Laboratory research conducted over the past two decades indicates that the Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART) , developed by The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth® can have long-lasting, positive effects on brain health and brain fitness. Scientists at Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) and the Center for BrainHealth recently published a paper in Military Medicine documenting a study that demonstrates that these effects are also realized when SMART is delivered outside a controlled lab setting –delivered to military personnel and first responders in condensed training sessions to fit their schedule.
This research was conducted by Dr. Leanne Young, ARA division manager and cognitive neuroscientist and Jennifer Zientz, head of clinical services at the Center for BrainHealth, under the leadership of Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth.
In a recent press release announcing the findings, Young said she believes SMART could potentially help save lives. “With the rising rates of suicide, both in civilian and military populations, perhaps the most exciting aspect of the study is the impact of the cognitive training on psychological health,” she said. “I look forward to seeing this work continue as the military builds its arsenal of weapons against anxiety, stress and depression.”
The Center for BrainHealth and ARA are currently continuing their collaboration, this time in a research initiative to demonstrate efficacy of cognitive training delivered in an online format to a military population. This upcoming initiative is the next step toward making proactive brain fitness an integral part of military life.
To learn more, visit https://brainhealth.utdallas.edu/center-for-brainhealth-researchers-confirm-improvement-in-first-responders-brain-health-after-shortened-training-protocol/.
