TLDR: people experiencing cognitive improvement through exercises like dual n-back training are probably reversing brain rot rather than actually increasing their cognitive ability.

A few days ago, I decided to give dual n-back training a go. I know the purported effects are disputed but the time commitment is pretty low and the topic of increasing cognitive ability has always interested me.

I'm only 3 days in but I'm already noticing results. The first day I was struggling with n-2 and today, I made it to n-4. My general cognition is snappier and I'm finding it easier to remember information from books I've read, where I've put things, etc.

Writing is much easier already, and I'm finding it easier to access my vocabulary on demand. I generally have no problem knowing what words mean when I read them, but having them easily accessible during conversation or writing was always an issue.

As I mentioned before, I know the alleged effects are in dispute, and given the results I've experienced already, I spent some time thinking of why that may be.

Here's what I came up with:

I actually don't think my cognitive ability has increased per se. What I think has happened is that dual n-back is reversing the effects of brain atrophy due to social media and general disuse. While the brain is very complex, it's still just a part of human biology which means it's subject to atrophy and other negative adaptions just like any other organ.

If you start drinking yourself into oblivion, your liver is going to be affected. And substantial social media use is akin to heavy drinking for the brain.

My educated guess is that people who experienced significant results from dual n-back had a high degree of brain atrophy from activities such as prolonged social media use. To be blunt, they're simply reversing brain rot.

Personally, I believe it's possible to improve your IQ (if we think of IQ as general reasoning ability), but only to a certain extent. I view it like lifting weights. If you start lifting weights, you will put on muscle. But it doesn't work ad infinitum. Eventually, your progress will plateau and you'll reach your genetic limit.

By the same token, people who are much closer to their genetic limit won't get much out of cognitive training, which makes sense.

I would argue that someone can increase their real IQ by up to one standard deviation at best. If your score improves much more than that, you're probably recovering more so than adding. I'm not saying you have to agree with me. But this seems the most likely explanation for why it's so difficult to duplicate results from cognitive training studies.

P.S. Belief also has something to do with it imo. People who believe the brain is basically a fixed biological system (for whatever odd reason) probably won't get much out of cognitive training either. You have to want to do it and believe there are some benefits.

Anyway, I'll shut up now.

Hey, everyone! If you're like me, you can’t contain your interests to just one field. Philosophy, psychology, biology, computer science, and the arts—what do you need to study or practice to truly understand the mind?

I believe the answer lies in a mix of all the above, with a strong emphasis on the mind and all that is relevant to it.

With this in mind, I’d like to start a study group on Discord. The goal is to meet regularly for study sessions and book discussions.

I’m currently studying computer architecture but would love to start a discussion section focused on readings in philosophy or psychoanalysis as well.

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Please share a little about your unique interests and background.

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Hello everyone,

So, I want to ask, if there are rs. papers, (that i could understandt without Phd, just with surface level knowledge) That could help me understand functioning of my mind a bit more? I'm 24M and i'm not trying to cry here, but I had abusive father and home meant, for the most part, just constnat fear for me.

But my mother is the best woman in the world. I think, when i look through my mind, would be a really horrible person. Mothers parenting etc. Guided me to not be that.

I'm sure there's lot of people, that had it lot worse, but it had impact on me for sure. Also outside of Grannys, 3 good friends and Mom, everyone always stabbed me in the back and treated me like a stray dog. From 11 years i had deep constant depression and had thoughts about the "box room temp thingy". From that age.. 11. Now, i don't have depression, at least i don't feel it directly, but to be honest, i have behavioral symptoms of it, From the age of 18. Only thing I feel is nothing or anger when something happens. But i can control myself and I never want to be like my father. So when i get angry, I just stop interacting and walk away to be alone.

I Daytrade for a living and make enough to cover the bills and have a little bonus after. I'm single and have 3 really close and great freinds. Most of the time, i'm alone, and i got used to that, but sometimes it bothers me. I don't have hobbies excepts trading, because nothing brings me joy or happines.

And recently i noticed, that every time i'm really close to something important i want to accomplish, without thinking thinking, i just destroy it. For example, I trade like a baboon and lose 5/10 trading days of profit in one day.

Or I talk with a girl, we really click together, And when it feels like it could work.. I just do something that ends everything. I'm scared that in relationship, I couldn't give my partner what i would like to, love, empathy, emotional support. I don't understand these things. I know the emotions I had in the past. But no idea how others could feel them.

I'm at the end of my rope here i think. I don't know why i do this or why i'm like this. I want to feel Joy, sadness, love.. but I can't find it anywhere. I guess, there is part of me that hates me and thinks i don't deserve anything. What do you think it is? Or do you have any ideas about research papers that could help me understand my brain better.

Thank you and have a great day

Was wondering if anyone has heard of this, recently discovered it and it seems like a cool theory. I’ve only really looked deeply into the levels part of it so far, was wondering how accurate the general map is and what people think of it.

Is there something holding us back as a species when it comes to the evolution of the brain? It's obvious that as we evolve certain things that are necessary will get better, such as memory, reaction time, etc. That's not what I mean.

What I'm referring to is a gate or significant feature that would open our minds to new concepts. For example, a gorilla can learn to sign for food and water, (like clever hans) but cannot actually understand the concept of language and words having meaning. Is there some concept that we lack? And if there is, could we discover it today using our current minds? Could AI discover it for us?

I'm well aware we could dive into the realm of theory and what if's. What I am referring to is an innately human concept, such as language or art. The wheel isn't a concept, it's an invention.

This one substance in particular caught my eye - PRL-8-53. There's a study from 1978 called "Enhanced Learning and Subsequent Retention in Humans as a Result of Low Oral Doses of New Psychotropic Agent" claiming sub 0.001 p-values.

The experiment:

A total o f 47 volunteers recruited from the faculty and students

at the university participated in the study. All were normal, healthy adults. All tests were done on a double-blind basis.

Is n too small here to draw any meaningful conclusions? And the population is either students or faculty - how might this skew results?

They go into the mechanics of the verbal test used

he major

testing device was a modification of the serial anticipation test used by R. G. Smith (1967). For this verbal test, a number of word lists were prepared, each consisting of 12 one-syllable, three- or four-letter English words. The lists were matched as to difficulty. A detailed description and discussion of the lists will be presented elsewhere. The recorded word lists were presented audibly to the subjects by the serial anticipation method. The words were heard at 3-s intervals with an 8-s intertrial interval, and each list of 12 words was repeated nine times for each individual session. The number of correct anticipations was recorded for each of eight trials. A com- plete 12 word list was used for an orientation and familiarization session, but no retention scores were recorded. To determine reten- tion 24 h after and 4 days after every test, each subject was instructed to enter on a prepared form all the words, if possible, in their proper sequence, which were recalled from the last test.

Are there problems with this test?

The results show a 40-100+% increase in retention scores for people who took the drug.

https://i.imgur.com/w5U5Yx3.png

I don't know if it is coincidence but I notice the lower the n, the better the score for the drug.

I know I'm probably answering my own questions here, but I want to see what experts think about this study and why it might be wrong.

Not sure if I can post sci hub links here, but the doi is https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00432846

I am a peruvian student really interested in neuroscience and cognitive science, but there are no undergraduate programs here about those fields. Therefore, I would like to know which undergraduate program would be the best to get into these fields. I am currently thinking about medicine and electrical engineering, because I am really good at math.

Hi! I'm taking a master's in cognitive science and posting about my learnings and experience here: https://www.instagram.com/mentescopy/

If you are thinking of pursuing a career in cognitive science reach out! :)

Does anyone know of any interesting work on current LLM models from a cogsci perspective? By that I mean analyzing these models to try to understand how they are similar to and different from humans (and other species). I'm particularly interested in LLMs and memory. I have found one paper on arxiv using research on human memory to try to understand LLM cognition. Wondering if there is other work, academic or otherwise.

I am sorry, I am not sure if it's okay to ask this kind of question.

But I am currently in the final year of B.Sc. Applied Psychology and I am thinking about pursuing a master's in cognitive science or cognitive neuroscience, but I am not sure about what would be the scope or the path post that. Like what would I be able to do, like work in which field or sector after this. I am pretty confused about the future.

I would be extremely grateful if someone could help me with this.

Thank You

I used to feel a lot smarter than I am now. In high school I performed well in my classes, and earned a high GPA. College came around, along with the pandemic, and Long story short I spent a few years clinically depressed, performing abysmal in my classes, and earning a low GPA for a few semesters. I was almost kicked out, but I got my shit together and fixed my GPA. However, I feel stupid, and like I have completely lost my old cognitive abilities.

From some limited research, I've learned that depression can actually lead to a decrease in cognitive ability (processing speed, memory, etc.), and that Long Covid can actually cause brain fog and deterioration in cognitive abilities. I've spent several years clinically depressed, and I've been infected with Covid once before.

I used to feel a lot smarter. I used to pick up on concepts quicker, focus better, and remember things for longer. Now, I have constant brain fog. I feel mentally slow and stupid. It takes me longer to learn and pick up new concepts. All in all, I just feel like an idiot, and I want my own brain back. I even want better abilities than before.

From what I've gathered from reading discussion posts and research pertaining to this topic, your IQ is set in stone, and cannot be changed. This bums me out. I'd hoped there could be some things I could do to recover and maybe even raise my IQ, but it seems this was a false hope. Now, my question is, does this same answer apply to cognitive ability? I'd assume if your IQ cannot be changed, nor recovered once decreased, your cognitive ability must follow suit, as IQ is linked to cognitive ability. Is there any hope for me? Can I get ny old brain back? Or am I doomed to be slow and stupid forever?

Full disclaimer of self promotion here. Our research team is developing the new gold standard for online IQ testing (test + administration software). We are relaying our mission to groups of researchers + psychologists to get some eyeballs on what we are doing. Please poke holes, ask questions, follow along, or even message us directly. We would love to chat.

If you'd like to read more about our research team please visit our website or Discord

Chief scientist is Dr. Russell T Warne

PS: We are launching version 1 of the RIOT test & software in a couple months

I’m wondering if anyone has the same problem as me: Lately I’ve been forgetting my words A LOT & I’m only 21 years old. I feel like I’ve always struggled with my communication (I simply can’t express myself verbally even though I know what to say, but I do better expressing myself in a written form). Anyway, it’s becoming more & more worse. Last night I forgot what a bowl was and told a family member of mine to “fill the dogs bucket” (we have a chihuahua and he has the TINIEST bowl). I forgot what a broom was and had asked someone to “pass me the sweep”. I also forgot words whenever i’m trying to talk or tend to skip over them. This tends to happen whenever it’s in the moment. Mind you, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink & I’ve never been in an accident or played a sport that could’ve involved brain trauma. This is TRULY an insecurity of mine & im afraid doctors wouldn’t want to rule out anything serious because of my age. I don’t go out & I have little friends because I’m so insecure of trying to talk to someone and sounding like I’m barely learning how to speak english. It’s embarrassing and I just want to know if anyone has been diagnosed with something that involves similarities as to what i’m going through 🥲

Yeah... people have a tantrum or jump to mania or mental illness when I mention a lack of credentials so I don't know how I'm supposed to ask this.

Have some type of Colombo/Sherlock Holmes thing from hypervigilance and reading people. Think untreated PTSD. Brought my anxiety way down and now uh I can think a lot more clearly. It was fun for a while, until I noticed uh...

Neuroscientist Benjamin Libet’s research showed that the brain begins preparing for action milliseconds before we consciously decide to act, suggesting that free will may be an afterthought.

Yes. I have ruled out the alternatives. Observing it in writing via interpersonal communications makes it easy to repeatedly see. Knowing what I want to do(act altruistically in this specific case), subconsciously being pulled towards it and using a tool/technique to achieve it. There is a delay and my conscious mind assigns an alternate reasoning to get to the same place that is less...innovative. Then in retrospect, the actual subconscious motivation rises to the surface.

Not a distress post. Pretty cool to see the science. Want to know if anyone else has this...Well I'm sure people have it. But do they notice it.

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring possibly pursuing a BSc in Cognitive Science and would love your insights. I have an associate degree in Computer Science but recently realized that Cognitive Science resonates much more with my interests. I’m fascinated by the interdisciplinary nature of the field—how it bridges neuroscience, psychology, computer science, and philosophy—but I’m also trying to understand the career paths it can open up.

From a practical standpoint:

• What are some unique or lesser-known job opportunities that a BSc in Cognitive Science can lead to?
• Which specialization courses or tracks (e.g., AI, neuroscience, HCI, etc.) have you found to be the most rewarding or in-demand?

I’m particularly interested in fields that blend cognitive science with creativity, but I’m open to exploring other technical possibilities like Human-Computer Interaction or Computational Neuroscience.

(Also, I’m a dual citizen of the US and Barbados and currently doing an internship in Sweden. Right now, I’m looking at Osnabrück University for Cognitive Science, but if anyone knows of other great programs, courses, apprenticeships, scholarships, or universities—especially ones that are financially optimal—please feel free to share!)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and experiences! 😊

So I've made the leap from BSc Computer Science to MSc in Cognitive Science, and I'm getting some serious imposter syndrome.

My compsci course somehow managed to completely skip almost all maths, statistics, machine learning, data analysis and algorithms and instead spread itself over a bit of software development, human-computer interaction, databases, game development etc etc.

Now I'm doing cogsci in Tübingen and I feel like all the knowledge I developed in compsci was completely useless. Since I haven't done any algebra, calculus or statistics for 5 years, I'm completely struggling to do the most basic maths required in my machine learning module, which is just embarrassing considering I was incredibly good at maths when I was still in school.

My data analysis skills are also quite poor as we did almost none of that during my bachelor's. I feel like I offer a very limited skillset compared to my other peers with computer science backgrounds, and I also feel like a tiny baby in all things psychology compared to people with psychology backgrounds who are now doing Cogsci. The other problem is that my university provides almost no HCI modules.

I want to go into research after my Masters, but I really just feel so unqualified compared to many of my peers. I find cognitive psychology and vision stuff particularly interesting, but I just feel so underqualified compared to other people. I probably won't do anything very AI related as it would take too much time to catch up. Does anyone have any advice for me?

What voluntary courses should I take to increase my chances of being accepted to the CogSci Master's program in Osmabrück? I have a Bachelor's degree in intercultural business psychology. The Bachelor's degree had a very high psychological component. I know that I have to upload a proof of English at least B2. When I wrote to the mentoring team, they also told me to write a cover letter explaining in detail why I want to do CogSci. I have to explain voluntary courses and further training in detail. Personally, I find the composition of the modules super exciting. I would like to focus on neurosciences and AI. I wrote my bachelor's thesis on the effects of LLM on the world of work. I'm currently reading a textbook on cognitive neuroscience by Gazzaniga. I find the basic mechanisms of the brain particularly interesting.

Does anyone have any tips or recommendations on how I can increase my chances?

Hi! I am a cognitive science major currently working on getting my undergraduate degree! I am loving every part of this degree so far but I am really struggling in linguistics, particularly with morphology and syntax. I was wondering what fields of linguistics are most focused on in cognitive science? From what I gather it seems to be morphosyntax and semantics but I wanted to ask somebody with a background in cognitive science. If I am not particularly good with the hard details of linguistics will that get me into trouble in the future? Did anybody else struggle with linguistics, and if so, how did you manage to get a better understanding of it? Does anybody have any recommendations on further readings in linguistics and its role in cognitive science so I can zero in on the most relevant aspects of linguistics? Thanks! (Particularly concerned because I just got a D on a morphology and syntax exam lol)

I just see these people that try to kill themselves or other people because they don’t want to be gay because of the cult of heteronormativity in this country and I wonder if it’s possible to help them.

I have no idea what to make of all this. Some people say the IQ tests are racially profiled while others say it isn't. Some say IQ isn't fixed while others say it is. Some say it completely genetic while others say it is significantly increased by education. Some say that the SES has a significant effect on IQ while others just say it's genetic. Please give me some articles, books, or studies to separate the truth from the fluff.

I asked a question on Quora to this dude name Brian White and he edited his post to respond to me with a very thorough and detailed response. Overall I am quite convinced by all the evidence he presents but since I am ignorant on this stuff, I don't think it would be good to come to a full conclusion based off one persons writings. So that is why I'm asking yall if this this response was completely accurate and if it wasn't, then what was wrong with it?

Some of the points he makes is that IQ is largely fixed and that there is different IQ levels among races that are attributed to genetics. This is because in some studies where adopted asians in white families perform 10 IQ points better than the family they are adopted into even with possible malnurtition in early life before adoption. He also says that African Americans in adopted white families are 10 IQ points below the family they were adopted into.

This seems somewhat unsettling but he provides plenty of links to several studies and it seems like a reasonable conclusion with all the evidence he provides with it. I don't know enought about it at the moment to make a good educated conclusion and thats why I am asking y'all.

Hi, does anyone have recommendations for schools in the US for intersections of cognitive science (social psych, cognition, research on social inequalities) and communication (media related research). I have background in philosophy with focus on social epistemology and philosophy of mind, i also have a good amount of work in documentary filmmaking (themes: marginalisation, visibility, performativity, queer cultures, intersectionality, decolonisation).

I have applied to a couple of social psych phds but now i am considering a few communications, computational social sci, social anthropology (like UCLA, Michigan, UPenn, Princeton). Do you have any recommendations for schools across US, UK, Canada with Phd programs around this focus? I might also consider a funded MA if I can find a good program. It's important for me that the program/dept is interdisciplinary and has collabs with labs or research centres using different research methods.

The main reason for moving away from philosophy is to develop skills other than critical thinking and analytical writing.

Any suggestions are welcome! all my application materials are almost ready so i just want to consider a few new options before i submit.

Thank you.

Our research team has gotten countless questions about this, so we just wrote it up to clarify misconceptions around how modern IQ is calculated. Hopefully some of you find this useful or interesting at the least.

So, the way IQ has been calculated has shifted since IQ's inception.

The First IQ Formula (Stern's)

The original IQ formula was:

IQ = (Mental Age / Chronological Age) × 100

• Mental Age: The cognitive age at which someone performs. Example: A 10-year-old solving problems typical for 12-year-olds has a mental age of 12.
• Chronological Age: The actual age in years.

Seems straightforward, right? But here’s the catch and issue...

The Problem with Stern's Formula

IQ wasn’t consistent as kids aged when using this formula...

Example:

A child 2 years ahead of their peers would see his/her IQ drop over time for no reason:

• At age 6 with mental age of 8: (8/6)×100=133
• At age 10 with mental age of 12: (12/10)×100=120

Even though they remained 2 years ahead of their peers in mental ability, their IQ dropped.

Enter Modern IQ Calculations Stage Left

Modern IQ scores compare test performance to statistical norms, not mental vs. chronological age. This involves:

1️⃣ The Mean (M): The average score in a population.
2️⃣ Standard Deviation (SD): How spread out scores are from the mean.

Together, these help measure how far an individual’s performance deviates from the average.

Z-Score for Each Subtest

So, IQ tests are constructed by a series (a.k.a. battery) of smaller tests called "subtests". You get a z score for each subtest you complete. We start with the z-score, which tells us how far your raw score is from the mean in units of SD:

z = (x − M) / SD

Example:
A test with M=50, SD=10

If your score is x=70, then...

z = (70 − 50) / 10 = 2.0

You’re 2 SDs above the mean.

Sum the z Scores

Then... since modern IQ tests like the RIOT have multiple subtests. Each produces a z-score. These z-scores are summed to create a composite score.

Example:
Verbal: z=1.0
Spatial: z=2.0
Memory: z=−0.5

Total:
z=1.0+2.0−0.5 --> 2.5

Final Steps to Get IQ Score

Lastly, we convert to IQ Scale

To align scores with the IQ scale (mean = 100, SD = 15), we use:

IQ = z · 15 + 100

Example:
If total z=2.5, your IQ is --> ~138

IQ = (2.5 · 15) + 100 = 137.5 ≈ 138

We will leave out a few extra things in this section that relate to the Score Extremity Effect. You can read here if you want more detail on this concept and additional step.

That's it! IQ Calculated ✅

This method of calculating IQ is called the "Deviation IQ", which it is highly superior to Stern's original Quotient IQ

Why do we use this now?
- Consistent: Across age groups
- Fair: No arbitrary age assumptions
- Accurate: Reflects relative standing in a population

Deviation IQ is now the standard in tests like the WAIS and RIOT

Hope you guys found this interesting. Reply with any questions, our research team will happily look through them and engage. Cheers all.