Highlights: (1) What is the BGC registry and how to join it (2) Learn about BGC Slovenia and some of our key staff members from this location (3) Read about fun summer events and catch up on our 2026 publications

1. Addressing the Readers

2. Research Spotlight: Adolescent Cognitive Training study

3. The BGC Registry

4. Location Spotlight: BGC Slovenia

5. Staff Spotlight: Dr. Anja Pahor

6. Staff Spotlight: Dr. Maruša Laure

7. Recent Events

8. Recent Publications

9. Current Opportunities

10. Support Us By Donating!

Dear Brain Game Center Community, 

As summer winds down and we enter fall, we’re excited to share our latest newsletter with you! It’s been a busy few months at the Brain Game Center, and we’re looking forward to catching you up on the research, people, and events that have kept us busy. Thank you, as always, for your continued interest and support – whether you’ve taken part in one of our studies or are simply following along, we’re glad to have you with us.  

What to expect in this edition of the newsletter 

Did you know that the Brain Game Center has multiple locations, both across the United States and around the world? In this edition, we begin a new series highlighting our different BGC locations, starting with our international site – BGC Slovenia. You’ll read about how this location came to be, along with interviews from two of its key team members, Dr. Anja Pahor and Dr. Maruša Laure.  

We’re also introducing the BGC Registry, a new way for our community to stay connected with our research and get matched with studies that fit your interests. 

And of course, we’ll catch you up on recent summer events, our publications from the first half of 2026, and current opportunities to get involved.  

What to look forward to in future newsletters  

In upcoming issues, we’ll continue our location spotlight series with other BGC sites, share more staff interviews, and keep you posted as our ongoing studies progress.  

Thank you for being part of our community. We hope you enjoy this issue! 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Aaron Seitz & Dr. Susanne Jaeggi 

Directors of the Brain Game Center 

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

ADOLESCENT COGNITIVE TRAINING STUDY

One of the center’s current research studies is a fully remote cognitive training study with adolescents with and without ADHD. While brain training has shown promise to improve mental health and cognitive functioning including attention and memory in children, there is limited research on the exact ingredients that make cognitive training most effective and why.

There are four main goals that the clinical trial aims to achieve: 

• Understand how different training components impact outcomes 

• Understand how these components may differentially impact students with and without ADHD 

• Clarify what person-related characteristics might impact training outcomes This research will help inform the design of cognitive training interventions that are personalized to individual needs, as well as applied to different populations.  

This study examines an adolescent population aged 12-17 and participation in the study takes approximately 2 months with 2 hours of additional sessions happening 6 months later.  

Please follow this link to view the eligibility criteria and sign-up. If you know someone who may be eligible, please feel free to share this information with them. 

THE BGC REGISTRY

STAY CONNECTED AND LEARN ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES

Our Participant Registry is a database of people who are interested in learning about research participation opportunities related to cognitive and brain health. 

What happens when I sign up? 

When joining the registry, you’ll tell us a little about yourself, and how you’d like to be contacted. We use this information to match you with research studies that may be a good fit for you.  

Joining the registry does not commit you to participating in any study. It simply allows our team to contact you when opportunities become available. You can choose whether or not to participate in any study you are invited to. You can read more about the registry here and sign up using the link below: 

LOCATION SPOTLIGHT:

BGC SLOVENIA

BGC Slovenia is an international branch of the Brain Game Center (BGC) at Northeastern University, established in 2025 at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Education. Co-directed by Dr. Anja Pahor and Dr. Maruša Laure, the center strengthens global collaboration in cognitive psychology research, educational innovation, and development of evidence-based digital tools. 

Mission 

BGC Slovenia works to: 

• Advance cognitive and educational research 

• Promote international collaboration across the BGC network 

• Develop evidence-based tools and practices 

• Include students in research and innovation 

• Engage educators, practitioners, and community partners 

Ongoing projects at BGC Slovenia 

• Student projects focused on music interventions and localization of assessments (PIs: Dr. Maruša and Dr. Anja) 

• MojUm – A new grant focused on developing personalized digital mental health support (PI: Dr. Anja) 

• SAV – EU grant to support staff exchanges to Boston (PI: Dr. Anja) 

• Rinko – Development of foundational knowledge of computer science and informatics in kindergartens (PI: Dr. Maruša) 

• TeachXR – The Use of Extended Reality in Education (PI: Dr. Maruša) 

• CordiKids – Building Empathy Through Coding Activities in Early Childhood Education (PI: Dr. Maruša) 

• National evaluation study on Evaluation of the Frequency, Approaches, and Appropriateness of Technology Integration in the Pedagogical Process in Early Childhood Education (PI: Dr. Maruša) 

• Collaborating on multiple projects with BGC Boston, including a music-listening intervention, an auditory training study that was featured in our Spring 2026 Newsletter, an older adult cognitive training study, and the Adolescent Cognitive Training study featured in the current edition of the Newsletter 

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

DR. ANJA PAHOR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

UNIVERSITY OF MARIBOR

What research questions are you most interested in exploring? 

I’m really interested in what helps people thrive in cognitively demanding situations and how we can stay cognitively fit throughout our lives. 

How did you get involved in working at the Brain Game Center? 

I’ve been with the Brain Game Center since 2017! I first joined as a Postdoctoral Scholar working at UC Riverside and UC Irvine, and I’ve been involved in BGC research ever since. 

What is your favorite research project that you’ve worked on? 

Probably Chocnition! We gave participants different types of chocolate during breaks in cognitive training to see whether it had any effects on performance. I don’t think it did, but it was a fun project. 

What type of game or activity trains your brain the most? 

Honestly, it’s probably juggling multiple research projects while teaching. Switching between different ideas, applying for new grants, and working with students keeps me thinking and learning every day. 

What is your go-to activity outside of work? 

Spending time with family, going to concerts with friends, and dancing as a form of exercise. 

Summer or winter? 

That’s a tough one, but I’d have to go with summer. I enjoy the longer days and being outside. 

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

DR. MARUŠA LAURE

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

UNIVERSITY OF MARIBOR

What research questions are you most interested in exploring? 

I’m especially interested in how people learn, particularly during the early stages of learning. 

How did you get involved in working at the Brain Game Center? 

I’ve been connected with the Brain Game Center since May 2024, when I first visited Northeastern. I have Anja to thank for making that happen through the SAV project. 

What is your favorite research project that you’ve worked on? 

Probably RINKO, a project focused on developing foundational knowledge in computer science and informatics. I really enjoyed working on something that connects learning, technology, and the development of essential skills. 

What type of game or activity trains your brain the most? 

Playing music and solving riddles definitely give my brain a good workout. Writing grant proposals probably counts too, although it’s a very different kind of brain training! 

What is your go-to activity outside of work? 

Anything active and outdoors—cycling, running, hiking, or roller skating. 

Summer or winter? 

Before spending a winter in Boston, I would have said winter without hesitation. Now, it’s definitely summer! 

RECENT EVENTS

AT THE BRAIN GAME CENTER

This summer, the Brain Game Center at the University of California, Riverside, welcomed middle school students from the Summer Academy for a hands-on experience of what it’s like to be a cognitive science researcher!

Students engaged in interactive workshops where they learned how researchers use specialized equipment and digital tools to collect and measure cognitive data. Students also had the opportunity to operate research equipment and complete sample testing tasks themselves, giving them firsthand experience with the methods researchers use to study how we see, learn, and remember. 

In August, Dr. Trevor Cline successfully defended his dissertation this August titled “Cognitive and Neural Plasticity: Research via Functional Neuroimaging and Computational Modeling“.

Trevor Cline is a Marine Corps veteran and worked as a personal trainer while obtaining his Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Iowa. His undergraduate thesis and post-bachelor’s work studied the effects of physical exercise on the brain and cognition. His PhD follows this trajectory by focusing on cognitive training and plasticity. His work features functional neuroimaging, such as fMRI, and uses computational models of cognitive and neural systems to understand how these systems reorganize with experience. The goal of this research is to increase our understanding of how people can challenge themselves to improve their cognitive and brain health. Congratulations, Trevor! 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2026

Coppola, Q., Kannan, L., Lelo de Larrea-Mancera, E. S., Carrillo, A. A., Gallun, F., Jaeggi, S. M., and Seitz, A. R. (2026). Portable automated rapid testing for auditory assessment: repeated at-home testing in older adults. Frontiers in Digital Health. Article 

Feng, Y., DePascale, M., Ramani, G. B., Jaeggi, S. (2026). Promoting Working Memory and Numeracy Skills in Kindergarteners: Optimal Intervention Designs for Children Across Skill Levels. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. Article 

Gekas, Saito, Brady, Beierholm, Ahissar, Sulem, Seitz. (2026), ” Attraction and repulsion in perception and working memory as complementary outcomes of learning”, Current Opinion in Neurobiology, in press 

Mejia, A. B., Pavaskar, R., Ruiz, J., Kim, J., Lauzon, M., Foster, G., Raynor, H., Seitz, A., & Salvy, S.-J. (2026). Living Together but Eating Separately: Relationships in Eating Timing Parameters Among Cohabitating Dyads. Current Developments in Nutrition, 10, 108370. Article 

Merkley, R., Miller-Cotto, D., Miller Singley, A. T., Brunner, M. E., Bryck, R. L., Buschkuehl, M., Jaeggi, S. M., Mills, C., Francisco, A. T., & Uncapher, M. R. (2026). Putting research into context: A paradigm shift in conceptualizing executive functions in classroom learning. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 43, 100285. Article 

Solis, K., Shao, M., Langley, J., Seitz, A. R., Hu, X., & Bennett, I. J. (2026). Handgrip strength relates to corticospinal tract microstructure in older adults. Brain Research Bulletin, 242, 111985. Articles 

Vodyanyk, M. M., Yangüez, M., Jaeggi, S. M. (2026). Predictors of Visuospatial Skill and the Role of Observational Drawing. Perceptual and Motor Skills. Article 

Wang, P., Kannan, L., Hodge, E., Sanchez-Singh, J. M., Carrillo, A. A., Milla, S., Meltzoff, K., Seitz, A. R. (2026). Remote sensory-cognitive assessment in children with autism: evaluating feasibility and performance outcomes. Behavioral Sciences. Article 

Welhaf, M. S., Mata, J., Jonides, J., Gotlib, I. H., Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., & Thompson, R. J. (2026). Mind-wandering content in major depressive disorder: A preregistered secondary analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 413, 122244. Article 

Zhao, Z., Joessel, F., Green, C. S., Jaeggi, S. M., Seitz, A. R.(2026), “Perceptual Contaminants to Assessments of Visuospatial Working Memory: The Influences of Path Clutterness and Endpoint Crowding”, Journal of Cognition, in press 

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

GET INVOLVED!

The Adolescent Cognitive Training study examines an adolescent population aged 12-17 and participation in the study takes approximately 2 months with 2 hours of additional sessions happening 6 months later.  Please follow this link to view the eligibility criteria and sign-up. If you know someone who may be eligible, please feel free to share this information with them. 

Join the BGC Registry to learn more about upcoming opportunities to participate in research:

Support Us By Donating!

Help Fuel the Future Mental Fitness and Educational Technology

How does your donation support us?

• It helps fund cutting-edge research that explores how games and technology can enhance memory, attention, and emotional well-being for all ages.
• It helps us develop and improve free apps and resources to ensure everyone has access to tools for cognitive health and well-being.
• It will provide our students with scholarships and fellowships, and enable students with limited means to participate in spontaneously identified and cutting-edge research

Click the button below to make a donation to the Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-Being Fund. You can donate once or make a recurring gift to support students and our lab!