Ryuta Kawashima
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese neuroscientist
known in PAL regions for his appearance in the Brain Training
series of video games for the Nintendo DS
(known as Brain Age in North America.)
May 23, 1959 in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture
, Japan
. In the 1970s, he enrolled in Tohoku University
. After graduating with an MD
at the school of medicine, he emigrated to Sweden
to become a guest researcher at the famed Karolinska Institutet
. He then moved back to Tohoku and is now a resident Professor
with tenure. He is famous in Japan
and is a former member of Japan's National Council
, concerning Language and Culture.
and is an expert on brain imaging. His other primary topic involves applying this information to aid children to develop, aging people to retain, and patients to recover their learning facilities.
As mentioned earlier, he is the host of the famous Brain Training game series. He received a lot of attention from the media when he refused a 15 million euro salary (about 21 million dollars) from the game company. According to Kawashima, one should only get this amount of money when one has worked for it. He finally accepted a salary of 70000 euros a year; the rest of the money he would use to fund his research.
in Japan
, claiming that frontal lobes are not stimulated during video game playing sessions. However scientists widely dismissed his study after he claimed that the lack of stimulation could potentially stunt brain development and negatively affect people's ability to control their behaviour. Kawashima found no direct evidence for permanent brain damage.
In 2003, Kawashima authored Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
, which was a great success in Japan. When released worldwide, it sold more than 2.5 million copies. A handheld stand-alone unit was later developed, and in 2005 was turned into Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
for the Nintendo DS. A sequel has since been released. He later participated in the development of two more games for the Nintendo DSi
's DSiWare service, both of which taking some puzzles from the previous Brain Age titles while featuring new puzzles as well. Rather than accept them for himself, he has used the royalties from the game (estimated in 2.4 billion yen) to build two laboratories.
In 2007, an English language version of Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
was published by Penguin Books
.
In June 2009, Namco Bandai
released another video game featuring Kawashima entitled Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima
for the iPhone OS
platform.
Also in June 2009, German developers Chimera Entertainment
and BBG Entertainment released "Train your Brain with Dr. Kawashima" for PC
and Mac
.
In February 2011, Dr. Kawashima released the video game Body and Brain Connection
for Microsoft's Kinect peripheral on Xbox 360
.
Neuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
known in PAL regions for his appearance in the Brain Training
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, also known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an entertainment video game that employs puzzles. It was developed and published by the video gaming company Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console...
series of video games for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
(known as Brain Age in North America.)
Biography
Kawashima was bornMay 23, 1959 in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In the 1970s, he enrolled in Tohoku University
Tohoku University
, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...
. After graduating with an MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
at the school of medicine, he emigrated to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to become a guest researcher at the famed Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska Institutet
Karolinska institutet is a medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area, Sweden, and one of Europe's largest medical universities...
. He then moved back to Tohoku and is now a resident Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
with tenure. He is famous in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and is a former member of Japan's National Council
National Council
-Conservation:* National Council for Science and the Environment, a US-based non-profit organization which has a mission to improve the scientific basis for environmental decisionmaking...
, concerning Language and Culture.
Career
One of his primary research topics is mapping the regions of the brain to faculties such as emotion, language, memorization, and cognition. Kawashima is trained in neurophysiologyNeurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a part of physiology. Neurophysiology is the study of nervous system function...
and is an expert on brain imaging. His other primary topic involves applying this information to aid children to develop, aging people to retain, and patients to recover their learning facilities.
As mentioned earlier, he is the host of the famous Brain Training game series. He received a lot of attention from the media when he refused a 15 million euro salary (about 21 million dollars) from the game company. According to Kawashima, one should only get this amount of money when one has worked for it. He finally accepted a salary of 70000 euros a year; the rest of the money he would use to fund his research.
Publications and releases
In 2001 Ryuta Kawashima conducted a study at Tohoku UniversityTohoku University
, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese national university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan and is a member of the National Seven Universities...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, claiming that frontal lobes are not stimulated during video game playing sessions. However scientists widely dismissed his study after he claimed that the lack of stimulation could potentially stunt brain development and negatively affect people's ability to control their behaviour. Kawashima found no direct evidence for permanent brain damage.
In 2003, Kawashima authored Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan. Dr. Kawashima found that by performing simple mathematical calculations and reading books aloud, one could retain mental...
, which was a great success in Japan. When released worldwide, it sold more than 2.5 million copies. A handheld stand-alone unit was later developed, and in 2005 was turned into Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, also known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an entertainment video game that employs puzzles. It was developed and published by the video gaming company Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console...
for the Nintendo DS. A sequel has since been released. He later participated in the development of two more games for the Nintendo DSi
Nintendo DSi
The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...
's DSiWare service, both of which taking some puzzles from the previous Brain Age titles while featuring new puzzles as well. Rather than accept them for himself, he has used the royalties from the game (estimated in 2.4 billion yen) to build two laboratories.
In 2007, an English language version of Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain
Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan. Dr. Kawashima found that by performing simple mathematical calculations and reading books aloud, one could retain mental...
was published by Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
.
In June 2009, Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
released another video game featuring Kawashima entitled Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima
Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima
is a brain training game developed by Namco Bandai and tested by Dr. Kawashima, famous for his Nintendo DS games Brain Age and Brain Age 2.-History:...
for the iPhone OS
IPhone OS
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware...
platform.
Also in June 2009, German developers Chimera Entertainment
Chimera Entertainment
-History:Chimera Entertainment is a German PC and video game development studio founded in 2006.In May 2008 they released their first title, the PC real time tactical role-playing game "Windchaser"....
and BBG Entertainment released "Train your Brain with Dr. Kawashima" for PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and Mac
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
.
In February 2011, Dr. Kawashima released the video game Body and Brain Connection
Body and Brain Connection
Body and Brain Connection, also known as Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises in PAL regions, is an entertainment puzzle game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360's Kinect platform...
for Microsoft's Kinect peripheral on Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.