Video Games as Cognitive Engineering
Baby boomers regularly head to the gym to combat middle-age spread. Now evidence is piling up that exercising the aging brain is just as important. A new cognitive training program designed to rejuvenate the brain's natural plasticity could slow down mental decline by as much as ten years. The program and others like it may be an accessible way for older people to take advantage of recent advances in the neuroscience of aging. (The developer is Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist at the University of California at San Francisco, who's been studying the neural basis of learning for 30 years.)
Recent research has shown that reading the newspaper or doing crossword puzzles can help to keep older people mentally fit. According to Merzenich, a more focused and rigorous approach will have a considerably larger impact. In 2003, he founded the for-profit Posit Science in San Francisco to develop a software program based on the idea that individuals can retrain their brains to think faster…
One potential drawback to such a training program is the amount of time and effort it takes to see a difference. Much like physical exercise and dieting, mental workouts require a healthy dose of discipline. "The potential is significant, but it takes a lot of self-motivation and willpower," says Elias. From: Exercising the Brain
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I think there is plenty of evidence that brains keep active by keeping active. Just like legs and intestines. But I am skeptical about the merits of a specially prepared (and probably expensive) computer program. Studies will certainly show benefits, but the results will be confounded by the general effect of giving attention to people in nursing homes and by the self-selection processes described above as “willpower”.
I am also not sure that there much benefit in retraining the brain to think faster. I’m going to blog about another study in a few days: “Ignoring useless information aids memory.” Maybe you don’t need to think faster if you think smarter.
Maybe a few people need the benefits of a specially prepared computer program. And maybe a few of those would still have enough “willpower” left to stick to the program. On the other hand, maybe somebody will do a study to assess a VR system like Second Life. Available free. A whole world to explore. People to interact with. Easy to use (if you don’t want to program).
And if you do want to program, you can build about anything you want. Researchers who want to program have a wide range of possibilities for educational and “therapeutic” environments. They may even develop an environment that the clients enjoy. Thus combining the entrepreneurial spirit with cognitive engineering. If only in virtual reality.
Recent research has shown that reading the newspaper or doing crossword puzzles can help to keep older people mentally fit. According to Merzenich, a more focused and rigorous approach will have a considerably larger impact. In 2003, he founded the for-profit Posit Science in San Francisco to develop a software program based on the idea that individuals can retrain their brains to think faster…
One potential drawback to such a training program is the amount of time and effort it takes to see a difference. Much like physical exercise and dieting, mental workouts require a healthy dose of discipline. "The potential is significant, but it takes a lot of self-motivation and willpower," says Elias. From: Exercising the Brain
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I think there is plenty of evidence that brains keep active by keeping active. Just like legs and intestines. But I am skeptical about the merits of a specially prepared (and probably expensive) computer program. Studies will certainly show benefits, but the results will be confounded by the general effect of giving attention to people in nursing homes and by the self-selection processes described above as “willpower”.
I am also not sure that there much benefit in retraining the brain to think faster. I’m going to blog about another study in a few days: “Ignoring useless information aids memory.” Maybe you don’t need to think faster if you think smarter.
Maybe a few people need the benefits of a specially prepared computer program. And maybe a few of those would still have enough “willpower” left to stick to the program. On the other hand, maybe somebody will do a study to assess a VR system like Second Life. Available free. A whole world to explore. People to interact with. Easy to use (if you don’t want to program).
And if you do want to program, you can build about anything you want. Researchers who want to program have a wide range of possibilities for educational and “therapeutic” environments. They may even develop an environment that the clients enjoy. Thus combining the entrepreneurial spirit with cognitive engineering. If only in virtual reality.
posted by Selby Evans at 8:41 AM
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