By Deborah Borfitz 

July 23, 2026 | In the future, it may be possible for the physiological signals passively collected by a smartwatch to alert the wearer of a potential change in their cognitive state. Consumer electronics giant Samsung, for its part, has teamed up with the Neuroscape Center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) to explore the possibility of expanding the health- and fitness-tracking capabilities of its Galaxy Watch to assess functioning of the brain. This study is being led by Joaquin A. Anguera, Ph.D., Theodore Zanto, Ph.D., and Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D., who all operate out of the Neuroscape Center. 

The idea is to find associations between passive biometric data (sleep, heart rate variability, activity) already being tracked by the Galaxy Watch with cognitive assessments used by the researchers at Neuroscape to discover which metrics act as true early-warning signs of cognitive decline. Rigorous longitudinal research is necessary to prove that these digital biomarkers accurately predict shifts in brain health, according to Anguera, director of the clinical program at Neuroscape, and a professor of neurology and psychiatry at UCSF.  

Neuroscape, a recognized world leader in the digital health space, was selected to be the key academic and technological partner for Samsung’s Technology for Aging Health – Digital Approaches (TAH-DA) study that launched earlier this year to investigate the potential unique connections between the brain and body, he says. This is a massive longitudinal brain health trial that is ambitiously seeking to enroll 200 adults from each decade of life between the ages of 40 and 89 by the end of 2026. 

TAH-DA looks to determine whether smartwatch-collected data types are associated with many different objective measures created at Neuroscape.  These game-like digital assessment tools for evaluating cognitive control include Adaptive Cognitive Evaluation (ACE), which assesses attention, working memory, and goal management. “It very well may be our most ambitious study in terms of the amount of technology being used as a whole,” Anguera says.  

In addition, participants will be asked to play a few digital cognitive interventions designed to improve cognitive function, which will be assessed both with the watch metrics, objective measures of cognitive ability, and a battery of surveys. A trio of cognitive interventions is being used in the study, and this “cocktail” approach is a first for Neuroscape, Anguera says. The hope is that the combination will have a synergistic effect where the combination is greater than the whole of each on its own.  

End-to-End Portal 

The partnership with Samsung emerged in 2024 after Neuroscape applied for the selective digital health grant, says Anguera. The research center was awarded the funding likely due to its collective expertise in developing and testing digital technologies to assess and improve cognitive ability, as well as its experience in conducting large-scale remote clinical trials.  

One technology that is especially pertinent for this study is the online training platform and database known as Nexus. This technology is how people are onboarded into trials, consented to participate, are sent video games and surveys, access various apps including digital diagnostic assessments and digital interventions, and the use of an AI chatbot and virtual assistant purpose-built for the platform by HelpSquad (including, as needed, fetching an appropriate human). 

Nexus has been utilized in multiple NIH-, foundation-, and industry-funded studies involving many thousands of participants. “It’s not a finished product by any stretch, but we’re proud of how far it has come since its inception. We’re constantly squishing bugs and looking to make the experience better for all,” says Anguera.  

The Trial Experience 

The TAH-DA study is being funded by Samsung and provides participants with a Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Tab A9 tablet that they’re able to keep if they finish the trial, says Anguera. Participants are asked to complete initial cognitive assessments and surveys and then play tablet-based video games during the intervention. 

Exclusions to eligibility include regularly practicing meditation or playing a musical instrument, both of which are known to benefit cognitive abilities over the lifespan, Anguera says. As covered on the study website, the intervention phase involves completing 25-45 minutes of prescribed game playing three days a week for up to 12 weeks, after which participants repeat the baseline-phase tasks. This is followed by the booster phase where they complete 12 weeks of once-a-week, 30-minute game playing. In the final, follow-up phase they are assigned eight weeks of once-a-week, 30-minute baseline phase tasks.  

Once enrolled, researchers randomly assign participants to either an intervention group or a control group and send the Samsung devices to those individuals.  

The Nexus platform uses the identify verification platform Didit.me, which enforces “signal of humanity” checks (e.g., driver's license or passport) to quickly ensure participants are real unique humans before any research data is collected. This helps prevent fraud and bots while keeping personal data secure, says Anguera, pointing to a recent blog on the topic.   

Anguera says he’s hopeful that people will be quick to sign up for the TAH-DA study and “learn more about themselves.” This is meaningful research at both the university and product level, he points out, as it raises the possibility that advanced brain health and cognitive tracking may one day live on smart gadgets to proactively enhance population health. 

Reaching the 1,000 participant mark is doable but won’t be easy, Anguera adds. “We really look at these kinds of studies as a collaborative effort with all those participating.”