Cogmed Overview
Cogmed is a developer of software-based working memory training products. Through its Working Memory Training program, Cogmed provides people with attention deficits – an effective means to improve their attention, impulse control and problem solving skills.
Cogmed was founded in 2001 on the breakthrough research findings of Dr. Torkel Klingberg, who demonstrated that working memory, an important function of the brain, can be improved through training. Dr. Klingberg and his colleagues conducted this research at the Karolinska Institute, where Dr. Klingberg is a professor of neuroscience. The Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in medicine and is one of Europe’s largest medical universities. Cogmed is owned by the Karolinska Development Fund, private equity investors and its founders.
Working Memory:
How We Pay Attention and Manage Everyday Tasks
Working memory is a function of the brain that holds information “online” for a brief period of time, typically a few seconds. In daily life, we use working memory to perform numerous tasks such as remembering instructions, solving problems, controlling impulses and focusing attention.
Many people have working memory problems including children and adults with ADD/ADHD, children with mild attention deficits, persons with learning disabilities and victims of stroke or traumatic brain injury. Deficient working memory manifests itself in an array of symptoms including inattention and impulsive behavior.
Cogmed helps people with working memory problems to increase their working memory capacity and improve their quality of life through a comprehensive program combining software training and personal coaching.
A Scientific Breakthrough:
Working Memory Can be Trained and Improved
Based on the important research finding that working memory can be improved, Cogmed has developed a Working Memory Training program designed for children over the age of seven. Through an engaging and challenging software program, children participate in specialized memory exercises for approximately 30 minutes every weekday for five weeks. These exercises are designed to train both the visuo-spatial and verbal working memory. With each click of the mouse, the level of difficulty adjusts based on the real-time performance of the participant, ensuring that the program is rigorous enough to strengthen the working memory without becoming too frustrating.
The training process is led by a Cogmed-qualified coach who works with the parents and the child to develop a reward system and provide encouragement. Since the coaching support is telephone and Internet-based, the training can be done at home.
Cogmed is currently developing numerous other training programs designed for various types of working memory problems occurring in both children and adults.
Lasting Results
Cogmed follows up and evaluates all training results in its Stockholm training center. More than 80 percent report lasting improvements after training. These include improvements to sustaining attention and controlling impulses and better complex reasoning skills and academic performance.
Research Validation
The Karolinska Institute has conducted two controlled scientific studies validating that working memory can be dramatically improved through training. The results of this research have inspired other independent studies to deepen the understanding of working memory and the effects of training. Dr. Bradley Gibson of the University of Notre Dame recently validated the Karolinska Institute research with his own study of Cogmed’s Working Memory Training Program. Other academic institutions in Europe and the U.S are currently conducting research about working memory training using Cogmed’s program.
