Can video games boost thinking in elderly?
North Carolina State and Georgia Tech researchers want to determine whether video games might help the elderly improve their thinking. The National Science Foundation is funding the work with a $1.2 million grant spread over four years. Researchers plan to establish a baseline of data based on cognitive function in study participants of men and women age 65 and over. Then those in the study will play two games from the Nintendo Wii system before being tested again for cognitive function. The games to be used, Boom Blox and Boom Blox Bash Party from Electronic Arts, enable the researchers to manipulate novelty, “attentional demand” and social interaction. Based on their findings, the team hopes to develop a prototype for a video game that would boost memory and thinking. “What qualities does a game need to contain to improve cognition?” asked Anne McLaughlin, the principal investigator for the grant and an assistant psychology professor at NCSU. “We want to determine the components an e
