Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Cognitive fitness

This disclosure relates generally to neurological health, and relates in particular to cognitive fitness.

As a person ages, their cognitive abilities generally tend to decline. Decline in a person's cognitive ability is sometimes linked with other conditions associated with advanced age, such as Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, along with a person's physical health, the person's cognitive abilities can be relevant in determining the person's life expectancy. One way for people to help maintain their cognitive abilities as they age is to engage is novel, complex brain activity. Common examples of novel, complex brain activity involve playing certain games.

In general, in one aspect, this application describes presenting a game for playing, where the game is correlated to one or more cognitive attributes; obtaining a score for the game; and based on the score, updating a cognitive profile, where the cognitive profile includes an assessment. The assessment is associated with one or more of a plurality of cognitive attributes. The plurality of cognitive attributes include the one or more cognitive attributes to which the game is correlated. An updated cognitive profile is displayed to a user.

Particular implementations may have one or more of the following features. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to memory. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to language ability. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to executive function. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to visio-spatial ability. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to motor function. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to life expectancy. The score may be based at least in part on a length of time the game is played. Updating the cognitive profile may include modifying numbers associated with the cognitive attributes to which the game is correlated. Obtaining a life expectancy may be based at least in part on the score for the game. Revising the cognitive profile may be based on a passage of time since determining the score for the game. Revising the cognitive profile may include decreasing the number associated with a cognitive attribute included in the plurality of cognitive attributes, the decreasing being based on the passage of time. The game may be correlated to the one or more cognitive attributes. The assessment may include a qualitative assessment. Displaying the updated cognitive profile may also include displaying a performance over time, with the performance over time being based on the updated cognitive profile and one or more previous cognitive profiles.

In general, in another aspect, this application describes one or more machine-readable media bearing instructions for causing one or more processing devices to read from, or write to, a cognitive profile, with the cognitive profile including assessments. Each assessment may be associated with one or more of a plurality of cognitive attributes. The instructions also cause the one or more processing devices to execute a game associated with one or more cognitive attributes in the plurality; determine a score for the game; and update the cognitive profile based on the score.

Particular implementations may include one or more of the following features. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to memory. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to language ability. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to executive function. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to visio-spatial ability. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to motor function. The cognitive profile may include an assessment relating to life expectancy. The instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to determine a score for the game may include instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to determine the score based at least in part on a length of time the game is played. The instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to update the cognitive profile based on the score may include instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to modify numbers associated with the cognitive attributes to which the game is correlated. The one or more machine-readable media instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to obtain a life expectancy based at least in part on the score for the game. The one or more machine-readable media of claim, further comprising instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to revise the cognitive profile based on a passage of time since determining the score for the game. The instructions for causing the one or more processors to read from, or write to, the cognitive profile further may include instructions for causing the one or more processors to decrease, based on the passage of time, a number associated with a cognitive attribute included in the plurality of cognitive attributes. The one or more machine-readable media may also include instructions for causing the one or more processing devices to correlate the game to the one or more cognitive attributes. The assessment may include a qualitative assessment.

Other aspects include other combinations of the features recited above and other features, expressed as methods, apparatus, systems, program products, machine-readable media, and in other ways. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and from the claims

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a cognitive fitness system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a game module.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a cognitive profile.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for operating the cognitive fitness system.

Engaging in novel, complex brain activity, such as playing games, tends to slow the decline of a person's cognitive abilities as the person ages. However, a particular novel, complex activity may impact some cognitive attributes more than others.