Targeted training: Converging evidence against the transferable benefits of online brain training on cognitive function

So nothing yet on what we can do to improve our cognition. You lost 5 cognitive years from your stroke and it seems you are screwed with trying to regain that loss. 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002839321830321X

Author links open overlay panelBobbyStojanoski

Kathleen M.LyonsAlexandra A.A.PearceAdrian M.Owen

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.07.013Get rights and content

Highlights

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Inconsistent results on brain training likely due to vague definitions of transfer.

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First to provide objective definition and quantitative metrics for task selection.

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Maximized the benefits of training by using very similar training and test tasks.

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No transferable benefits of brain training independent of training task.

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Performance on outcome measure identical to control group.

Abstract

There is strong incentive to improve our cognitive abilities, and brain training has emerged as a promising approach for achieving this goal. While the idea that extensive ‘training’ on computerized tasks will improve general cognitive functioning is appealing, the evidence to support this remains contentious. This is, in part, because of poor criteria for selecting training tasks and outcome measures resulting in inconsistent definitions of what constitutes transferable improvement to cognition. The current study used a targeted training approach to investigate whether training on two different, but related, working memory tasks (across two experiments, with 72 participants) produced transferable benefits to similar (quantified based on cognitive and neural profiles) untrained test tasks. Despite significant improvement on both training tasks, participants did not improve on either test task. In fact, performance on the test tasks after training were nearly identical to a passive control group. These results indicate that, despite maximizing the likelihood of producing transferable benefits, brain training does not generalize, even to very similar tasks. Our study calls into question the benefit of cognitive training beyond practice effects, and provides a new framework for future investigations into the efficacy of brain training.