Lumosity is an online program consisting of games claiming to improve
memory,
attention
Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
,
flexibility, 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 in 2008, a Series C of $32.5 million led by
Menlo Ventures, and a Series D of $31.5 million led by
Discovery Communications 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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
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, and even
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
", 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 (PTSD),
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, or side effects of
chemotherapy", 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
''NeuroRacer'' is a video game designed by a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco led by Adam Gazzaley as a way to help with mental cognition. It was designed as an "Adam Gazzaley intervention" for "top-down modulatio ...
''
*
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