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Kidman telling brain porkies

Says Sense About Science.

Celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Patrick Stewart have been misleading us about Brain Training, according to a recent study.

In a television advert the Australian actress claims, "I have quickly found that training my brain [with Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training computer game] is a great way to keep my mind feeling young."

But cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Jason Braithwaite from the University of Birmingham believes that could be a load of old codswallop.

"There is no conclusive evidence showing that the continued use of these devices is linked to any measurable and general improvements in cognition. Practice at any task should lead to some form of improvement for that specific task," he said.

Challenging these celebrity endorsements is the work of Sense About Science (spotted by The Telegraph), which aims to avoid household names promoting "quackery and mumbo-jumbo".

However, it is far from the first time someone has picked up on the so called pseudo-science, with Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani keen that games should validate claims before making them.

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