US Armed Forces Offer Brain Training to All Personnel

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22, 2018 -- In recognition of recent breakthroughs in brain science, every soldier, sailor, airman and marine in the US Armed Forces will now have access to computerized brain training and assessments from Posit Science, through its BrainHQ web, phone and tablet apps.

Library distributor Demco Software made the arrangements with the US Department of Defense through the library systems of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Now, a library card is all that active, reserve, and retired personnel need to obtain a subscription to BrainHQ, which typically costs $8-14 per month, but can be accessed by library patrons without charge from most internet-enabled devices.

“Brain health in the military is not only about recovering from brain injury – and that’s extremely important – but it’s also about the mental readiness of our troops and their resilience under extremely challenging conditions,” said retired Colonel Dallas Hack, MD, who co-authored the White House’s National Research Action Plan for Mental Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. “I’m pleased to see that an evidence-based solution was selected, and this arrangement should enable every military facility and medical center to have access.”

BrainHQ contains dozens of brain exercises that challenge users to think faster, focus better, and remember more, and BrainHQ is uniquely backed by more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles on the impact of its exercises.

In studies across varied populations, BrainHQ has improved performance at standard measures of cognition (e.g., speed, attention, and memory), standard measures of quality of life (e.g., mood, confidence, and health-related quality of life), and real-world activities (e.g., balance, gait, and driving).

“The security of our nation relies on our personnel being in the right place, at the right time, with the right qualities and capacities to protect our resources,” said Kristen Campbell, Chief of the Air Force Libraries Division. “We chose BrainHQ to help service members hone qualities such as lifelong learning, readiness, and resilience. This unique program will help our personnel improve their attention spans, decision making skills, and cognitive speed.”

“We are already engaged with dozens of VA and military facilities in treatment and research programs targeting cognitive decline from injury, aging, and mental illness, as well as attaining peak performance from service members,” said Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science. “We stand ready to help groups at bases, training facilities, and medical centers acquire access to BrainHQ through this new program.”

Access to BrainHQ for individual active, reserve, and retired members of the military is available through special URLs for the library systems of the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, as well as Military OneSource and base libraries.

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