
12
Overall, participants in this study improved on the
exercises that they played, which is not surprising.
What is more interesting is that these training gains
transferred to measures of cognitive performance
that were not directly trained. Therefore, participants
did not simply learn strategies to get better on the
exercises; rather, the training changed underlying
cognitive abilities. Due to the fundamental nature of
this change, these gains may transfer to real world
tasks that rely on these cognitive abilities.
In a study published in the December 2011 issue of
the peer-reviewed journal Brain Impairment, Finn
and McDonald, from the University of New South
Wales, reported their findings demonstrating that
patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
experienced positive cognitive outcomes following
Lumosity training (Finn and McDonald, 2011).
MCI is diagnosed when cognitive changes beyond
those expected with the typical aging process are
present, including difficulties with recall, information
processing and planning. MCI is also associated with
an increased risk of dementia. In the study, twelve
individuals with MCI completed 30 sessions of
Lumosity training over 8-10 weeks, while a group of
13 individuals was assigned to a waitlist group that
did not complete training until the study was over. All
participants underwent cognitive assessment using
the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological
Test Battery (CANTAB) before and after the training
period. The researchers observed that individuals
in the Lumosity training group showed significant
improvement in visual attention compared to
individuals in the waitlist group, which is a promising
result for those suffering from MCI.
In 2013, in collaboration with Dr. Murali Doraiswamy,
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
a professor at Duke University, Lumos Labs published
a paper in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience
reporting on a new, web-based, big data approach
to understanding human cognition (Sternberg et al.,
2013). The objective of the study was to demonstrate
the power of Lumosity’s large database of human
cognition by examining how cognitive performance
relates to lifestyle factors and how it changes over
the lifespan in a demographically diverse, healthy
population.
Two separate analyses were conducted within
the study. In the first analysis, Lumosity users’
performance on 3 cognitive exercises: Speed Match
(processing speed), Memory Matrix (spatial working
memory) and Raindrops (problem solving), along
with their data from a health and lifestyle survey,
were analyzed. This analysis found that cognitive
performance on all three exercises was highest, on
average, for users reporting 7 hours of sleep each
night. In addition, low to moderate alcohol intake
(1-2 drinks per day) was associated with higher
performance and progressively decreased with
additional alcohol consumption. Figure 8 shows the
results from the analysis of performance on Memory
Matrix (Figure 2) in a group of 161,717 Lumosity users
as a function of sleep and alcohol, controlling for
age, gender and level of education.
The second analysis included data from Lumosity
users ages 18-74 who completed at least 25 training
sessions that included cognitive exercises that rely
either on fluid intelligence (Memory Matrix and
Memory Match) or on crystallized intelligence (Word
Bubbles and Raindrops). Overall, performance on
all four exercises decreased with age and increased
with amount of training. However, performance
decreased more rapidly with age for exercises that
13
ct Measure = threshold memory span Measure = Number correct before 3 errors
N = 161,717 N = 127,048
= 97,177 (59.8%) males = 65,095 (40.3%), females = 96,662 (59.7%) males = 53,169 (41.8%), females = 73,879 (58.2%)
mean age = 37.97 yrs. (sd=15.7) mean age = 37.34 yrs. (sd=15.6)
Dr. Shelli Kesler, an Assistant Professor and
neuropsychologist at Stanford University School of

Raindrops number correct

66
Memory Matrix threshold

7.6
Medicine, has been studying the effects of training
64
7.5 with Lumosity for several years. Dr. Kesler studies
62
cognition in a few populations of individuals who
7.4
60
are challenged due to medical conditions. She has
7.3 58 been using Lumosity in this context to understand
56 whether cognition can be improved in these

More than 10
10

More than 10
populations.

10
Less than 4
More than 10

Less than 4

9
10
9

per day Hours of sleep per day Hours of sleep per day
One study from Dr. Kesler’s lab involves children
with Turner syndrome. Turner syndrome is a
66 genetic condition known to cause several issues,
7.60
Raindrops number correct
Memory Matrix threshold

65 including cognitive challenges – particularly related

7.55 64
to executive function. In a study published in 2011
in the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychological
7.50 63
Rehabilitation, Kesler and colleagues showed
62
7.45 enhanced math skills and cognitive performance,
61 along with corresponding changes in brain activity,
7.40
60 in individuals with Turner syndrome following

5 6 7+ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+ 0
training
1 2
with
3
Lumosity
4 5 6
(Kesler
7+
et al., 2011a). In this
per day) Alcohol (drinks per day) Alcohol
study, (drinks
16 girls per7-14
ages day) years with Turner syndrome
participated in a 6-week Lumosity training program.
Figure 8. The effect of reported sleep and alcohol intake on
game performance on Memory Matrix. All participants completed standardized cognitive
tests and math tests before and after completing
Lumosity training. Participants also underwent
required fluid intelligence compared with exercises functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
that rely on crystallized intelligence. Additionally, scanning while performing a math task before and
the analysis revealed that improvement decreased after training to measure the effects of Lumosity
as age increased. Additionally, the analysis revealed training on brain activity. The girls who completed
that improvement decreased as age increased the Lumosity training demonstrated significant
at a faster rate for exercises that required fluid improvements in processing speed, visual attention
intelligence compared with those that rely on and cognitive flexibility (p < .05, two-tailed t-test).
crystallized intelligence. Together, the analyses
published in this paper demonstrate examples In addition, fMRI brain scans revealed neuroplastic
of the scientific questions that can be answered changes in brain function, with significantly
through the study of Lumosity’s large dataset of (p<0.001) increased activation observed in frontal
human cognitive performance. and parietal brain regions – areas associated with

October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 14
executive function and number skills (Figure 9).
This study showed that individuals with Turner
Syndrome could improve math and cognitive skills
with Lumosity training.
Dr. Kesler has also been investigating the use of
cognitive training in improving cognitive outcomes
in cancer survivors. Chemotherapy and radiation
therapy associated with cancer treatment can have
negative effects on brain structures, and certain
forms of cancer can directly impair brain function.
Awareness of the negative effects of cancer and
cancer treatment on brain function has been
growing in recent years. Terms such as “chemobrain”
or “chemofog” have been coined to describe this
phenomenon. In a study published in 2011 in Brain
Injury, Dr. Kesler’s group enrolled 25 children with
leukemia or posterior brain tumors to complete
Lumosity training (Kesler et al., 2011b). As part of the
study, all children completed standardized cognitive
Figure 9. Changes in brain activity following training on Lumosity. Red areas represent increased activity while blue areas
represent decreased activity following training.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
tests and underwent fMRI scanning before and after
training.
Participants showed increased scores on Processing
Speed, Sort Test, List Memory and Picture Memory
tests following Lumosity training. In addition,
brain scans showed increased activation in the
prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible
for executive functions including cognitive
flexibility and decision-making. This study was the
first to show that Lumosity training is effective for
improving executive and memory skills in pediatric
cancer survivors.
Dr. Kesler is also actively engaged in testing the
effects Lumosity training in a population of breast
cancer survivors. In a recent publication in the peer-
reviewed journal Clinical Breast Cancer, Dr. Kesler
explored whether Lumosity training could reduce
or reverse the impairments caused by cancer
15
treatments. Forty-one women who had undergone
chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer were
assigned to a Lumosity training group or a waitlist
group that received Lumosity training after the
study was completed. Participants took a series of
cognitive tests from standard neuropsychological
assessments before and after the training period.
The results showed that individuals in the Lumosity
training group experienced significantly greater
improvement on the Wisconsin Card Sort Task
(WCST), Symbol Search and Letter Fluency
compared with the group who did not complete
training (Figure 10). The individuals who completed
the training also reported improvements in daily
planning and monitoring skills. This study revealed
that cancer survivors were able to improve their
cognitive abilities and that they reported improved
quality of life following training with Lumosity.
Beyond cognitive training, Lumosity exercises
and assessments have also been used as a tool
Figure 10. Changes on various standardized cognitive tests
in the Lumosity training group and the Waitlist group.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
for researchers interested in studying cognitive
performance. For example, Rattray and colleagues
at the University of Canberra used Lumosity’s Speed
Match game as a freely available and easy-to-use
assessment of executive function during exercise.
This work, published in the Journal of Science &
Medicine in Sport, examined the effect of aerobic
exercise on cognitive function in 20 healthy adults
(Rattray and Smee, 2013). While exercise proved
to have no effect on participants’ accuracy on the
task, it did improve their reaction time by making
participants faster compared with when they had
not exercised.
Summary of Key Findings to Date. Results observed
in training studies conducted with Lumosity show
that this training platform can be used to improve
cognition in a variety of ways and for a variety of
individuals. Improvements in memory, attention
and executive function have been seen in healthy
adults as well as children and adults with a variety of
clinical conditions that impact cognitive functions.
Overall, these results demonstrate that training
with Lumosity can have wide-ranging impacts
in cognitive performance across the lifespan,
regardless of one’s starting point.
Ongoing Research.
The completed research described above is just
the tip of the iceberg of scientific exploration using
the Lumosity platform and database. Lumos Labs
supports external, independent research by making
available Lumosity exercises and assessments, as
well as offering data capture and analysis support.
Lumos Labs also facilitates the advancement of
scientific research by providing select access to the
largest human cognitive performance database to
date.
16
Researchers worldwide are currently using the
Lumosity platform and database to engage in
research studies that span topics including aging,
traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, addiction, post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exercise.
Here are just a few examples of the more than 40
ongoing research studies with Lumosity:
Researchers at Harvard University, led by Dr.
Christine Hooker have been exploring the effects of
Lumosity training on the brains of individuals at high
risk for schizophrenia. Dr. Joe Ventura, a Professor
at UCLA, is also studying the effects of Lumosity
in a day treatment program that serves adults with
schizophrenia.
Dr. Anett Gyurak, a Postdoctoral Researcher at
Stanford University is conducting a study to assess
whether Lumosity training is an effective intervention
for helping individuals cultivate emotion regulation
abilities.
Dr. Bruce Compas, a Professor at Vanderbilt
University is conducting a study investigating the
effects of Lumosity on stress and coping strategies
in college students.
Dr. Michael Weiner’s group at UCSF is using Lumosity
performance in their Brain Initiative project to
help identify the progression of brain conditions
throughout adulthood.
A complete list of ongoing research collaborations
can be found on our website: http://hcp.lumosity.
com/research/ongoing.
October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Lumosity’s Education Access Program.
Launched in 2009, Lumosity’s Education Access
Program (LEAP) is focused on discovering the
effects of Lumosity training on students’ cognitive
capabilities and academic performance by
encouraging and facilitating research in classrooms
around the world. Executive functions and other
core cognitive abilities serve as critical scaffolding
for educational achievement and general life
outcomes beyond school. For example, working
memory and visual-spatial skills have been
associated with math, science and reading abilities.
Improving these functions not only prepares the
mind for grasping and processing information, it
also prepares the student by improving the ability
to focus and attend to classroom activities. In
addition, several of the Lumosity exercises employ
problem solving abilities that include material such
as basic math skills that students must master in
the classroom. In this way, the training is doubly
productive, improving underlying brain mechanisms
while simultaneously providing students with basic
practice on foundational skills.
To date, through LEAP, over 14,000 students in
over 700 classrooms worldwide have received free
access to Lumosity. Working with teachers, school
administrators and education researchers, we are
studying the impact of Lumosity on cognitive and
academic performance in school-aged children.
Lumosity training is well suited to supplement
standard curricula in the classroom environment,
with engaging and stimulating exercises that aim
to strengthen core cognitive skills that can help
to prepare students for success in the classroom.
Initial findings from LEAP are providing promising
evidence that cognitive training positively impacts
17
 control intervention
10
10
9

Change in overall score

9 8
Age adjusted change in score

8 7

7 6
5
6
4
5 3
4 2

3 1
0
2

55

46

0+
1

−9

24
1−

−1

24
6−
55

90

14
x
0
de
In
G

R
AR

S
TB

FS
TA
N

Games played
d
R

G
G

n
ra
G

Figure 11. Changes in BPT score on various standardized Figure 12. Improvement on the BPT as a function of the
cognitive tests in the Lumosity training and the control number of Lumosity exercises completed.
groups.

students’ cognitive abilities and has the potential to
improve academic outcomes.
In a study led by Nicole Ng and colleagues at Lumos
Labs (Ng et al., 2013), a group of 1204 students
(ages 8-15 years) from 40 schools participated in
a semester-long study in which each student was
assigned to either complete Lumosity cognitive
training as a supplement to their classroom activities
or engage in their normal curricular activities. All
students were tested using the Brain Performance
Test before and after the training period to measure
transfer effects of Lumosity training. Lumosity
training involved daily training sessions consisting
of 5 different exercises that took 15-20 minutes
to complete. Students also had the opportunity
to complete additional exercises outside of the
designated classroom time.
The results revealed that students who completed
Lumosity training showed greater improvement on
all BPT tasks compared with students who had not
done the training (Figure 11). Furthermore, students’
improvements on the BPT were related to the hours
they had spent training (Figure 12).
Collectively, findings from LEAP both validate the
feasibility of deploying a web-based cognitive
training program as a supplemental educational
activity in a range of ages and classrooms, and
establish that a student’s engagement with
Lumosity can have a positive impact on cognitive
abilities. Studies like these are encouraging, and
open the doors to answering additional questions
about the role that neuroplasticity and cognitive
training can play in education. The bridge between
neuroscience research and educational practice is
just beginning to be built and Lumosity is excited to
continue supporting it through LEAP.
 

October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 18
Conclusion

Recent studies have revealed that the brain remains

changeable throughout life, and in doing so, have
revolutionized the way scientists view cognition. It is
no longer common belief that children’s brains are
fixed after the end of a critical period in development
or that aging is an inevitable precipitous decline
in cognitive functions. Rather, there is substantial
evidence that, in addition to genetics, which supply
the basic blueprint for brain development, there
is also a tremendous influence of environmental
factors that can shape our neural circuitry, and
ultimately impact the way our brains function.

Launched in 2007, Lumosity is committed to

pioneering the understanding and enhancement of
the human brain to give each person the power to
unlock their full cognitive potential. Lumosity’s online
and mobile programs take a personalized approach
to training core cognitive abilities such as speed of
processing, memory, attention and problem solving.
Rooted in neuroscience and designed around key
factors such as targeting, adaptivity, engagement,
and transferability, Lumosity training can benefit a
variety of cognitive abilities, to lead to real changes
in the brain and to be fun at the same time. There is
a great deal more research to be done. Through our
collaborative research programs with universities
and schools worldwide, we are continuing to learn
about the ways in which training can help each user
achieve their individual goals, including healthy
adults, school-aged children and patients with
specific clinical conditions.
 

October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 19
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October 23, 2013 | © 2013 Lumos Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved 23