August 14, 2007 Games designed to make you think better are beginning to become a very important part of the market and along the way they're bringing more people from traditional non-gaming markets into the genre. The latest offering from Oxford University spin-out company Mindweavers is set to launch a series of 'brain exercise' computer game products called ‘Mindfit’ for adults, which use innovative software that alters brain function. MindWeavers currently creates and sells software that exercises specific areas of the brain to improve human performance ‘by design’ in children. The Company’s software is based on research that which has shown that our neural systems are ‘plastic’ and malleable - constantly changing throughout life - and that effective instruction can alter brain function.
A Channel 4 TV documentary (‘The Dyslexia Myth’), presenting findings from over 600 research studies, concluded that as many as one in three children have difficulty with reading because part of their brain is not working properly. This minor neurological weakness makes it difficult for the children to distinguish the tiny sounds within words known as phonemes. ‘MindWeavers’ current product Phonomena is designed to correct this weakness by ‘retraining’ the area of the brain involved. Delivered in an entertaining computer game format, Phonomena enhances the neural pathways that process sounds and has been proven to dramatically improve children’s language skills.
MindWeavers is about to launch MindFit, the first in a series of ‘brain exercise’ computer game products, targeted at ‘baby boomers’ wishing to keep their minds active in order to slow, delay and protect against the effects of ageing. This move into the adult brain health market follows the Company’s acquisition of BrainBoost, a business which develops software to protect against cognitive decline, founded by Baroness Susan Greenfield, world expert in neuro-development and degeneration.
MindFit will be launched on the UK market in early September.
