Vision and Hearing

Published Research on BrainHQ and Vision and Hearing

You can have near-perfect eyes and ears, and still have trouble hearing and seeing. Why? Because the brain plays a major role in vision and hearing, too. The brain has to process the raw information that your eyes and ears deliver in order for you to make sense of that information. If your brain’s processing is slow or inaccurate, you may have trouble understanding what it is that you see or hear. And unfortunately, slower processing is a common side effect of aging.

Seven articles have been published showing that using BrainHQ exercises can improve vision and hearing by increasing processing speed (so your brain keeps up with the pace of information coming in), decrease fuzziness (so your brain makes a clear picture for you), and sharpening attention (so your brain chemicals pump and your focus improves). Among other things, these papers show that training with BrainHQ can improve:

  • Neural timing in auditory temporal processing, with the result that people can hear better when listening to “speech-in-noise” (hearing someone talk with background noise, such as in a crowded place or on a very noisy street)
  • Auditory processing and visual processing, even in people who have experienced some declines in those abilities
  • The function of multiple visual processing areas in the brain

Information and citations for research on the effects of BrainHQ training on vision and hearing


“The influence of perceptual training on working memory in older adults”
Published in: PLoS One
Lead Author: Anne S. Berry, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
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“Neural plasticity underlying visual perceptual learning in aging”
Published in: Brain Research
Lead Author: Jyoti Mishra, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
View abstract

“Reversal of age-related neural timing delays with training”
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Lead Author: Samira Anderson, PhD, Northwestern University
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“Training changes processing of speech cues in older adults with hearing loss”
Published in: Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
Lead Author: Samira Anderson, PhD, Northwestern University
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“Computerized auditory cognitive training to improve cognition and functional outcomes in patients with heart failure: Results of a pilot study”
Published in: Heart & Lung
Lead Author: Ponrathi Athilingam, PhD, ACNP, MCH, FAANP, University of South Florida
View abstract

“Cross-training in hemispatial neglect: Auditory sustained attention training ameliorates visual attention deficits”
Published in: Cortex
Lead authors: Thomas M. Van Vleet, PhD, Northern California VA Healthcare System, Joseph M. DeGutis, PhD, Boston VA Healthcare System
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“Tonic and phasic alertness training: A novel behavioral therapy to improve spatial and non-spatial attention in patients with hemispatial neglect”
Published in: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Lead authors: Joseph M. DeGutis, PhD, Boston VA Healthcare System, Thomas M. Van Vleet, PhD, Northern California VA Healthcare System
View article