"Brain training" trial for Scottish children

Primary school pupils in Scotland will start each school day by playing Nintendo to see if it improves their learning capacity.

More than 900 pupils in 32 schools will take part in the project, playing a brain training game on the games console for 20 minutes daily.

In a smaller pilot study it was discovered that the reading tests, problem-solving exercise and memory puzzles had a positive impact on schoolwork.

Pupils’ behaviour and concentration improved, and they completed test work faster and with better results.

Learning and Teaching Scotland, which is organising the project, used the computer package More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima.