Brain Workshop - a Dual N-Back game
Download - Tutorial - Details & Options
Brain Workshop is a free open-source version of the Dual N-Back mental exercise.
What if a simple mental exercise could improve your memory and intelligence?
A recent study published in PNAS, an important scientific journal, shows that a particular memory task called Dual N-Back may actually improve working memory (short term memory) and fluid intelligence. This finding is important because fluid intelligence was previously thought to be unchangeable. The game involves remembering a sequence of spoken letters and a sequence of positions of a square at the same time.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the dual n-back task also enhances focus and attention and may help improve the symptoms of ADHD/ADD.
In addition to its ability to closely replicate the conditions of the original study by Jaeggi et al. (2008), Brain Workshop includes optional extended game modes such as Triple N-Back and Arithmetic N-Back. It also includes features such as statistics tracking, graphs and easy configurability.
Brain Workshop works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
Since its initial release in August 2008, Brain Workshop has been downloaded over 40,000 times!
New to the Dual N-Back phenomenon?
- See this Wired article for an introduction to the Dual N-Back exercise and its benefits.
- Read the original research paper by Jaeggi, et al. (2008)
- Learn how to play by reading this quick tutorial.
Previous releases are available on Sourceforge.
Check the Change log to find out what's new in the latest version. If you're having problems installing or using Brain Workshop please contact me with details of the issue you are encountering. You may also visit the sourceforge.net project page or Subversion repository.
I welcome the use of Brain Workshop for experimental research. Please contact me to discuss this possibility.
Dual N-Back Community
- Join the Dual N-Back, Brain Training & Intelligence forum & mailing list at Google Groups for some interesting discussions on dual n-back, memory, intelligence and the brain.
Brain Workshop Tutorial
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The Dual N-Back exercise featured in Brain Workshop was the subject of an April 2008 peer-reviewed scientific study which shows that practicing the Dual N-Back task for 20 minutes 4-5 days per week will improve your working memory (short term memory) and fluid intelligence. This Wired article has a good summary of its benefits.
If you've never tried Dual N-Back before, here's a quick tutorial to get you started.
Dual 1-Back
It's best to begin with Dual 1-Back, the simplest mode.
- Launch Brain Workshop.
- Press Space to enter the Workshop.
- Press M to switch to Manual mode.
- Press F1 to decrease the N-back level to 1.
- Press Space to begin a Dual 1-Back session. Each session is about 1 minute in duration.
You will see a blue square appear every 3 seconds accompanied by the sound of a letter. If you don't hear any sound, make sure your speakers are not muted.
- Press A (position match) if the POSITION of the blue square is the SAME as it was 1 trial back (i.e., the square appears in the same position twice in a row).
- Press L (letter match) if the LETTER you hear is the SAME it was 1 trial back (i.e., you hear the same letter twice in a row).
The Dual part of the name of this game mode, Dual 1-Back, comes from the fact that you are remembering two different stimuli -- the square's position, and the letter played through the speakers. The 1-Back part indicates how many trials back you're being asked to remember to decide whether that trial's position or letter match the current position or letter.
It's easy to perform this task when focusing only on a single cue (either the square's position or the letter). The challenging part is to do both at the same time!
Dual 2-Back
Brain Workshop starts in Dual 2-Back mode by default. Dual 2-Back is significantly more difficult than Dual 1-Back. Don't be discouraged - learning and practicing this exercise at the limit of your ability is what increases your fluid intelligence!
- Ensure that the game mode is Dual 2-Back. (if not, use F1 and F2 to adjust the N-Back level. Note: these keys will only function in Manual mode.)
- Press Space to begin a Dual 2-Back session.
This time, you will need to remember the square's position and the voiced letter from 2 trials back instead of 1 trial back.
- Press A (position match) if the POSITION of the blue square is the SAME as it was 2 trials back (i.e., the square appears in the same position as it did two trials ago).
- Press L (letter match) if the LETTER you hear is the SAME it was 2 trials back (i.e., you hear the same letter as you did two trials ago).
If you find this too difficult at first, try focusing on only one of the cues (either the square's position or the letter).
Here's an example. Ignore the square's position for now and focus on the letters you hear. Suppose the first letter is "A" and the second is "B". Now it's the third trial and the letter is "A" again.
Since the current letter, A, is the same as the letter from two trials ago (i.e., the first trial), you've found a match and press the L key. Now suppose that on the next trial the letter is "B". You press L again because this word is also the same as it was two trials ago.
Here's another example.
- Trial 1: C
- Trial 2: R
- Trial 3: T
- Trial 4: R (this is a 2-back match)
- Trial 5: T (this is a 2-back match)
- Trial 6: T
- Trial 7: S
- Trial 8: C
- Trial 9: S (this is a 2-back match)
When you get the hang of hearing a match from 2 trials back, try shifting your focus to the square's position. Then try to do both at the same time.
Since you switched to Manual mode at the beginning, Brain Workshop will not change the n-back level automatically. Press M to exit Manual mode. Now the n-back level will be adjusted for you automatically, to ensure you're always playing at the right level. Once you achieve a high enough score in Dual 2-Back, you'll be bumped up to the next level - Dual 3-Back. Challenge yourself and try to achieve the highest level possible!
What's the best way to benefit from Brain Workshop?
The original scientific study on Dual N-Back shows a linear correlation between the participants' gain in measured fluid intelligence and time spent practicing Dual N-Back. In other words, the more you practice, the more your memory and intelligence will improve.
Aim for 20 sessions per day (about 25 minutes), 4 or 5 times per week. The "Sessions Today" indicator in the top right corner of Brain Workshop represents a convenient way to keep track of your 20-session goal. In the original study, participants showed up to 40% gains in measured fluid intelligence scores after 19 days of daily practice.
Intensive training every day is not recommended because the brain needs time to learn, adapt and reconfigure itself. A training schedule of 4-5 days per week seems to be the most effective.
The hardest part might be maintaining your training schedule over time. Try pairing up with someone else who's interested in increasing their intelligence. Contact each other to ensure you're both maintaining your schedules.
As mentioned previously, learning and practicing the Dual N-Back task at the limit of your ability is what increases your fluid intelligence. Push your limits every day and try to reach the highest N-Back level possible. Some people can reach 6-, 7- or even 8-Back with regular practice, while the maximum level achieved by anyone (that I know of) is 11-Back!
The following health tips will help you attain optimal mental performance and overall well-being:
- Eat a balanced diet with plenty of nutrient-rich greens and other whole, unrefined foods.
- Get plenty of sleep. Sufficient high-quality sleep is essential to the learning process and will aid your body's regenerative systems, as well as improving mood and focus.
- Regular aerobic exercise has been shown to improve blood flow to the brain and stimulate neuron growth in the hippocampus, a brain structure vital to the formation of long-term memories.
- Reduce stress in your life. Chronic stress causes elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol which has many negative effects.
- Along with Dual N-Back, engage in a variety of mentally stimulating activities.
Details & Options
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Session Parameters and Thresholds
Brain Workshop always uses the same starting n-back level, number of trials and time per trial, making it easier to compare scores. Every day you'll begin at a certain n-back level which varies depending on the game mode. Currently these are specified as follows:
- All modes are 20 trials per session and 3 seconds per trial.
- Dual & Triple N-Back begin with 2-back
- All other modes (Combination N-Back, Arithmetic N-Back) begin with 1-back
- A score of 80% or greater: n-back level is increased.
- A score of 50% to 79%: n-back level is maintained.
- Three scores of below 50%: n-back level is decreased.
The intention of adaptive level-changing is to ensure you're always playing at the ideal level and using your training time most effectively.
Brain Workshop uses a three strikes model to decrease the n-back level. If you get three scores below 50% (not necessarily consecutive), your level will be decreased. This allows you to regain confidence at the lower level, and practice the fundamental skills that will allow you to succeed at higher levels.
Compare scores with your friends by completing 20 consecutive sessions, then recording the average n-back level indicated in the top right corner.
If you close Brain Workshop and reopen it on the same day, you will begin at the same n-back level as you left off. The next day, however, you will begin again at the starting level.
Manual Mode
Manual mode is ideal for experimenting with non-default session parameters. Press M to enter Manual mode. Several adjustment keys will become activated, allowing you to modify parameters such as the n-back level, the number of trials or the game speed. In this mode your n-back level is not adjusted automatically based on performance (i.e., it remains the same unless you change it manually). Scores obtained in Manual mode are not plotted on the progress graph.
Jaeggi Mode
Brain Workshop has an optional Jaeggi mode which modifies several options to increase the simplicity of the dual n-back task. Jaeggi mode emulates the protocol used in the original research study as closely as possible. Editing the config file (see section below titled "Configuration Options") and setting Jaeggi_MODE = True will cause the following changes:
- The BT-style scoring system is used. Non-matches with no inputs are counted as correct (the default behavior is to ignore them). Not pressing any key during a session will give a score of 70 percent. The total score for a session is taken as the lowest of the individual modality scores (visual & auditory). The level-changing thresholds are set to the following values which are equal to those used in the original study:
- A score of 90% or greater: n-back level is increased.
- A score of 75% to 90%: n-back level is maintained.
- A score of below 75%: n-back level is decreased.
- The original study placed limits on the randomness of the responses. Exactly 4 visual matches, 4 auditory matches and 2 simultaneous (visual & auditory) matches will be generated each session in Jaeggi mode, reducing the difficulty & complexity of the n-back task.
- Only Dual N-Back is available in Jaeggi Mode - the other game modes (Triple n-back, etc) are disabled.
Graphs & Statistics
You can see a graph of your daily n-back averages by pressing G. In the graph screen, press N to move to the next game mode (Dual N-Back, Triple N-Back, etc).
The graph shows the average n-back level computed over every session completed that day (as opposed to the indicator in the top right corner of the main screen which only shows the average of the last 20 sessions). Sessions completed in Manual mode are not used in the graph.
Pressing Ctrl-E in the graph screen will export tab-delimited files (one per game mode) to the data folder. Each file contains the daily n-back averages by date, in a format suitable for pasting directly into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel.
The average n-back level in the top right corner of the Brain Workshop screen is computed over the last 20 sessions completed today. The contribution of each session to the average is the same as the n-back level of the session. For example, a 2-back session will have a contribution of 2.00. To obtain the average, the total contributions over today's last 20 sessions are divided by the number of sessions.
To clear the session history and the n-back average, press Ctrl-C. (Note: if you close and restart the program, the cleared stats will reappear.)
Session history is saved in a comma-delimited file called stats.txt in the data folder. In the same folder you will find a file called Readme-stats.txt which has details on the format of the statistics file. Clearing the session history using Ctrl-C has no effect on stats.txt.
Configuration Options
Brain Workshop offers many options to tailor the program to your preferences. This is done by editing the config.ini file in the data folder. On Windows, follow these steps:
- In the Start Menu, open the Brain Workshop group and select Configuration.
- The configuration file will open in a text editor. Look for the configuration option you want to change.
- Modify the option as desired. For example, changing WINDOW_FULLSCREEN = False to WINDOW_FULLSCREEN = True will cause Brain Workshop to start in full-screen mode. If you'd prefer a black background instead of the default white background, set BLACK_BACKGROUND = True .
- Save the file and relaunch Brain Workshop to see your changes.
If you wish to revert back to the default settings, simply delete the file config.ini in the Brain Workshop data folder. The next time you start the program, a new config file will be recreated with the default options.
You can specify a different config file than "config.ini" on the command line. Example:
- brainworkshop.exe --configfile frank.ini
- brainworkshop.exe --configfile lucy.ini
To make multiple icons in Windows, follow this procedure:
- Highlight the Brain Workshop icon and press Ctrl-C followed by Ctrl-V
- Rename the new icon to something like "Lucy's Brain Workshop"
- Right-click on the icon and select Properties
- You will see a field called Target that ends with: brainworkshop.exe"
- After the final quotation mark, add the following: --configfile lucy.ini
- Click OK.
- Launch Brain Workshop using the new icon. The config file lucy.ini will be automatically created in the data folder.
- Optionally, open lucy.ini in a text editor and change the STATSFILE parameter in lucy.ini to point to a new stats file (for example, lucy.txt). Lucy will now be able to play Brain Workshop using her own configuration, session history and progress graph.
Music Clips
Short music clips will play between sessions depending on your score. The songs included in Brain Workshop are listed here. If you would like to prevent a particular clip from playing, move or delete the corresponding ogg file from the res directory. Music can be turned off altogether by setting the option USE_MUSIC = False in the config file.
If you enjoy a particular clip, consider purchasing the original music online or on CD.
Additional Sounds
Brain Workshop includes several sets of sounds which can be used instead of the default letter sounds. Press S to enter the sound selection screen where you can toggle each of the sound sets on or off.
- Letters (C, H, K, L, Q, R, S, T)
- Numbers (0-13)
- NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.)
- Piano Notes (the C scale, C4-C5)
- Morse Code (0-9, A-Z)
Additional Game Modes
Brain Workshop includes two single n-back tasks for younger children or those who may find Dual N-Back too challenging. Press C to select one of the following game modes:
- Position N-Back: just the visual n-back task.
- Cues:
- position
- Input:
- A: position matches n-back position
- Cues:
- Audio N-Back: just the auditory n-back task.
- Cues:
- sound
- Input:
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
Brain Workshop also includes extra brain-building challenges beyond Dual N-Back. Press C to select one of the following game modes:
- Dual N-Back: the default mode.
- Cues:
- position, sound
- Input:
- A: position matches n-back position
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
- Triple N-Back: Introduces colored squares as a third cue. Triple N-Back is the next logical step beyond Dual N-Back.
- Cues:
- position, color, sound
- Input:
- A: position matches n-back position
- F: color matches n-back color
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
- Dual Combination N-Back: Match visual and auditory cues in multiple ways.
- Cues:
- visual cue, auditory cue
- Input:
- S: visual cue matches n-back visual cue
- D: visual cue matches n-back sound
- J: sound matches n-back visual cue
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
- Triple Combination N-Back: Adds a position cue for more complexity.
- Cues:
- position, visual cue, auditory cue
- Input:
- A: visual's position matches position of n-back visual
- S: visual cue matches n-back visual cue
- D: visual cue matches n-back sound
- J: sound matches n-back visual cue
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
- Quadruple Combination N-Back: Adds a color cue. The ultimate challenge.
- Cues:
- position, color, visual cue, auditory cue
- Input:
- A: visual's position matches position of n-back visual
- S: visual cue matches n-back visual cue
- D: visual cue matches n-back sound
- F: color matches n-back color
- J: sound matches n-back visual cue
- L: sound matches n-back sound
- Cues:
- Arithmetic N-Back: Add, subtract, multiply or divide the n-back number and the current number.
- A number from 0 to 12 appears in the center. An operation (plus, minus, subtract or divide) is played from the speakers.
- Apply the current operation to the n-back number and the current number and enter the result. Example: n-back number is 8, current operation is subtract, and current number is 3. You would enter the result of 8 minus 3, which is 5. Use the number keys from 0 to 9 to enter your answer.
- Press the Minus key to indicate a negative answer.
- Press the . key to enter a decimal point.
- If you make a typing error, press Backspace or Delete to clear your answer.
- Open the configuration file to customize the following parameters:
- Change the maximum number (default: 12)
- Use negative numbers (default: only positive numbers)
- Turn off addition, subtraction, multiplication or division (default: all on)
- The answers in each trial do not depend on each other. Each answer is computed using only the numbers displayed on the board - the n-back number and the current number. The answer should be mentally discarded after keying it in.
- Dual Arithmetic N-Back: This mode is similar to Arithmetic N-Back except for the addition of a position n-back task. The number will appear randomly in one of the eight positions of the field. Press A if the position of the number matches the n-back position.
- Triple Arithmetic N-Back: This mode adds to the challenge of Dual Arithmetic N-Back by incorporating a color n-back task. Press F if the color of the number matches the n-back color.
Variable N-Back
For an extra challenge, try enabling Variable N-Back by pressing V in the Choose Game Mode screen. Each trial, a random n-back level will be displayed in the center.
Dual N-Back Community
Join the Dual N-Back, Brain Training & Intelligence forum & mailing list at Google Groups for some interesting discussions on dual n-back, memory, intelligence and the brain.
Brain Workshop was created by Paul Hoskinson.
Please send me your comments or questions.