Product Description

MindFit is a computer program that has been specifically designed for adults who wish to actively maintain a vital, agile and vigorous mind. The program is designed for use on a Microsoft Windows based computer; it is easy to use and requires minimal computer knowledge.
You're serious about exercising and keeping your body in top shape. You owe it to yourself to keep your brain healthy and vital as well. MindFit software has been scientifically designed for the mature population, as well as for people of all ages, to help strengthen brain function and slow cognitive loss. Our software uses individually designed entertaining exercises that will help improve your short-term memory, reaction times, memory recall, eye-hand coordination and much more! Thousands of users are using MindFit to improve their lives and brain health. You should too - start exercising your brain today! Exercise your brain and you'll see it improve dramatically! For less than the price of a gym membership, you can help keep your mind fit and healthy for life

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3398 in Software
• Brand: Cognifit
• Platforms: Microsoft XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows 2000
• Format: CD-ROM

Features

• MindFit's patented technology is based on the latest research into brain function.
• MIndFit is easy to learn - Your computer becomes your brain's fitness room - use it 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week.
• Advanced software follows your learning curve. As you get better, the software evolves with more challenging exercises.
• The only software in the world designed specifically for seniors - we use large fonts and make it easy for inexperienced computer users.
• No two training sessions are alike.

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive Training for Your Brain
CogniFit's MindFit program is marketed as a training program for your brain that you use for 20 minutes 3 times a week. When you first use the program you are given 3 days of baseline testing: short exercises that test your short term memory, reaction time, planning skills, etc. Then the program uses those results to determine which tasks to give you each day.

Your "training program" is the next 24 days, followed by another 3 days of baseline testing, then that whole cycle is repeated 2 more times.

During the training part of the program you are presented with 3 "tasks" a day. There are 21 tasks, by the time the first 24 days is over you will have played each of the tasks at least once. Here are some examples of the tasks:

1.`A' My Name is Alice. You are briefly shown a picture of an object: a flower, a hat, a penguin. Then you are shown 4 large letters. You are to click on the first letter of the object. This is done quickly with about 50 objects. It's harder than it sounds, and is supposed to help your ability to recall names of things quickly. ("tip of the tongue")

2.Fast Moving Objects. An object appears from either side of the computer screen, swoops, then disappears. Afterwards you are shown 4 objects and you are to click on the one you just saw. This starts out easy and obvious, but then gets more difficult, eg., at the end you will be shown a plane, then have to choose the one you saw among 4 very similar planes. This helps you identify objects quickly.

3.Up, Down and Around. Here you have a circle with 4 arrows, one at the top, bottom, left and right. In the middle is a picture of a camera or headphones. You start off the task following directions with no distractions: if the camera is in the middle you click on the arrow that you see light up, if the headphones are in the middle you click on the arrow that the voice tells you to click on. Then you get distractions: if the camera is in the middle you ignore what the voice says and click on the arrow that lights up, but if the headphones are in the middle you ignore what lights up and listen to the voice. This helps our ability to ignore extra information and pay attention only to the information we need.

4. What Happened To My Mouse. This task has you click on 4 pieces numbered "1" to "4" in order. The first few times the mouse is normal, then it starts behaving in ways you don't expect. You have to adjust your behavior to move the mouse where you want it to go. This makes you plan your actions based on visual feedback, not just move by rote.

You are given feedback on each task about your response time and accuracy, but you aren't told how well you do on one task versus another, or how well you "should" be doing.

I wish the reasoning behind the assignment of the tasks was more transparent. I don't know why I see one task over and over when it's not one of the tasks I like - is it because I'm not good at it? Yet I also end up doing my favorite one quite often. Meanwhile, there's one task that I really didn't like, (it's called "Picture Arrangement" and it tests your short term visual memory) and I have only seen it a couple times - does the program see how terrible I do and so spare me? During the second baseline testing the program told me that I did better in certain areas, but not what programs caused my rating to go up.

There are two important points on the plus side: I do think this program has "made a difference" in my every day cognition. I have no hard proof of this, but I notice that I'm not feeling, and not complaining to my husband, that I'm forgetting names, or not coming up with words, or forgetting details. This might be the placebo effect, but, even if so, I'm happy to be experiencing it, and that was the whole point of my buying it.

The second is, I like this program enough that I have bought it for a couple people. In one case I had a little technical difficulty and the CogniFit support staff was extremely flexible and helpful in getting me through it.

Mind Fit a gym for your mind
this is a great product for those of us that do not have time to exercise our brains. a quick ten to fifteen minutes a day is all it takes and you really do notice a difference in your cognitive abilities. just remember you need a mouse to do some of the exercises or you will have low scores due to not being able to follow the exercise on the screen as you have to keep move your finger on the touch pad...

One computer
You can only use this on one computer. You always need the code/disk to make the software work---it is a huge pain and if I had known this I would not have bought it. This is 2008---we all have/need access to more than one computer and the software inside it [even Apple get this piece!!]. If I want to use this at work--I have to spend another $140---and in spite of this still need to cart the "code" around-----highly disappointing