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Strategy Games Improve Cognitive Functions In Older Adults

Posted by Soulskill on from the make-it-worse-in-everyone-else dept.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have completed a study about using video games to stimulate cognitive function in adults over 60 years old. The scientists selected a strategy game — because of its scope and the variety of different tasks involved — and trained a group of subjects on how to play. The gamers then scored better than a control group on a number of cognitive tests. Quoting: "The tests included measures of their ability to switch between tasks, their short-term visual memory, their reasoning skills and their working memory, which is the ability to hold two or more pieces of information in memory and use the information as needed. There were also tests of the subjects' verbal recall, their ability to inhibit certain responses and their ability to identify an object that had been rotated to a greater or lesser degree from its original position. The researchers found that training on the video game did improve the participants' performance on a number of these tests. As a group, the gamers became significantly better — and faster — at switching between tasks compared with the comparison group. Their working memory, as reflected in the tests, also was significantly improved. Their reasoning ability was enhanced. To a lesser extent, their short-term memory of visual cues was better than that of their peers, as was their ability to identify rotated objects."

8 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Starcraft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yay. Now I can beat my Grandmother and Grandfather at Starcarft without feeling bad about it.

    More seriously, I wonder if board games like Risk would have the same effect...

    1. Re:Starcraft by h4rm0ny · · Score: 5, Insightful


      This is exactly what I was wondering - what is the control group? Is it people learning something else, e.g. a language, chess, or is it people doing nothing or watching tv? I mean going for a walk improves your fitness, but is it as good as, say, rowing? Relative comparisons - that's what we need.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
    2. Re:Starcraft by SupremoMan · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is exactly what I was wondering - what is the control group?

      That's when you hit Ctrl+Number. Then you can use the number key to quickly select all the units in the Control group!

  2. New for 2009! by 800DeadCCs · · Score: 5, Funny

    Command and conquer: Get off my damned lawn edition
    Red alert: Yuri remembers the great war... over and over and over agian
    and a Vega strike mod: Are those my pills?

    1. Re:New for 2009! by Shinobi · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tactics is certainly not a synonym for strategy.

      Tactics is the art of how to deploy your forces to achieve an objective, for example on platoon level how to place your squads, if you do bounding overwatch or travelling overwatch while advancing etc.

      Strategy is 95% the shuffling of material, troops and intel so the tacticians can do their job. I.e, logistics. The remaining 5% is trying to figure out where the enemy is, where he'll go, and how you can disrupt that by where you want your forces. Which is also logistics.

  3. Breaking news! by Mystery00 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Using the brain, improves the brain!

    More at 11.

    --
    "we've got trenchcoats and bad attitudes" - John Constantine, HellBlazer
  4. In other news: by Spazztastic · · Score: 4, Funny

    And in other news, Grand Theft Auto IV online game play has been plagued in the recent weeks by new players who sit in the left lane with their blinker on for 30 miles, require 5 tries to parallel park, and request you to repeat your sentences because they are hard of hearing. More at 10.

    --
    Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
  5. My Experience by scubamage · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My grandmother and grand father both suffered from alzheimer's before they died, so I'm familiar with the normal progression it makes (at least so far as I've experienced it). When my father was diagnosed with alzheimer's, my mother bought him a nintendo DS, and all of the brain age games. She got him a Wii for big brain academy. His episodes of forgetfulness seem to have halted, or at least slowed down, since he began playing the games regularly (my mother hawks over him to make sure he plays his games for the day). I know I can't really infer anything from my experiences, especially since I haven't gathered any data outside of my observations, but for what its worth my experiences support the findings of this study. I think this is a poorly explored area which really could yield some benefits.