Brain training may help thinking skills in adults with depression, but not their symptoms

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   749 adults aged 18 or older with depression took part in 15 studies. 410 were in brain training groups and 339 in other groups.

2. 02

   What they did

   Brain training, often on a computer. Other groups got sham tasks, games, other treatments, or waiting.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with other groups, planning and switching, working memory and word recall improved, but depression symptoms did not change. Attention did not clearly improve once one unusual study was removed, though the gain was larger with all five studies included. The paper's group counts don't match its own study table, so treat the sizes with care.

What the review found

1. No differenceFocus

   Across 4 studies, brain training did not clearly help attention once one odd study was left out.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies · vs people given sham tasks, games, other treatments or waiting

2. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across 5 studies, brain training helped people do better on planning and switching tests than other groups did.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies with 177 people · vs people given sham tasks, games, other treatments or waiting

3. No differenceOther outcomes

   Across 13 studies, brain training did not change depression symptoms more than other groups did.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 13 studies with 612 people · vs people given sham tasks, games, other treatments or waiting

Source