Gamified cognitive training for better neuroplasciticity and learning

Nowadays, more and more people are suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. According to the WHO Alzheimer’s Disease Report 2023, there are over 55 million people worldwide living with dementia across the world. This number will almost double every 20 years, reaching 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050.

The consequences of Alzheimer's are truly devastating: an individual’s life is gradually erased from their consciousness, taking away the most important thing from a person - their memory and feelings. 

Seeing the global scale of the disease, I dived deeper into the study of brain impairments from medical perspective. I started my journey by researching neurological diseases and brain impairments at Sirius University. There, I learned about an astonishing prevalence of medical errors that result in 2 million deaths and harm 134 million people annually. 

Realizing the enormous responsibility that scientists, doctors, and other investigators have for their patients, I decided to take a closer look at this issue in the field of neurology. It pains me to witness that, in our society, there is a lack of support towards improving the futures of kids struggling with developmental conditions and elderly people with severe neurological disorders.

Thus, I created a NeuroFuture app where people of all ages can perform various game exercises in the style of memorizing texts or pictures to develop a better memory capacity and boost deteriorated attention spans.

My work is focused on people with neurological conditions in Hungary, but with the help of NeuroFuture, I aim to positively impact patients all across the globe.

As NeuroFuture is an online platform, it can be used in any place in the world, designed in a way to make it interactive and enjoyable for people of all ages. The app focuses on creating a community where, in addition to training their cognition, users will have a safe digital environment to relax and meet like-minded people to work together on enhancing their skills. Also, NeuroFuture offers various tests to determine the best way for the person to learn new information, offering interesting courses on neuroscience and the impact of nutrition and physical activity on brain function. 

At the end of the extensive training with logical quizzes and creative puzzles, users will receive a detailed report on their training progress, which adjusts their workout list, making the exercises harder and adding new ones for constant improvement. Thus, based on the results of performing ten or more exercises for a whole month, a cohesive plan for personalized skills training will be developed with the identification of any gaps in memory, attention, and reaction speed that this user showed previously. I aim to make it in a way that would make it easier for people to identify their weaknesses in cognitive flexibility and adjust their training accordingly, improving their brain health.

Fostering NeuroFuture and my own neuroscience research, I want to help elderly people with neurodegeneration and youth with neurological conditions, raising awareness about cognitive decline and assisting some of the most vulnerable groups to make them remember their amazing lives.

Brain impairments are some of the most detrimental, yet not-so-well-researched disorders in medicine that hurt the world population’s already deteriorating health. However, if people were more aware of various diseases and their unhealthy lifestyle that greatly contributes to the development of these disorders then it’d be much easier to tackle such issues and ensure the improvement of the early diagnosis system. 

Through my work,  I aim to provide patients with an affordable and effective way to combat cognitive decline and bring more information about the special needs of such patients. Educating the public about the lifestyle of people with neurological conditions and the risks of developing early dementia that exist in the world can help a lot to reduce the negative influence such disorders may have on society. By offering interactive exercises for users to improve their memory and overall thinking flexibility, I want to serve as a bridge between patients with cognitive decline and the rest of the world, creating a more neurodiverse and inclusive environment.

I am a young scientist, entrepreneur, and innovator who is interested in the way our brain can influence our wellbeing and overall state of living. In order to spread this knowledge to the public, I started the research with the project “NeuroFuture” in cognitive health and neuroplasticity and presented an app to improve people's cognitive skills through mnemotechnics, logic quizzes, and meditations, winning the international neuroscience hackathon Synaptic Hacks.

During the last 3 years, I have been involved in a research project in the field of brain relaxation as a part of the Research Institution “Sirius” and the representative of the National Ministry of Healthcare initiative. Later, I continued my research at Sirius University using eye-tracking technology to find the role of eye movements in stress levels. In the end, I presented the findings as a research article "Correlation between anxiety and oculomotor activity" at Sirius University and the international conference SPCN-2022.

Later, I started my internship at BioViva, a U.S. biotechnology company that specializes in developing personalized medicines through gene therapy, to better understand the mechanism behind the occurrence of neurological disorders. This is how my passion for neurobiology was born! While analyzing patient histories, I collected information on inherited diseases and wrote reports on the use of gene modification in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases for the Department of Genetics.

After this, I joined molecular biology research with faculty members at the University of Cambridge as a student in the Cambridge Centre for International Research program. There I investigated neuronal function and genetic mutations of glial cells that can negatively affect memory function and lead to neurodegeneration. I successfully presented this project at the International Clever Conference 2022 in Kazakhstan and received a prize in the STEM projects category.

Now, I am actively spreading the message about the use of medical novelties like gene therapy in neurology, featuring my research on the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s Disease at PuzzleX Conference 2023.

Now, I am showing this app to dementia patients in Pécs. So far, around 40 people have tested my training methodology. Organizing several training sessions, I have seen participants memorize random words and creatively craft humorous stories about Jules Verne striding along the Martian expanse. This made me think that such games can sometimes rejuvenate brain activity, allowing people with cognitive decline to find ways to creatively express themselves through storytelling and develop divergent thinking.

Like this, I presented this app at the Buildspace accelerator, showing people how to preserve their brain health through interesting and meaningful activities. 

In researching how our memory and brain functions work, I became interested in aging and neurological diseases, especially dementia. Wanting to help people who had lost their memory due to disease, I began investigating Alzheimer's disease and studying the role of microglia in neuroinflammation.

In the future, I want to tackle the problem of the development of neurological disorders not only from a biological but also from a cognitive perspective, providing patients with psychological support and developing my methodology of exercises to improve neuroplasticity.

For me, Solve is a unique opportunity to improve my knowledge of social entrepreneurship with support from experienced mentors and outstanding peers. 

Being a part of the program would not only allow me to iterate on my startup project through professional guidance but would also give me access to the whole community of young scientists and innovators all across the globe with whom I would be able to develop these ideas to the full implementation in business and medical fields.

Taking part in Solve networking events, I aspire to connect with progressive researchers and industry experts in entrepreneurship and healthcare fields to advance my project work. Like this, I hope to put into use my expertise in biotech, devoting my time and energy to unraveling the secrets of the brain!

Solve supports its members with modern facilities and advanced technologies that enable them to conduct complex research and create innovations, tackling global problems in a variety of fields. There, I aim to continue pushing the boundaries of what we know about neuroscience to make a real difference in the lives of those affected by this neurological disease. Participating in private meetings with pioneering researchers and sharing my knowledge with other participants at community events, I want to get an experience of real social enterprise to thoroughly explore ways to improve our neural capabilities to the fullest!

I know that MIT Solve community is looking for future leaders who are not afraid of big challenges and have the courage to change the world for the better. I believe I am that kind of person. I can contribute new ideas to the community and create novel projects in neurotech and mental health.

The biggest innovation would be the introduction of a personalized report that will calculate how many mistakes and what kind of errors were made throughout the training, so the user can know what area they need to improve. In addition, I am to make brain training as enjoyable as possible, so I aim to introduce the exercises in a style of game. There participants will be able to choose their characters, create teams to play quizzes together, or compete against each other to win the prizes. Overall, NeuroFuture innovative approach towards learning and cognition enhancement can make a huge difference for people who either don't know how to improve their neuroplasticity and/or don't have the right tools to do it.

Cognitive decline is another area where brain training games could actually have some positive effect, research shows. In a decade-long clinical trial conducted by Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE), participants still benefited from the memory, reasoning, and speed of processing training five years later. Better yet, some people benefited from the speed of processing training 10 years later.

My goals will be:

1. Actively engaging with senior citizens at the neighborhood level, introducing them to technology, and guiding them in effectively utilizing the NeuroFuture platform to enhance their cognitive abilities. 

2. Strengthening the cognitive well-being of seniors in my community by expanding the NeuroFuture platform to offer comprehensive cognitive exercises, games, and creative activities.

3. Connecting with a global network of young leaders and innovators, is essential for the growth and expansion of the NeuroFuture initiative through Mountaintop Fellowship.

I will be measuring the success by questionnaires and surveys to ask for as much feedback as possible to continue iterating on the platform's methodology and improve user experience.

The primary technologies that will be used are Machine Learning and Behavioral Technology. The algorithm will train to personalize exercises each time users train to establish various difficulty levels and create novel quizzes for them that match this exact user's needs and pace. In addition, computer software and mobile versions of a platform will be created to make it easier for users to train both on their laptops and their phones!

Right now, I am a sole Founder of the project

I have started my work on NeuroFuture in 2021, when I presented the first prototype during Synaptic Hacks 2021 Neuroscience Hackathon

Elena is a female founder coming from marginalized low-income family.

The NeuroFuture business model is B2C and B2B. We will offer monthly subscriptions for private users and will have a year-long partnership agreement with affiliated companies and institutions that are interested in using our training exercises to improve their students’ and employee's well-being. Also, it is planned to introduce a free plan for users with limited exercise ranges and use advertisements as a source of revenue from such clients.

During Buildspace Dubai IRL, I presented my project to the investors; there, I was able to receive $1,000 in funding from the 1517 Medici Project. Now, I hope to raise funds to proceed with further development of the project and build a software for better personalized training and user-friendly interface.