91Èȱ¬

91Èȱ¬ One today launches an ambitious project that uses the power of the audience to explore how effective brain training really is.

91Èȱ¬ One and new science show Bang Goes The Theory are asking the nation to get involved in Brain Test Britain, a bold research project that wants to find out the truth about brain training.

Brain Test Britain will test whether brain training truly works and, if it does, whether some types of brain training are better than others. The results of the trial will be announced in a one-off 91Èȱ¬ One TV special of Bang Goes The Theory in early 2010. The Brain Test Britain experiment is set to be the largest investigation of computer-based brain training ever carried out.

The Bang Goes The Theory team will also reveal a national audit of our brain power. Who did better – men or women? Does exercise affect how much you improve at brain training and can anyone improve their brain power?

The team have partnered with leading scientists from Cambridge University, King's College London and the Alzheimer's Society to develop an experiment that will pool data from thousands of people across the country. Volunteers are being asked to train their brains for 10 minutes a day, three times a week, for at least six weeks. The team of scientists will then investigate whether brain training can improve a person's memory, reasoning and intelligence.

Celebrity ambassadors from Alzheimer's Society are keen to lend their support:

Russell Grant: "My grandmother had dementia, so I'm only too willing to support an experiment to see if brain training really does make a difference in improving memory and brain functions. I can't predict what the outcome will be, but I'm sure it'll be an interesting experience!"

Richard McCourt (from 91Èȱ¬'s Dick 'n' Dom): "I've always wondered if any of these brain training gadgets and games really work. We're looking forward to being trained up and finding out a lot more about how our brains function. The more we know about the brain, the nearer we'll come to finding a cure for dementia – and that's the reason why I want to be involved."

The Brain Test Britain trial will be powered by Lab UK, a 91Èȱ¬ website where people can participate in ground-breaking scientific experiments online. Using tools like Lab UK, the 91Èȱ¬ has launched more than 20 online science experiments since 2001 – collecting data from over a million people about a variety of subjects.

In 2005, more than a quarter of a million people took part in the Sex ID experiment that investigated gender differences – leading to the publication of six scientific papers in Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

Lab UK works with leading scientists to conduct scientifically valid experiments in collaboration with the British public.

Notes to Editors

All participants will be randomly assigned to one of three brain training groups.

Participants in the Brain Test Britain experiment must be 18 or older.

VAA