Learning Rx has two metro locations:
A. Cherry Creek North, 88 Steele St. #50
B. Centennial, 7700 E Arapahoe Rd. #140

Much is made of the desire to live longer lives, but longevity has its downsides. Chief among them is the simple fact that as we age — particularly in the growing cohort entering their 70s and beyond — mental acuity begins fading, even if just incrementally.

And as the decades pile up, the odds increase that a person will risk facing some form of dementia, be it Alzheimer's disease or the more nebulous quality of just not being quite as sharp as before.

But there are studies indicating that mental exercise, essentially a workout for the brain, can help the body resist the effects of dementia by building up a reserve of useful brain function. In short, if you can boost your cognitive capacity by 20 percent, you have that much more to draw down on if dementia sets in.

It's akin to lifting weights and doing other load-bearing exercises to build bone mass: Even if osteoporosis sets in, you're in better shape than if you had done nothing.

"The idea is that the more you have going into the aging process — such as memory and cognitive skills — that even if you're genetically predisposed to dementia, it'll take it longer to come on," says Christina Sevilla, who runs Learning Rx centers in Denver and Centennial with her husband, Michael.

Christina has experience in occupational therapy dealing with cognitive issues. Michael's background is in software development, most recently in artificial intelligence.


Learning Rx is a group of "brain training" centers, franchises with about 80 outlets around the globe.

The sessions, typically held three to four times a week, are conducted with a trainer. More than 100 exercises are available, and each exercise can be fine-tuned through dozens of modifications, including the speed at which the exercise is conducted.

The Sevillas emphasize that creating this "cognitive reserve" has to happen on the front end, before dementia begins. It's a bit of preventive medicine that begins in a person's 40s and 50s.

"We don't claim to cure a medical problem," Christina says. "But as long as you're actively engaged in life, the improvements will hold.

Shane Sullivan has been through the program. The 47-year-old Boulder resident says he had memory and processing issues.

"We tested before and after, and there was significant improvement," Sullivan says. "Then we tested a year later, and the change was still significant. It's exciting stuff to me."

Studies seem to bear this out.

An article in the September 2010 edition of Nature magazine noted that "brain training" can increase cognitive reserve, which lets the brain perform tasks even if pathways between brain cells are damaged.

A study of 29,000 people revealed that those with the largest cognitive reserves had 46 percent less risk of developing dementia than those with less reserves.

The Learning Rx program isn't cheap. It starts at $3,900, and the baseline cognitive assessment costs $249.

Computers are not used in the sessions. It's all one-on-one training with a student and trainer, using simple things like worksheets and flash cards.

On a recent afternoon, Learning Rx trainer Gina Milano ran a visitor through a quick battery of demonstration exercises.

The first one: a list of eight words that named a color, but with each word printed in another color. Your task was to go through the list and name the color the word was printed in. It sounds easy enough, but it was kind of akin to patting your head while rubbing your stomach. Complicating the task was the fact that in the middle of the exercise, Milano called out a letter; at the end of the exercise you had to name two words beginning with the letter.

Another exercise involved playing cards with three rows. Each row had a mix of single-digit numerals and blank spaces. Milano would hold the card up to you for one second, then conceal it. Your job was to recite what you saw — for example: Blank, 4, 5. 7, blank, blank. 3, blank, 9.

She would up the ante by asking you to recite the numbers, but adding "6" to each one. All this, and you had to respond to the beat of a metronome.

It was tricky.

Sullivan recalls being exhausted after his first few visits.

"After I got done with the 75-minute sessions, I'd just go out and sit in my car for a while before driving home," he says. "It was almost like I had to rest and collect myself. They know how to push you."


Learning RX has two area brain-training centers.

For information:

Learning RX in Cherry Creek: 88 Steele St., Suite 50. 303-284-6105. learningrx/denver.com

Learning RX in Centennial: 7700 E Arapahoe Road, Suite 140. 303-741-2300