According to a recent New York Times article, video games may delay or even reverse the negative effects of aging on seniors’ brains. A new study published in Nature found seniors who played a specific multi-tasking video game experienced significant improvements in memory and multi-tasking skills.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, used a video game called NeuroRacer, which requires players to drive a car on a winding road with their left hand, while identifying road signs that they need to shoot down with their right hand. When initially testing the game on subjects in their 20s through 70s, researchers found that memory and multi-tasking skills significantlydeclined with age.
However, the authors then trained a group of seniors between ages 60 and 85 on the game for 12 hours over a one-month period. After the training, seniors earned higher scores than untrained subjects in their 20s. Seniors retained their increased performance levels after six months, even though they did not practice during that time. In addition, they performed better at memory and attention tests outside of the video game.
Researchers also measured subjects’ brain waves, finding increased levels of theta waves, which are associated with attention, in subjects in their 60s to 80s.
