Competitive gaming can be, well, pretty darn competitive. Requiring instantaneous reactions and massive amounts of concentration, it can be a mentally taxing endeavor as players endure all the highs and lows that come with high-level competition. Could brain training help improve the necessary mental fitness, focus, and stress management that gamers need to help them (quite literally) up their game?
That’s the question posed by MindRove, a company headed up by Ph.D. neuroscientist Gergely Márton. MindRove has developed a new “brain training wearable” accessory called NeuroLeet that it claims can turn any gaming headset into an EEG (electroencephalogram)-based brain sensing device.
The NeuroLeet brain-training wearable consists of two main components: The headset attachment and an app that’s designed to help users better regulate their brain activity to help achieve “improved brain performance.” Using this app, the company claims it’s able to carry out software analysis of the brain patterns of wearers, compile a “full report on … mental performance,” and help “identify [the] mental strengths and weaknesses” of players.
“There are other companies who are developing neurofeedback devices for meditation, insomnia and ADHD treatment,” Márton, CEO of MindRove, told Digital Trends. “What we’ve seen is that there is [a] lack of health data in competitive gaming and, unlike in traditional sports, the right tools and services which would help e-athletes in taking care of their mental fitness and improving their skills are very immature [at present].”
The company has launched an Indiegogo campaign to bring this product to market. The NeuroLeet starts at 185 euros ($224 U.S.), with shipping promised for September 2021. As with any crowdfunding campaign, it’s important to be aware of the risks going in — which can include products that ship late, not as described or, on occasion, not at all.
Márton stressed that the technology is based on demonstrable, functioning tech that is already being used for training in the real world. However, he noted that the gaming application is still novel. “As a scientist, I must add that a rigorous, independently peer-reviewed scientific study for this particular neurofeedback application — [meaning] gaming — is still down the line,” he said.
Could this deliver its promised goal? If it’s genuinely able to do so, the NeuroLeet could be a massive boon to competitive gamers everywhere.
