Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
08/05/2013
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Training people aged 50 or more has helped improve cognitive functions such as concentration, memory and reasoning
Playing video games can prevent and even slow the deterioration of brain functions such as memory, reasoning and visual processing. It indicates that a study published Wednesday in the journal PLoS ONE. According to the survey, conducted by the University of Iowa with hundreds of volunteers aged 50 or over, people who play video games are able to improve a variety of cognitive and reverse up to seven years related mental decline with age.
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Original title: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Training Using a Visual Speed of Processing Intervention in Middle Aged and Older Adults
Where was published: PLoS ONE
Who did: Fredric D. Wolinsky, Mark W. Vander Weg, M. Bryant Howren, Michael P. Jones and Megan M. Dotson
Institution: University of Iowa, USA
Data sampling: 681 healthy patients aged 50 years or more
Results: The training of elderly with game helped improve cognitive ability in functions such as concentration, agility with changing mental tasks and speed at which new information is processed. The improvement ranged from 1.5 years to almost seven years in the best performance of cognitive activity.
"We know we can stop this decay and truly restore the speed of cognitive processing of people," says Fredric Wolinsky, professor of public health at the University of Iowa and the lead author of the article. "So if we know this, we should not be helping people?'s Easy and personal older can learn to play video games."
The study is the latest in a series of research projects that examine why people, as they age, lose executive function in the brain necessary for memory, attention, perception and problem solving.
Survey - Frederic Wolinsky and his colleagues divided 681 healthy patients into four groups. Each of these groups was then again divided into segments with people 50-64 years and those over 65. One group received computerized crossword, while the other three groups played a game called Road Tour, which consists in identifying a type of vehicle displayed briefly on a plate carrier.
Asked the participants to memorize cars and traffic signs shown briefly, then identifigá them. The player must hit at least three of four attempts to pass the level, which reduces the time in which the objects are shown, and adds more distractions. "The game begins with an assessment to determine your current processing speed. Whatever, training can help you get around 70% faster," says Wolinsky.
Results - The groups that have played for at least 10 hours (weekly sessions of two hours), both at home in a lab at the university, had, in general, at least three years of cognitive improvement when tested after a year. A group that underwent additional training for four hours with the game fared even better, improving your cognitive abilities in four years, according to the study. "Not only do we avoid the decline in cognitive skills, as these skills really accelerate," said Wolinsky.
Scientists also found that those who played Road Tour had a score much better when compared to the group that did crosswords in functions such as concentration, agility with changing a mental task to another and the speed at which new information is processed.
The improvement ranged from 1.5 years to almost seven years in a gain in performance of certain cognitive activities - the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, a test widely used to detect cognitive impairment in adults and children, the gain was up to 6.6 years . "This is the phenomenon 'use it or lose it'," says Fredric Wolinsky. "The cognitive decline associated with aging is real, it happens and it starts early and stays steadily. The good news is that we can do something
Source: See - Online
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.