Complex video games improve cognitive function in the elderly

Playing for Keeps

Is youth wasted on the young? I don’t think so. They might take for granted the feeling of having a light, healthy body, full of energy. But just look at them – most of them appear to be having the time of their lives.

Video games, however, just might be wasted on the young. But not the elderly.

Game grinder

According to a new study from the School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, a high level of video game playing could almost qualify as substance abuse.

Past studies have shown that video games sharpen hand-eye coordination, which can improve driving skills. That’s a positive. And in a previous e-Alert I told you how playing tennis or bowling on Nintendo Wii may burn as much as 125 calories in 15 minutes.

But when the Brigham Young team surveyed more than 800 U.S. college students, the results linked these effects to extended game play:

• Poor relationship quality with parents and friends
• Poor academic performance
• Greater risk of alcohol and drug use
• Lower self-worth
• Lower perceived social acceptance

As you might expect, violent games increased the risks of these effects.

But take away the graphic violence, and add 40 or 50 years to the players, and the results are quite a bit different.

Brain gaming

Can a complex video game provide the mental workout needed to improve cognitive skills?

That’s the question posed by University of Illinois psychology researchers in a recent trial. The UI team recruited 40 subjects between the ages of 60 and 79. Half the group received nearly 24 hours of training on a “real- time strategy” game called “Rise of Nations.”

According to the game’s website, Rise of Nations “enables players to explore 6,000 years of history as they amass powerful armies, build prosperous economies and perform acts of diplomacy.” In other words, this is a long way from computer solitaire.

Both groups received cognitive assessments before, during, and after the training period.

In a recent issue of Psychology and Aging, the researchers wrote that subjects who received training “improved significantly more than the control participants in executive control functions, such as task switching, working memory, visual short-term memory, and reasoning.”

In an interview with Ivanhoe Newswire, the lead author of the study noted that building imaginary armies to take over the world and other games of similar complexity may help seniors stay mentally fit, but healthy cognitive function also depends on socializing, participation in non-game activities, and exercising.

College gamers? Did you get that message?

Sources:
“More Than Just a Game: Video Game and Internet Use During Emerging Adulthood” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Published online ahead of print 1/10/09, springerlink.com
“Can Training in a Real-Time Strategy Video Game Attenuate Cognitive Decline in Older Adults?” Psychology and Aging, Vol. 23, No. 4, December 2008, psycnet.apa.org
“Video Games Sharpen Minds” Ivanhoe Newswire, 12/24/09, ivanhoe.com