What are Thinkie Points?
Understanding the Thinkie sensor
First, we must understand how the Thinkie sensor works. Thinkie’s technology is solidly based on nearly 30 years of scientific research and development. The sensor uses fNIRs technology to measure brain activity by comparing changes in in-game blood flow to a baseline established during the 15-second pre-game calibration.
fNIRS, or functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, works by emitting near-infrared light into the scalp and measuring the amount of light that is either absorbed or reflected by brain tissue. Changes in light absorption are related to changes in blood oxygenation levels, which correlate with neural activity.* This neural activity is translated into a brain activity score measured over the duration of the activity, meaning that a greater change in blood volume translates into more Thinkie Points.
Thinkie Points represent your highest brain activity score during a game, measured out of a maximum possible score of 100 points. The sensor takes measurements in 1-second increments. During gameplay, as your brain activity increases, the color on the screen changes from cool colors like blue and purple to warm colors like orange and pink. A cool-to-warm color change indicates a higher score.
Therefore, the harder you work using Thinkie, the greater the change in blood flow volume, and hence the more Thinkie Points you will score. With a daily target of 270 Thinkie Points, the harder you work your brain, the faster you'll achieve that daily goal.
Interpreting Thinkie Points
Now that we understand the method and mathematics behind Thinkie Points, we're left to wonder: what is their significance?
Your Thinkie Point score only indicates how hard you worked your brain, not how well you performed during training. Even if you completed every in-game task correctly on the first try, you may not have exercised your brain sufficiently to attain high Thinkie Points. Conversely, you may have encountered difficulty during the game but could still score highly as a result of your level of effort.
Remember: you don’t have to beat or win the games, just try your best. The most important thing is to increase your brain activity while playing the games; it is not to get correct in-game answers. You'll now you've done that with a high Thinkie Point score.
Even better, a higher score indicates greater potential for Brain Age rejuvenation. Research by NeU (a sister company to Thinkie) shows that using Thinkie consistently for 3 months can rejuvenate brain age by an average of 3.7 years. In some cases, consistent long-term use of Thinkie over 3+ years has led to a 10-year reduction in brain age. You can track your progress against daily and monthly goals using the Thinkie dashboard.
More tips for a better score
Should your brain activity not be displayed correctly during gameplay, consider the following actions:
*In physiological terms, the technique detects changes in oxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbR) concentrations, which reflect hemodynamic responses to brain activity. The hemodynamic response function (HRF) is thus inferred from these measurements.