UCI professor of neurobiology & behavior Craig Stark, here holding a 3-D-printed model of his own hippocampus, says that “video games may be a nice, viable route” to maintaining cognitive health. Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI
Results suggest novel approaches to maintaining cognition as we age. Along with adding to the trove of research that shows these games can improve eye-hand coordination and reaction time, this finding shows the potential for novel virtual approaches to helping people who lose memory as they age or suffer from dementia.
METHOD: Before and after the 2wk period, the students took memory tests that engaged the brain’s hippocampus, associated with complex learning and memory. They were given a series of pictures of everyday objects to study. Then they were shown images of the same objects, new ones and others that differed slightly from the original items and asked to categorize them. Recognition of the slightly altered images requires the hippocampus and Stark’s earlier research had demonstrated that ability to do this clearly declines with age. This is a large part of why it’s so difficult to learn new names or remember where you put your keys as you get older.
RESULTS: Students playing the 3D video game improved their scores on the memory test, while the 2D gamers did not. The boost was not small either. Memory performance increased by about 12%, the same amount it normally decreases between the ages of 45 and 70.
In previous studies on rodents, exploring the environment resulted in the growth of new neurons that became entrenched in the hippocampus’ memory circuit and increased neuronal signaling networks. Stark noted some commonalities between the 3D game the humans played and the environment the rodents explored – qualities lacking in the 2D game.
“First, the 3-D games have a few things the 2-D ones do not,” he said. “They’ve got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they’re much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus.”
Stark added that it’s unclear whether the overall amount of information and complexity in the 3D game or the spatial relationships and exploration is stimulating the hippocampus. “This is one question we’re following up on,” he said. Video games are not created with specific cognitive processes in mind but rather are designed to immerse users in the characters and adventure. They draw on many cognitive processes, including visual, spatial, emotional, motivational, attentional, critical thinking, problem-solving and working memory.
The next step is to determine if environmental enrichment – via 3D video games or real-world exploration experiences – can reverse the hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficits present in older populations.
A video about the research can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1YfgMVhhdA&feature=youtu.be
http://news.uci.edu/faculty/playing-3-d-video-games-can-boost-memory-formation-uci-study-finds/
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