[2] As of 2016 the company says its games are "designed by scientists to challenge core cognitive abilities;"[3] prior to that, according to the FTC, it had "deceptively claim[ed] their programs were clinically proven to permanently improve serious health conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, and concussions".
[4] Starting in January 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued other companies selling "brain training" programs or other products intended to improve cognitive function, including WordSmart Corporation, the company that makes Lumosity, and Brain Research Labs (which sold dietary supplements) for deceptive advertising.
[6] In its lawsuit, the FTC said LearningRx had been "deceptively claim[ing] their programs were clinically proven to permanently improve serious health conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, and concussions".
[6] The "brain training" field has been controversial in the scientific community; in 2014 a group of 75 scientists put out a statement saying that most claims made by companies in the field were pseudoscience, which was countered several months later by an industry-organized group of scientists who said that there was evidence for their effectiveness.
[3] In 2012 Douglas K. Detterman of the Case Western Reserve University said that the program's exercises help improve skills in tests conducted by the institution itself but not improvement on skills in general and that the studies conducted by commercial services that support their claims of benefits are poorly done.