JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers will unveil a
new brain fitness training program today that has been shown in numerous
published studies to help people maintain health-related quality of life
and improve the performance of daily living tasks essential to
independence. The research team from Posit Science(R) Corporation, a San
Francisco-based neuroscience company, will introduce the new program, named
InSight(TM), at the annual International Long Term Care Insurance
Conference in Jacksonville, Florida.
InSight is comprised of a suite of five exercises designed to enhance
the performance of the brain's visual processing system. As people age,
there is a decline in the speed, accuracy and strength with which they
record visual information. In addition, while the eyes may continue to take
in a full scene, with each passing decade the brain is only able to process
a smaller and smaller central "spotlight" of visual information -- a focal
area that scientists call "useful field of view."
These age-related declines help explain why great athletes need to
retire and why many people find they are not quite as sharp as they used to
be at activities as diverse as tennis, cards, driving or remembering where
they put the remote control.
While scientists expected training of the visual system to improve
performance at visual activities, published research now also shows that
this training generalizes to everyday tasks and health-related quality of
life as well.
"InSight represents the first time that consumers will have access to
this suite of technologies, including UFOV(R) technology which has been
shown to have efficacy in more than two dozen published, peer-reviewed
studies," said Henry Mahncke, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at Posit
Science. "This includes recent publications from the NIH-funded ACTIVE
Study, which has been tracking the performance of more than 2800 older
adults for more than five years."
"The studies show that five years after training, people are 35% less
likely, on average, to experience extensive decline in health-related
quality of life than people who did not engage in the training," Dr.
Mahncke said. In addition, published studies also show that trained
participants do better at everyday activities that lay the foundation for
maintaining independent living and autonomy as determined by standard
measures of Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. These activities
include tasks like taking medications and managing money.
Making sure their policyholders maintain their health-related quality
of life and independence is, not surprisingly, a major concern of the long
term care insurers gathered in Jacksonville this week.
"Our number one cause of claim is cognitive impairment," said Steve La
Pierre, Executive Vice President of Insurance Operations at Penn Treaty
America, a national long term care insurer. "We are providing the Posit
Science programs to our policy holders in order to enhance their cognitive
abilities, general health and independence in order to promote and support
what we believe is everyone's inherent desire to live healthy and
independent lives. It's a win-win situation."
Health insurers have increasingly focused on wellness and preventive
care in order to better manage portfolio risk and costs, but that concept
is relatively new to the long term care insurance industry according to
Posit Science CEO Jeff Zimman. "Long term care insurers are beginning to
realize that they can manage down costs by promoting wellness," Zimman
said. "It expands their relationships with customers, decreases the need to
raise premium rates and makes everyone -- policy holders, regulators,
investors -- a whole lot happier."
ABOUT POSIT SCIENCE CORPORATION:
Posit Science Corporation develops science-based brain health programs.
The company works with more than 40 brain scientists from leading
universities around the world to create and validate computer-based
training programs that enhance cognitive performance. Its assessments and
exercises are based on neuroplasticity -- the brain's ability to "rewire"
throughout life. Across a series of studies, Posit Science participants
have shown clinically and statistically significant gains in memory and
other cognitive measures (on average, more than 10 years of improvement).
Posit Science has received several grants from the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) and its patented technology has been proven effective in more
than 30 published studies. The company has received numerous accolades,
including designation as the Best Small Company by the American Society on
Aging. For more information visit http://www.PositScience.com or call
1-800-514-3961.
SOURCE Posit Science Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.PositScience.com
CONTACT:
Robbi Peele, Office, +1-415-568-3558, Cell,
+1-415-596-7929, or Peggy Jara, Office, +1-415-568-3526, Cell,
+1-510-333-1160, both of Posit Science Corporation
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