December 29, 2017
Times Record News
Trish Choate

If you’re trying to remember where you put the thingy, the name of whachamacallit or decipher some mumbling, the Wichita Falls Public Library has got you covered.

A new brain training program can help sweep away the brain fog and get your gray matter working for you, not against you.

BrainHQ is available free to cardholders. They can tap into it on library computers, their own computers and many iOS and Android devices.

The brain training software is scientifically proven to cut dementia risk. Library officials encourage everyone to try it.

“We can work on brain health at any age,” Kathy Vossler, library information and operations supervisor, said.

BrainHQ adapts each exercise to each individual, and completing a level takes about five minutes, according to Posit Science, the company behind the software.

Vossler said the library is definitely seeing interest in the program.

To sign up, access the library’s website at wfpl.net, scroll down to BrainHQ and click on it. You can also call the library at 940-767-0868 for more information.

Free through the library, the program would cost $14 for a monthly subscription or $96 annually directly from BrainHQ.

Vossler tried the online brain training platform when library officials were considering joining dozens of public libraries in offering it. In Texas, libraries in Garland, Goldthwaite, Pottsboro, Richardson, Texas City and Whitesboro make it available.

“I loved it,” Vossler said. “I thought it was great, and then I saw all the research.”

Vossler said her 88-year-old stepfather did Brain HQ exercises and noticed improvement in physical reaction time.

“A lot of people see BrainHQ as kind of a gaming opportunity,” she said. “It’s a lot more than that.”

Findings from more than 100 scientific papers, most independently researched, showed improvements that go beyond thinking more clearly, according to Posit Science.

Benefits run the gamut: 10 years in memory improvement, 135 percent faster auditory processing, 48 percent fewer at-fault car crashes and fewer depression symptoms.

In addition, BrainHQ users had more coordinated neurons and healthier white matter.

A big research project called The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study followed 2,800 older adults for 10 years. Researchers tracked how different kinds of cognitive training affected the occurrence of dementia.

They discovered only one type cut the risk – by almost one-third – for the entire group. It is offered only through BrainHQ’s online training. In the study, participants who trained 10 to 18 hours saw those benefits. If they trained more, they experienced an even greater reduction in risk.

The program offers online exercises zeroing in on core thinking skills: navigation, intelligence, people skills, memory processing, speed and attention, according to Posit Science.

A team of scientists who study how the brain remodels itself created the program.