MaRS partner, Baycrest, creates Centre for Brain Fitness
Toronto Centre for Brain Fitness
Monday, April 7, 2008 was a day of celebration for a group of “brainiaks” from MaRS and our Baycrest colleagues as they announced:
“Ontario government invests $10 million into the New Centre for Brain Fitness at Baycrest.”
The funding will provide much needed fuel for the development and commercialization of solutions aimed at assessment and maintenance of cognitive abilities.
Clinically known as neuropsychology, the brain fitness market is a nascent but rapidly growing sector. According to SharpBrains’ recently released “The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market” report, two segments fueled the market growth from 2005 to 2007: consumers (grew from $5m to $80m, 300% CAGR) as well as healthcare and insurance providers (grew from $36m to $65m, 35% CAGR).
As with any new market, there is a lot of confusion among users and buyers about product features and validity of the claims.
This is a perfect place for science to separate facts from fiction. More than five programs have shown results in randomized controlled trials. The verdict is out: cognitive functions, such as visual and auditory processing, working memory, attention, and decision-making can be trained.
Baycrest researchers have been building knowledge and data in this field for over 20 years. The MaRS Venture Group team has been working with Baycrest researchers for about a year now to map out the commercialization opportunity. I am totally psyched that Baycrest chose to partner with us to develop and market scientifically-proven products for the clinic, workplace and home environments.
Veronika Litinski coordinates the MaRS venture services programs delivered to entrepreneurs, investors and high-growth companies. She also provides advisory services to entrepreneurs and high growth companies, with a special focus on life sciences markets, specializing in corporate finance and business development.
Hello Veronika,
We enjoyed reading the announcement. Shouldn’t we start a dialogue? Pls send me an email, and let’s schedule.
Kind regards
Posted by: Alvaro on April 14th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi, Veronika,
This is a wonderful and timely idea that is on the forefront of applied cognitive neuroscience. The general idea of how cognitive neuroscience can inform educational theory and practice is extremely important and powerful not only in terms of exactly how cognitive functions can be “trained up” through specific neuro-exercise procedures to modify cognitive decline during aging, but also in terms of the process of education wherever and whenever it impacts human functionality and performance through neuroplastic processes (e.g. in academic endeavors, public education, and work skills development).
I am very interested in following the development of this project and looking forward to being able to apply the products and concepts generated through it in my own work.
Best,
Gary Goldberg MD
Director, Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program
UPMC Mercy Hospital
Pittsburgh, PA.
Posted by: Gary Goldberg MD on April 15th, 2008 at 9:34 pm