Punters hoping that splashing out on a Nintendo DS might give
their brain cells a much needed make over are wasting their cash.
A study of
10-year-old children by the University of Rennes in France has found that titles
such as Brain Training, More Brain Training and Big Brain Academy are no better than a pen and paper at stimulating memory and improving brain
power.
Nintendo claims the games "stimulate your brain and give it the
workout it needs" to improve blood flow and "practical intelligence". It also
says that it can improve memory and keep your mind young.
But the Rennes
study found that homework, reading, playing puzzles such as Sudoku and board
games such as Scrabble were just as good as, if not better than, the brain
training games.
More
here.