Nintendo Brain Training Professor Explains Why Driving a Manual Transmission Car Is Better for Your Brain Than an Automatic

A study led by Professor Ryuta Kawashima suggests that driving a manual transmission car is beneficial for the brain, and could help prevent dementia. Kawashima is a neuroscientist known for the Brain Age and Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training games, released primarily on Nintendo platforms between 2003 and 2020. The research, conducted by Kawashima’s team at Tohoku University’s Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, looked at brain activity when driving manual and automatic cars. The study found that the actions required to drive a manual vehicle activates the prefrontal cortex in ways that driving an automatic doesn’t. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain which handles memory, decision-making and attention. When driving a stick shift, you need to decide which gear to switch to based on your assessment of the situation and surroundings. Then there’s the process of changing gears, in which you simultaneously operate the clutch pedal and gearstick, all while controlling your acceleration. As any learner driver who stalled a manual car will know, this requires brain and body coordination. Kawashima et al. found that these decisions and actions involved in driving a manual l