Brain training apps don't seem to do much of anything

Video games are pretty fun, but most of us don't expect much more than that from entertainment media. But what if a fun video game also, conveniently, helped you succeed more in school and in life? But just as quickly as they've hit the virtual shelves of iTunes and the like, the validity of their claims has been called into question. A new study out this week in the Journal of Neuroscience found that one popular app, Lumosity, doesn't do anything for your brain--other than helping you get better at playing the game itself. While one study on a single app can't be used to make any sweeping conclusions on the benefits (or lack thereof) of brain training games as a whole, it does highlight an important point: It's difficult not only to create the right type of brain training exercise for a specific behavior or condition, but also to figure out if that training actually works.