CrushStations

Name: CrushStations
Author: New York University

New York University

CLINICAL GRADE

Validated in clinical trials · Supported by multiple studies

For:Researchers & AcademicsGeneral Public & EnthusiastsKids & Youth

Free

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App Summary

CrushStations is a digital game designed for young adults to train working memory, an executive function skill that involves holding and mentally manipulating information. The associated research found that young adults who played CrushStations demonstrated greater improvement on a cognitive task of working memory (the n-back task) compared to a control group playing a different game. The authors conclude that this provides evidence for a specific transfer approach, where skills practiced within the game can improve performance on related cognitive tasks outside of the game context.

App Screenshots

Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

Developed by New York University's CREATE lab and collaborators, CrushStations is a digital game designed to train working memory, a core executive function. The game's primary mechanic requires players to hold and manipulate information about creature attributes (color and type) to complete tasks. Each session engages the cognitive process of 'updating'—the continuous monitoring and rapid revision of information held in memory. The interface delivers progressively challenging levels to systematically exercise this specific cognitive skill within a game-based context.

Evidence & Research Context

A randomized study with young adults demonstrated that playing CrushStations led to significantly better performance on an external n-back working memory task compared to a control group.
The same study found no transfer effects to non-targeted cognitive skills (visuospatial memory), supporting a specific, rather than general, mechanism of cognitive training.
In a related trial with college students, games from the same development suite improved performance on difficult portions of an n-back task compared to a no-contact control group.
The game's design is grounded in the cognitive theory of game-based training, targeting the "updating" component of working memory as defined by established executive function models.

Intended Use & Scope

CrushStations is designed for researchers investigating game-based cognitive training and for individuals seeking to exercise working memory skills. Its primary utility is as a targeted training tool for the "updating" subskill. The app is not a diagnostic instrument or a clinical intervention for cognitive impairment and should not replace professional consultation.

Studies & Publications

3 publications

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

RCT

Learning Cognitive Skills by Playing Video Games at Home: Testing the Specific Transfer of General Skills Theory

Flores-Gallegos et al. (2022) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement

Video game training showed benefits only on the hardest versions of specific tasks, not overall improvement.

Can people learn cognitive skills by playing video games at home? In the present study, college students took a pretest consisting of four cognitive tasks and 2 weeks later took a posttest consisting of the same four tasks (i.e., n-back and letter-number tasks tapping executive function skills and mental rotation and multiple object tracking tasks tapping perceptual processing skills). During the 2-week period, students engaged in no game activity, or played designed video games (targeting executive function skills) or an action video game (targeting perceptual processing skills) at home for 6 30-min sessions. The two game groups did not show greater gains than the control group on any of the tasks overall, but the designed game group outperformed the control group on the difficult trials of the n-back task and the action game group outperformed the control group on the difficult trials of the mental rotation tasks. Results provide partial evidence for the specific transfer of general skills theory, and show that the training effects of game playing are focused on skills that are exercised in the game.

RCT

Playing a Video Game and Learning to Think: What's the Connection?

Wells et al. (2021) · Journal of Cognitive Enhancement

Students who played CrushStations significantly outperformed the control game group on working memory tasks.

The present study examines whether playing a video game can help improve cognitive skills needed for successful performance on cognitive tasks, such as updating, which involves continuous monitoring of incoming information that results in rapid addition or deletion of information in working memory. For example, in the n-back task, the participant sees a series of rapidly presented letters on a screen and must press a key each time the current letter is the same as one presented n trials previously (e.g., 3 trials back). Young adults were randomly assigned to play CrushStations (a desktop game the authors designed to teach updating skill) or Bookworm (a commercially available word search game used as a control) for 4 30-min sessions spread over 9 days. Consistent with specific transfer theory, CrushStations players improved on performing the target skill in the game context across the four sessions (the highest level achieved). Consistent with specific transfer of general skill theory, CrushStations players outscored Bookworm players on a posttest involving accurately performing the target skill in a non-game context (n-back task). In contrast to general transfer theory, CrushStations players did not differ from Bookworm players on posttests measuring skills not directly targeted in the game (visuospatial memory task). These results show the benefits of designing educational games in line with the cognitive theory of game-based training (Parong et al., 2020).

In the Media

These 3 brain games could boost your memory and thinking functions

Researchers at New York University developed CrushStations as part of a four-year research project to create targeted computer games that improve cognitive skills, specifically focusing on working memory training. The game successfully improved executive functions after as little as two hours of play, prompting the scholars to make it available to the general public for free. CrushStations involves crustaceans and trains working memory, which is responsible for temporarily holding and processing information that plays a major role in daily learning.

KnowridgeRead article

Professors Create Free Research-Backed Games to Train Your Brain

NYU Steinhardt Professor Jan L. Plass and colleagues from New York and California developed CrushStations to help children and adults improve their cognitive skills, using research-backed game design that targets executive functions like memory and inhibitory control. The team discovered that the games successfully improved executive functions after as little play as two hours, leading them to make the apps available to the general public for free. The project resulted from a 4-year research study funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

NyuRead article