If I Only Had a Brain

Sigh. My Nintendo DS thinks I’m 46. I think it has something to do with, um, er, my, uh… memory. Yeah, that’s it. After years of being told videogames make us dumberer, Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, a professor at Tohoku University, has possibly sussed out how to reverse the process. After his research revealed gaming’s dumbing-down dangers, Nintendo funded development of new DS handheld title Brain Age, a multi-million-selling hit in Japan, especially amongst the baby boomers and senior citizens. Designed for daily "workouts,” a series of tests determine your cerebral age — 20 is tip-top shape — and then uses Kawashima’s theory that doing math problems, reading aloud, memorisation and other mental mini-games increases blood flow to your brain, making it healthier and younger. Then maybe you’ll remember where the hell you put the damned DS.