Brain Fitness Helps Reaction Time, Concentration

By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLHAOMA CITY -- There's a new technology available meant to enhance minds.

Nathan Feroli, an 11-year-old, works very hard to stay focused.

"He loses eye contact, he'll drop his head, or he'll turn to the side, and you can just kind of see that he's off," said Nathan's teacher, Jana Jones.

Doctors said Nathan has issues with sensory integration, difficulty processing information from the five senses, like sound and touch.

His mother believes the Makoto may help.

"In five years, he'll be behind the wheel of a car," Nathan's mother, Kelly Feroli said. "This actually can prepare him, it's kind of a precursor to learning to notice all of those details."

The Makoto is a fitness game, in the new world of mental training. The player stands between steel towers, and hits the targets that are randomly emitting sound and light. It's meant to improve the neurological link between the brain and the body.

"It develops your auditory processing, your visual processing as well as your physical," said licensed professional counselor Vicki Wyatt said. "Gross motor skills is what it's working on."

Professional sports teams, like the Denver Nuggets use the Makoto to measure physical and mental reaction time.

The Makoto has a variety of uses, including physical rehab, stroke rehab, speech therapy, kids with learning disabilities may benefit from the activity. Adults who simply want to heighten communication between brain and body may use the machine.

For Nathan, it's helping.

"I feel a lot better on Wednesdays," Nathan said. "I can really focus better during the afternoon. A lot better, after I do my Makoto classes."

Officials at the State Medical Board and Board of Psychology in Oklahoma have never heard of the Makoto. It is an alternative treatment option for patients of all kinds. Therefore, the boards do not endorse or deny its effectiveness.

The idea for the Makoto was developed from a kids' game discovered in an arcade in the late 90s. The intellectual tool that it is today was created in 2002.