Video games may improve brain power in older adults
NeuroRacer
helped healthy older adults sharpen their memory. Video games may seem like a
mindless way to waste time, but a growing body of evidence suggests that if
they are carefully designed to meet certain standards, they can dramatically
improve brain power. Studies have shown that specially made games can help
people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), early stages of
dementia, brain injury, stroke, "chemobrain," addiction and other
conditions. After 12 hours of playing a road game designed to improve attention
and focus, healthy people ages 60 to 79 performed as well as people a
half-century younger. The improvements were still evident six months later, and
they extended beyond the skills learned for the game. Similar games might help
older people improve their driving skills, for instance, or keep middle-aged
people from losing their ability to multitask as they age. This is not to
justify a young person's obsession with Grand Theft Auto, scientists
said.
To be
beneficial, a game has to be designed with a specific goal in mind (like,
improving attention), meet certain criteria and be proven effective through
research, said Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist and director of the Neuroscience
Imaging Center at the University of California-San Francisco, who led the new
research. "I don't want people to conclude that video games are some
panacea for all that ails us”. But brain scans confirmed that the 16 older
people who played the game for 12 hours at home on a laptop got better at
multitasking, paying attention in dull situations and remembering things
short-term. At the start of the study, the older people's performance on the
driving game fell off by 65% when they had to point out certain street signs in
addition to staying on the road. After practice, their performance dropped just
16% with the extra task — less than the falloff for 20-somethings. Brain scans
and cognitive tests confirmed the improvement.
Surgical
Science Simulation
For more than 13 years, Surgical
Science has pioneered the development of state-of-the-art virtual reality
laparoscopic medical training simulators, focused on usability, applicability
in clinical education, and continued technological and instructional
advancements.
Surgical Science’s mission is to
develop and deliver cutting edge medical simulation training products with
unequaled graphics, usability and skills transference from VR (virtual reality)
to the OR (operating room) in an effort to improve performance through
practice.
Dr. Hyltander and his co-founders built Surgical
Science with a clear vision – to benefit patients and the medical community by
bringing a comprehensive, rigorous and dynamic instructional system to surgical
trainees. With a legacy rooted in surgical medicine and technology development,
Surgical Science is helping medical professionals around the world train
faster, safer and more efficiently than ever before.
References
http://www.surgical-science.com/company-news/lapsim-gynecology-myoma-suturing/
I watched the video on gaming in regards to the aging process and found it very interesting. I am working with this community population and I've often wondered how gaming could help adults with conitive memory issues.
ReplyDeleteYour research on the effects of gaming on older adults with dementia, stroke and brain injury is very promising. May be the next time my Mother in-law comes, I will make her do the NeuroRacer to see if she can improve her short term memory that is declining very rapidly.
ReplyDelete