Posit Science Disputes Results of the BBC Brain Training Study

By Posit Science, PRNE
Monday, April 19, 2010

Fatal Flaw in Methodology Provides Overly Generalized Findings

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2010 - Posit Science (www.positscience.com), the leader in clinically
proven brain fitness programs, contests the interpretation and methodology
used in a British Broadcasting Corporation-sponsored study published in the
journal Nature.

Researchers in the BBC study found that their own cognitive training
programs, designed specifically for their study, did not yield significant
improvements in cognitive function. They suggest from this finding that all
cognitive training programs do not work. The authors failed to explain scores
of other published studies, involving thousands of participants and
duplicated at numerous study sites, that showed certain cognitive training
programs do deliver improvements in cognitive function and in multiple
measures of everyday life.

"This is a surprising study methodology," said Dr. Henry Mahncke, VP
Research at Posit Science. "It would be like concluding that there are no
compounds to fight bacteria because the compound you tested was sugar and not
penicillin."

"There is a fatal flaw in the BBC study; it assumes that since their
methods did not work, all methods would not work," said Steven Aldrich, CEO
Posit Science. "Posit Science has built products that have been rigorously
tested by researchers at many leading research institutions including the
Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Southern California. Those
studies have shown real-world improvements including improved memory and
attention, greater functional independence and better quality of life."

In recent years, more than 60 articles have been published in
peer-reviewed journals on Posit Science technology, and have repeatedly shown
benefits that apply to everyday life, including improvements in:

    - Generalized, untrained measures of memory and attention
    - Everyday cognitive tasks
    - Health-related quality of life
    - Functional independence
    - Mood and affect
    - Feelings of control and autonomy
    - The safer operation of a car

These benefits were demonstrated in leading medical and science journals,
including publications in Journal of the American Medical Association, the
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and the Journal of Gerontology. A
more complete list of studies can be found at
www.positscience.com/studies.

Posit Science

Posit Science is the leader in clinically proven brain fitness programs
and works with over 50 scientists from prestigious universities to design and
test its interactive computer-based programs. More than 60 articles in
leading science and medical journals show that the company's patented
technologies significantly increase visual processing speed, improve memory
and attention and enhance quality of life. Posit Science has received grants
from the National Institutes of Health and numerous awards and accolades. The
company's products, scientists and science are currently featured in the PBS
documentary "Brain Fitness Frontiers." For more information, visit
www.PositScience.com or call +1-800-599-6463.

Jennifer De Laura of Posit Science, +1-415-277-4937, jdelaura at allisonpr.com

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