The booming 'edutainment' software industry has been accused of preying on our desire for mental health and well-being with false claims. The problem has become so widespread that the the US Federal Trade Commission has stepped in, reports VentureBeat.

Americans spent approximately US$1.3 billion on brain games in 2013.

Focus Education has settled a complaint made to the FTC about claims made about its Jungle Rangers game. Focus Education claimed that the game would help improve children's school performance, behaviour, and attention, and even claimed that the game could alleviate the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The company aired infomercials that included testimonials from children claiming that their schoolwork had improved. Jungle Rangers sells for around US$215. As a part of the settlement, Focus Education agreed to no longer suggest that its claims are scientifically proven.

Claims made by brain games aimed at adults and the elderly have also come under scrutiny recently. Lumosity, a company that markets web-based mental-training services with claims they improve your brain's health and functionality, says its games are “based on neuroscience.”

However, neuroscientists disagree. The Stanford University Center on Longevity and the Berlin Max Planck Institute for Human Development issued the following statement, warning customers that games like those offered by Lumosity do not help the brain: “The strong consensus of this group is that the scientific literature does not support claims that the use of software-based “brain games” alters neural functioning in ways that improve general cognitive performance in everyday life, or prevent cognitive slowing and brain disease.”