Betsy DeVos has invested millions in this 'brain training' company. So I checked it out.

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: May 28, 2017 at 11:18:44 AM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Betsy DeVos has invested millions in this 'brain training' company. So I checked it out.
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> Betsy DeVos has invested millions in this ‘brain training’ company. So I checked it out.
> At a clinic in Florida, I found that Neurocore seems to be promising more than it can deliver.
> By Ulrich Boser
> May 26  2017
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/26/betsy-devos-neurocore/>
>
> A TECHNICIAN SNAPPED a stretchy electrode cap onto my head, and I felt a cold pinch as she affixed each sensor to my 
> scalp with a dose of icy gel. Perched on an office chair, with a rainbow of wires spiraling from my head, I followed 
> the tech’s instructions to stare at a small orange object while an EEG recording device measured the electrical 
> activity in various regions of my brain.
>
> I was checking out the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., branch of Neurocore, a “brain performance” company owned by the 
> family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. DeVos resigned her Neurocore board seat when she joined the Trump Cabinet, 
> but she and her husband maintain a financial stake of between $5 million and $25 million, according to a financial 
> disclosure statement filed with the Office of Government Ethics. The DeVoses’ private-equity firm, Windquest, 
> identifies Neurocore as part of its “corporate family.” The Windquest website posts Neurocore news and includes links 
> for job seekers to apply to Neurocore openings.
>
> In other words, the family has a lot riding on Neurocore’s claims that it can help you “train your brain to function 
> better” — addressing problems as diverse as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety, stress, 
> depression, poor sleep, memory loss and migraines. “Unlike medication, which temporarily masks your symptoms, 
> neurofeedback promotes healthy changes in your brain to provide you with a lasting solution,” touts a Neurocore 
> overview video. “. . . We’ve helped thousands of people strengthen their brain to achieve a happy, healthier, more 
> productive life for years to come.” The company currently has nine offices in Michigan and Florida, though there’s 
> been talk of making a national move.
>
> When the DeVos-Neurocore connection made headlines during her confirmation hearings, I was skeptical of the company’s 
> claims. I had come across brain training while working on a book, “Learn Better,” about the science of learning. The 
> field is rife with vague and overblown promises. Last year, the creators of Lumosity paid a $2 million fine to the 
> Federal Trade Commission to settle a complaint that they deceptively advertised that their memory exercises could 
> improve everyday performance and stave off memory loss.
>
> Neurocore hasn’t been subject to any federal complaints, chief executive Mark Murrison told me. But my impression was 
> that the company’s premise runs counter to an immense body of research suggesting that the human brain isn’t all that 
> trainable. Study upon study has failed to support a game or a tool that can boost intellectual RAM.
>
> So what is our education secretary doing investing millions in a brain performance firm? I couldn’t find any public 
> remarks by DeVos about Neurocore or brain training. Her spokesman at the Department of Education did not respond to 
> my requests for comment. But in January, Neurocore’s chief medical officer, Majid Fotuhi, asserted to the New York 
> Times that “Betsy DeVos really believes in improving brain performance and helping children who have syndromes such 
> as attention deficit disorder.”
>
> I wanted to understand what Neurocore was about.
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>



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