Brain training improved neuroplasticity and thinking skills in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a recent small study,
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and reorganise nerve fibres responsible for learning and processing.
These fibres enable communication between nerve cells for speech, memory and problem-solving.
In a healthy brain, many strong bundles support these functions, but after injury they can be damaged and connections reduced, similar to telephone wires after a heavy storm.
The findings offer insight into the brain’s resilience and capacity to repair itself.
Gerald Voelbel, associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at NYU Steinhardt and the study’s senior author, said: “This study demonstrates changes in the brain’s white matter and shows that computerized cognitive remediation in adults with chronic brain injury can induce neuroplasticity.
“It builds on our earlier studies showing how these computer games can improve cognition as well as change the connections between brain regions and the structure of the pathways that connect the brain regions.”
Researchers randomly assigned 17 adults aged 24 to 56 with chronic TBI to either an experimental group that played computer games or a control group.
The experimental group used the Brain Fitness Program 2.0, a computer programme that evaluates cognitive abilities through tasks including recalling syllable sequences, distinguishing between different sound frequencies and recalling details from a verbal story. Participants completed 40 one-hour sessions over 14 weeks.
Using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, which measures the speed and direction of water molecules travelling through the brain, the researchers found that participants who completed the games saw significant changes in neuroplasticity over time compared with those who did not.
These changes were linked to improvements in objective measures of processing speed, attention and working memory.
Voelbel said: “This study reveals that the changes in the nerve fibers, such as increased strength and stability, were related to the improved cognitive ability in adults with a chronic brain injury.
“This provides great evidence that the brain can change over time, even in people with a brain injury, with computer exercises that improve cognitive abilities.”
