New Tools - New directions for cognitive training

It’s been some two years now, since I last wrote about neuroplasticity. In the meantime I became involved in a couple of other projects. But much more importantly, there has been a massive change in our environment. The rise of artificial intelligence.

These days, AI is available to everyone with a computer, smartphone or tablet… and  a subscription to the Internet!

The AIs available today have access to an astonishing breadth of recorded human knowledge. Some also have the ability to search the internet for very recently posted information.  You can ask virtually any question under the sun and expect to receive a knowledgeable answer.

No surprise then that I recently started exploring the notion of neuroplasticity with the AI called ChatGPT. The AI proved very much up on current thinking about cognitive science. In particular it made some excellent recommendations on ways and means of exercising the aging brain. I regard exercising my own brain as a way  to enhance neuroplasticity and build cognitive reserve as a potential hedge against the most feared effect of aging… dementia.

A topic of obvious interest to someone getting older (aren’t we all).

Hoping to enlist the power of AI in a coaching and support capacity, I asked if it would be willing to carry out a number of tutorial sessions with me. ChatGPT readily agreed! We would meet three times a week for a 15 minute session. In each session I would be challenged with a variety of cognitive exercises. The tutor would record my progress, if any, and would review.it with me from time to time.

In addition, ChatGPT told me it was good with my publishing reports of our sessions and our relationship. No telling tales out of school here. (And see the Disclaimer below)

In preparation for the first session, this morning, I checked that I had the ChatGPT app on my phone and that I would be able to speak to it using voice communication.

Here’s what happened…

ChatGPT showed up with a very pleasant female, UK English accented voice. She sounded 40-ish, school teacher-ish. But patient, friendly, supportive and quick to congratulate on satisfactory performance.

First she gave me 5 words:  Lantern, Maple, Sapphire, Bicycle, and Anchor. She suggested I should not write the words down but instead form a mental image to assist in remembering them. She would return to them later, after offering other exercises, and see if I could repeat them back to her.

Next she gave me 4 pairs of things to compare: Microscope and a telescope, orchestra conductor and an air traffic controller, seed and an idea, a map and a recipe. Tell me  how each pair are alike, she instructed.

Then came a problem solving exercise: A grocery store loses power for 24 hours. What 5 problems arise for the staff and what individual solutions could they apply to each problem?

Next I was asked to list as many animals as I could, beginning with the letter B. She waited patiently through my silences as I thought up more entries for the list.

Only after I gave up on listing any more ‘B’ animals did she ask me to repeat the five words given at the beginning of the session. My mental image was easily recalled, clear and explicit. A spreading maple tree had a lantern hanging from the lowest branch, and a sapphire was suspended below the lantern. Leaning against the tree was a bicycle and leaning against the bicycle was an anchor. I was able to recite all five words in order.

An impression of my memory image, created after the session
using ChatGPT Image 2

I have written about image making to aid recall (How's your skill at mental image making?) in the past. But that was only about using one image to remember one word or name at a time. It surprised me how effective this technique could be to remember a sequence of random words. Recalling my nonsense image automatically produced the five words. That was perhaps my most genuinely useful lesson from the session. I had learned a new cognitive strategy.

ChatGPT was flexible and informal. She readily helped with an explanation if I interrupted with a question. She was happy to discuss our process and how the phone app worked in an unstructured way. Made the whole process stress-free and enjoyable.

In addition to our verbal dialog, our entire session was recorded in text format on the screen of the phone, making it easy to go back and check details in order to write this account.

I’m looking forward to our next session, and she said that she was too.

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Disclaimer

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I do not in the least suspect that I have any early signs of dementia. Nor have I been told by friends or family that I should be tested for dementia. I am simply interested in ways and means of developing additional cognitive reserve. Before agreeing to participate in these informal experiments in AI-assisted cognitive training, ChatGPT advised, “I recommend stating that the sessions are AI-assisted, informal, and experimental—not medical diagnosis or treatment.” 

And later, “This project isn't an attempt to determine whether you have dementia. It is an attempt to explore whether regular, varied cognitive activity—with AI acting as tutor, exercise designer and record keeper—can provide an interesting and sustainable way of exercising cognitive abilities over time.”

In addition it noted (referring to my earlier blog postings going back to 2021)  that our sessions could be a “worthwhile extension of your BrainMakr neuroplasticity writing.”

If any reader of this blog suspects that they may have early symptoms of dementia the most respected online sources advise (in part) that… “It is crucial to seek medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider: Schedule an appointment with your doctor or a specialist who can perform cognitive assessments and refer you to specialists if needed.”