Why the Next Generation of High Performers Are Training Their Brains
Updated: 6 days ago
The Article at a Glance:
**This expanded feature builds on the original publication, “The Future of Student Performance Starts in the Brain,” written for the September issue of South Charlotte Neighbors. Read the original article in print or online here.
Major organizations like Nike and US Sports Camps, the MLB--and elite institutions like IMG Academy--are increasingly investing in mental and brain-based performance training as part of youth and professional athletic development.
The same neurological abilities that influence athletic performance--including processing speed, reaction time, visual processing, attention, and decision-making--can also support learning and everyday life.
A 20-year follow-up of the ACTIVE study found that targeted visual-processing training using a computerized game was associated with a 25% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
At Better Brain & Body, comprehensive neurological assessments and state-of-the-art therapies are utilized to better understand and challenge the systems that influence how the brain and body communicate, process, respond, and perform.
Every summer, ambitious parents invest in tutoring, academic enrichment, leadership programs, and elite sports camps to help their children gain an advantage before the new school year begins. Many aspiring student-athletes dream of training at elite institutes like IMG Academy in Florida, where future collegiate and professional athletes sharpen their skills during summer camps—or, for some, year-round.
But one of the most important performance tools at IMG Academy isn't a weight room or practice field—it's the Mind Gym.
The Growing Movement to Train the Brain
Opened in 2016 and discussed heavily in the media in 2017, IMG’s Mind Gym is dedicated to “cognitive-perceptual and vision training”, helping athletes strengthen ‘reaction time, decision-making,
anticipation’, and visual processing. It's part of a growing movement recognizing that physical training alone isn't enough—the brain (and mind) are the unique foundations that cultivate exceptionally high performance.
IMG isn't alone in recognizing the importance of brain-based performance training. In October 2024, Nike and their US Sports Camps and Evolve1 partnership announced the launch of an online mental training curriculum for youth athletes ages 13–18, helping them develop confidence, focus, emotional and mental resilience, and visualization skills.
Officially founded in 2021, Mastermind Cognitive Training was created to improve and train brain performance in first responders, including firefighters, military members, and police officers. Today, they also work with coaches, students, and athletes, utilizing eye exercises and other interactive cognitive challenges performed on an app or with virtual reality–and designed to strengthen the connection, communication, and performance between the brain and body.
At the core of Mastermind’s philosophy is the belief that the brain doesn't distinguish between athletic and academic performance. The same neural pathways that help an athlete process information quickly, anticipate movement, track visual objects, and make split-second decisions also help students focus, manage stress, learn new subject matter, retain information, solve complex problems, and perform in the classroom. Attention and focus, cognitive processing speed, memory, emotional regulation, and other executive function abilities aren't just athletic skills—they're life skills.
This philosophy is increasingly reflected at the highest levels of competition. As of early 2026, more than 78% of franchises across the four major North American professional sports leagues employed at least one full-time professional in sports psychology, mental performance, or neurological training, up from approximately 52% in 2019, with 100% adoption across MLB teams as highlighted by Market Intelo in their “Sports Psychology Services Market Research Report”. As the science of human performance continues to evolve, more organizations are recognizing that elite performance begins with the brain.
The Ongoing Study of Cognitive Performance
Yet the growing adoption of brain and cognitive performance training exists alongside an ongoing debate about how we determine what truly works. For some, an intervention cannot be considered effective without multiple large-scale, double-blind, randomized controlled trials demonstrating measurable efficacy. For others, real-world observation and anecdotal evidence carry weight, too. When professional sports organizations, military programs, first responders, performance specialists, and individuals around the world independently begin investing in similar approaches–and consistently report meaningful benefits–it raises a reasonable question: should we dismiss those observations simply because the science has not yet caught up?
Neither perspective should replace the other. Rigorous research is always essential, but scientific discovery and real-world practice and implementation don’t always move at the same pace. Some of the most widely accepted principles in health and human performance were practiced and observed long before science had the tools, funding, or long-term data to explain them fully. The challenge is knowing the difference between blindly accepting a trend and remaining open to the possibility that widespread adoption and consistent real-world results may sometimes point science toward questions worth investigating.
What 20 Years of Research Reveals About Cognitive Training and Dementia
A 20-year follow-up of the ACTIVE study, published in February 2026, found that participants over age 65 who completed targeted visual-processing training–totaling approximately 18 to 22 hours of training spread across three years–had a 25% lower risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias over the following two decades (Coe, et. al, 2026). Other findings presented by brainhq.com note the following benefits for participants in the ACTIVE study who played the computerized game:
Improvements in speed of processing abilities
Improvements in everyday speed (for the booster group)
Protection against declines in instrumental activities of daily living—that contribute to the ability to live independently—equivalent to 2-3 years of benefit.
35% reduction in risk of serious health-related quality of life decline, higher self-rated health
38% reduction in the risk of developing depressive symptoms, and a 30% reduction in risk of increasing clinically important depressive symptoms
48% reduction in the risk of at-fault car crash
25% reduction in Alzheimer’s and dementia over 20 years
The findings raise an interesting question about cognitive training across the lifespan. If targeted training produced significant long-term associations among adults over age 65, what might continued research show about cognitive development and training earlier in life, like the mental training work done at IMG or Nike and US Sports Camps? The computerized visual-processing task used in the ACTIVE study is an online computer game called Double Decision. You can explore the game for free at Brainhq.com using the link or button below, where you can also learn about the study design and the training commitment involved. We’ve also included a 1-minute video showing how the cognitive task works.
The findings build on what researchers, athletes, students, and other individuals have long observed about the relationship between mental and neurological stimulation and brain health and performance. As the ACTIVE study’s director, Marilyn Albert, PhD, explained on a February 2026 Youtube video published by Johns Hopkins Medicine, “We’ve known for a very long time that being mentally active likely lowers your risk for dementia.” What made the ACTIVE study findings particularly significant, however, was the relatively small amount of targeted training required. “It’s not a lot of training, but in this case, it was clear that if you did it, it really made a difference,” Albert said.
The Brain Behind Human Performance in Charlotte
At Better Brain & Body, Dr. Alicia Brown has been applying this philosophy for 16 years, right here in Charlotte. Her work has attracted Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes such as Christian McCaffrey, and families who recognize that peak performance begins with the brain.
The difference begins with what you measure. Traditional imaging and structural medical tests can provide valuable information about what the brain and body look like. Still, they don’t always reveal how those systems communicate, process information, and respond in real time. Better Brain & Body’s comprehensive neurological examination, the Brain & Body Blueprint, is designed to evaluate how information moves between the brain and body–and how efficiently those systems communicate, process, and respond.
Better Brain & Body utilizes technologies such as the new Spryson Neuro AI VNG eye-tracking system to evaluate visual processing and neurological function. This gives students, athletes, and other individuals additional insight into how their visual and neurological systems are functioning together and helps Dr. Brown better understand opportunities to improve the specific neurological abilities that may influence how individuals perform, think, move, and respond.
That distinction matters when considering athletes like Christian McCaffrey, who worked with Dr. Brown at Better Brain & Body during and after his time with the Carolina Panthers. Like many elite athletes, McCaffrey incorporated brain-based performance strategies into his training long before the ACTIVE study was published in February 2026. These approaches are designed to challenge neurological systems involved in processing speed, reaction time, visual tracking, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and other abilities that influence how an individual perceives and responds to the world around them.
This is where the conversation around brain and cognitive visual training gets interesting. There is still much to learn about exactly how different brain-training technologies and exercises affect performance. But elite athletes don’t wait for every question to be answered before exploring new ways to gain an edge. Their careers are measured in fractions of seconds, split-second decisions, and the ability to see, process, and react faster than the person standing across from them. When some of the world’s best athletes and performance professionals continue investing in ways to challenge how the brain processes and communicates–and organizations like Nike and US Sports Camps and nearly every major North American professional sports league are responding to that demand–it’s worth paying attention to. And it’s worth continuing to study.
At Better Brain & Body, Dr. Alicia Brown and her team combine comprehensive neurological assessments with personalized therapies designed to better understand how the brain, nervous system, and body are functioning—and identify opportunities to develop or refine the systems that support performance. Rather than simply asking an athlete (or any individual) to work harder, faster, or longer, the approach focuses on understanding the systems that make performance possible. Depending on the individual and their goals, this may include processing speed, reaction time, hand-eye coordination, attention, dynamic visual acuity, object tracking, peripheral awareness, balance and coordination, proprioception, spatial and situational awareness, decision-making, mental stamina, and overall cognitive function. Personalized neurological therapies like GyroStim may challenge these systems and leverage the brain’s capacity to adapt and change through neuroplasticity. Learn more about the therapies and approaches involved at Better Brain & Body for athletic performance training. You'll see Dr. Brown in 2019 training her vestibular system and other various facets of brain performance in GyroStim below:
As our understanding of human performance continues to grow, one thing is worth considering: perhaps the greatest advantage isn’t simply training, studying, or working harder, but developing the brain that makes every movement, every decision, and every achievement possible. As families transition into a new school year, remember that backpacks and school supplies support learning–but the brain makes it possible.
Sources:
Albert, M. (2026, February 13). Cognitive Speed Training and Dementia | The ACTIVE Study. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H66_YBk85uM
BrainHQ. (2021, October 6). Double Decision. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qwnj7gRFvc
Coe, N. B., Miller, K. E. M., Sun, C., Taggert, E., Gross, A. L., Jones, R. N., Felix, C., Albert, M. S., Rebok, G. W., Marsiske, M., Ball, K. K., & Willis, S. L. (2026). Impact of cognitive training on claims-based diagnosed dementia over 20 years: evidence from the ACTIVE study. Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.), 12(1), e70197. https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.70197
Double Decision. (n.d.). BrainHQ. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://www.brainhq.com/why-brainhq/about-the-brainhq-exercises/attention/double-decision/
Dx200 VNG/Eye Tracking Platform. (n.d.). Spryson America. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://spryson.com/dx200-vng-eye-tracking-platform/
Evolve1. (n.d.). Evolve1 - Believe. Become. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://evolve1.com/
Fedele, D. (2025, October 27). Mind of fire partner to sharpen decision-making in high-stakes firefighting. Mastermind Cognitive Training. https://mastermindtraining.com/blog/mind-of-fire-partner-to-sharpen-decision-making-in-high-stakes-firefighting
Golden, D. (2026, September). The Future of Student Performance Starts in the Brain. South Charlotte Neighbors | Best Version Media. https://www.bestversionmedia.com/article/2026-09-the-future-of-student-performance-starts-in-the-brain/
How IMG’s Mind Gym is Revolutionizing the Way Athletes Train. (2017, April 4). IMG Academy. https://www.imgacademy.com/news/how-imgs-mind-gym-revolutionizing-way-athletes-train
Intelo Market. (n.d.). Sports Psychology Services Market Research Report 2034. Sports Psychology Services Market Research Report 2025-2034. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://marketintelo.com/report/sports-psychology-services-market
Mastermind Cognitive Training. (n.d.). Mastermind Cognitive Training | Linkedin. Mastermind Cognitive Training. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://www.linkedin.com/company/mastermind-cognitive-training
Mastermind Cognitive Training | Brain Training. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://mastermindtraining.com
Owens , T. (2024, October 10). Us sports camps, the official provider of nike sports camps, partners with evolve1 to provide mental training for youth athletes. Evolve1. Evolve1. https://blog.evolve1.com/blog/nike-sports-camps-partners-with-evolve1
Sports Dissected. (2025, September 25). Inside IMG Academy’s “Mind Gym” Facility [Youtube Video Platform]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i88cckaZE2g
Startup101.com. (2025, August 4). How Mastermind Cognitive Training Turned A Limitation Into A Strength. https://startup101.com/startup-stories/mastermind-cognitive-training/
The ACTIVE Study. (n.d.). BrainHQ. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://www.brainhq.com/world-class-science/information-researchers/active-study/
US Sports Camps Partners with Evolve1 to Provide Mental Training for Youth Athletes. - News. (n.d.). US Sports Camps. Retrieved September 1, 2026, from https://www.ussportscamps.com/news/sport-performance/us-sports-camps-partners-with-evolve1-to-provide-mental-training-for-youth-athletes
About the Author
Dylan Golden, M.A. is the Communications Director at Better Brain & Body, where he manages communications and develops simplified educational content supporting the clinic’s work in functional neurology and brain-body health. This feature builds upon an original article written by Golden and published by Regina League in the September 2026 issue of the South Charlotte Neighbors Magazine, titled "The Future of Student Performance Starts in the Brain." The original publication has since been expanded into this comprehensive feature. However, please pick up your September print issue or view the original article online.
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