APA Dictionary of Psychology

a set of mentally stimulating exercises to improve or maintain cognitive functions such as attention, working memory, visual and auditory processing, speed of processing, reasoning, listening, reading, and problem solving. Cognitive training may be used in a variety of situations, such as to improve academic performance, to help recover abilities after a traumatic brain injury, or to help prevent or attempt to reverse the early effects of dementia. Mnemonic strategies, games for people starting to show memory problems, and reality orientation are examples of cognitive training. Test results on the effectiveness of this training have been inconsistent. Also called brain exercise.