Lumosity is an online program consisting of games claiming to improve
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...
,
attention,
flexibility
Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force.
The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is.
Calculations
The stiffness, k, of a bo ...
, speed of processing, and problem solving.
History
Lumos Labs was founded in 2005 by Kunal Sarkar, Michael Scanlon, and David Drescher. Lumosity.com launched in 2007 and, as of January 2015, has 70 million members.
Financials
The company raised $400,000 in capital from angel investors in 2007, a Series A of $3 million from Harrison Metal Capital,
FirstMark Capital and
Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners (Norwest) is an American venture and growth equity investment firm. The firm targets early to late-stage venture and growth equity investments across several sectors, including cloud computing and information technology, ...
in 2008, a Series C of $32.5 million led by
Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California with an additional office in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded as one of the earliest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley in 1976 and provides technology ...
, and a Series D of $31.5 million led by
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...
with participation from existing investors.
Effectiveness and legal history
On January 5, 2016, Lumos Labs agreed to a $50 million settlement (reduced to $2 million subject to financial verification) to the
Federal Trade Commission over claims of false advertising for their product. The Commission found that Lumosity's marketing "preyed on consumers' fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss,
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
, and even
Alzheimer's disease", without providing any scientific evidence to back its claims. The company was ordered not to make any claims that its products can "
mproveperformance in school, at work, or in athletics" or "
elay or protectagainst age-related decline in memory or other cognitive function, including mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease", or "
educecognitive impairment caused by health conditions, including Turner syndrome,
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...
(PTSD),
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
(ADHD),
traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...
(TBI), stroke, or side effects of
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
", without "competent and reliable scientific evidence".
There is no good
medical evidence to support claims that memory training helps people improve cognitive functioning.
See also
*
Brain training
Brain training (also called cognitive training) is a program of regular activities purported to maintain or improve one's cognitive abilities. The phrase “cognitive ability” usually refers to components of fluid intelligence such as executiv ...
*
Cogmed
*''
NeuroRacer''
*
Posit Science Corporation
References
External links
{{Authority control
Education companies established in 2005
Educational technology companies of the United States
Companies based in San Francisco
Brain training programs
Cognitive training