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Human Cognition Project
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How it works | Apply | FAQ
How it works
The Human Cognition Project (HCP) is Lumos Labs' program for facilitating external research. Through the HCP, our team provides free access to Lumos Labs' software and deidentified data for use in research studies. Researchers must obtain IRB approval (or equivalent human subjects research approval) for their studies and intend to share any research findings broadly.
Researchers interested in conducting a study using Lumosity training, data, or other tools from Lumos Labs are invited to submit a research proposal. We ask researchers to submit applications at least 3 months if not more than 6 months prior to the start of your study (e.g. first recruitment date). This gives enough time to fully complete the application review process, service agreement execution, and any software set up or data delivery required for your study. Depending on the complexity of your study and other factors, it can sometimes take a full year after application submission before a researcher can officially begin to collect data (for prospective studies).
Only completed applications will be reviewed and they will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Our team takes 14 days to review applications and to provide an initial decision. Again, we ask researchers to submit applications at least 3 months, if not 6 or more months, prior to their actual study start date. This gives enough time to complete the study start up process if your application is accepted. Please do NOT wait to receive IRB approval or funding before submitting an application.
Please note, our Lumos Labs' general terms of service, available here, does not allow Lumos Labs' products or data to be used for research purposes without permission. Therefore, we encourage all researchers to apply for the Human Cognition Project for research access to Lumosity and other Lumos Labs' products.
Potential collaborators are encouraged to reach out to us by email (hcp@lumoslabs.com) in advance of submitting a research proposal in order to discuss your experimental design and receive resources such as free trial access that may be useful as you design your study protocol and prepare your application.
How to Apply:
Completed applications should be emailed to hcp@lumoslabs.com as an attachment.
When submitting your application, you must also include a copy of each investigator’s CV. We highly encourage you to also send along a copy of any grant or IRB-approved protocols if available, but again please do not wait to receive final IRB approval before submitting your HCP application. We encourage researchers to seek pre-approval to use Lumosity for your research prior to submitting for IRB-approval or grant funding. We ask that you please just indicate this in your application. We will review your application and if approved, can provide materials such as letters of support for your grant applications or IRB forms. Finally, if you are a graduate student applying to join the HCP to complete a doctoral thesis, we require a Letter of Support from your advisor or PI and a copy of their CV. These documents can be provided after you submit your HCP application, but we cannot complete the review process without them.
DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION HERE:
FAQ
What should I expect if my application is approved and accepted?
We will enter into a mutual research service agreement that allows Lumos Labs to provide access to requested tools for free for use in your research. This research service agreement is required for use of Lumosity software in any research study or to gain access to subsets of deidentified historical Lumosity gameplay data.
As an HCP collaborator, you will also have access to other support from Lumos Labs including guidance on study design and data analysis, secure data storage, and regular delivery of de-identified data. Please note that while the application review process takes 2 weeks, executing a research service agreement can separately take weeks to months depending on the legal review process. Therefore, we highly recommend submitting your HCP application as early as possible.
Which Lumos Labs tools and resources are available to researchers?
Cognitive Training Games:
Lumosity has a suite of cognitive training games available on the web (computer and laptop) and on mobile/tablet devices (downloadable app). These games are designed to target a range of cognitive domains including memory, attention, processing speed, problem solving, flexibility, and executive functioning. We also offer language and math games. Customized training regimens can be created on our research web platform that is only available on desktop and laptop devices, but customization is currently unavailable for training on mobile or tablet devices. Access on mobile or tablet devices is limited to the commercial version of Lumosity.
*If you are planning a multi-year prospective study, please note that we will be upgrading our research platform software in 2023. There should be no interruption in service and no changes in participants' experience with individual cognitive training games, but there will be changes to the software technology stack and some visual design aspects of the participant experience. Please reach out to hcp@lumoslabs.com for more information.*
Historical Lumosity Data:
Lumosity has a wealth of de-identified historical cognitive game play data and NeuroCognitive Performance Test (NCPT, our web-based cognitive assessment) data which can be used to answer a unique research question. This dataset also includes basic user demographics, including but not limited to age, gender, educational attainment, and occupation that can be included depending on the research question.
Cognitive Assessments:
*Temporarily unavailable*
The NeuroCognitive Performance Test (NCPT) is a brief, repeatable, modular, online neuropsychological assessment platform that includes up to 11 subtests that can be combined into brief, customizable test batteries that are self-administered through a web browser on laptop or desktop. NCPT subtests are based on well-known neuropsychological assessments such as Trail Making A, Corsi Blocks, Digit Symbol Coding. The NCPT is sensitive to within-individual changes in performance, which makes it a useful outcome measure for studies that follow the traditional pre- and post- test framework.
Please note that Lumos Labs ported our NCPT platform from old Flash technology to a new technology in response to the removal of Flash support from all web browsers. The team is currently in the process of building the features needed to make this new NCPT platform ready for use in research studies. While this work does not yet have a confirmed timeline or final launch date, we anticipate that this product will still be unavailable for research use as of March 2024, but we are aiming to relaunch during 2024. We will post updates on this timeline here.
What references should I review while designing my study?
We highly encourage HCP applicants to review the following peer-reviewed publications when considering their study design:
For information about expected effect size and amount of training:
Enhancing Cognitive Abilities with Comprehensive Training: A Large, Online, Randomized, Active-Controlled Trial: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134467
Reliability and validity of the NeuroCognitive Performance Test, a web-based neuropsychological assessment:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01652/full
For information about cognitive domains targeted by Lumosity games:
Steyvers, M., Schafer, R.J. (2020) Inferring latent learning factors in large-scale cognitive training data. Nat Hum Behav. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-00935-3
For information about practice-based learning curves on Lumosity games:
Steyvers, M., Hawkins, G.E., Karayanidis, F., & Brown, S.D. (2019). A large-scale analysis of task switching practice effects across the lifespan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(36), 17735-17740. doi:10.1073/pnas.1906788116
For more background information, please find a list of 100+ peer-reviewed publications using Lumos Labs tools here and a bibliography of 100+ other research findings here.
Still have questions?
Email us at hcp@lumoslabs.com.