Author: Honor Whiteman

Published By: Medilexicon International Ltd.

Published On: 12 December 2015

Good news for all of you video game buffs out there; a new study finds playing 3D video games may help boost memory, possibly opening the door to a new way to maintain cognitive functioning as we age.

Video games are not normally viewed in a positive light in terms of health; previous studies have claimed they promote sedentary behavior, while violent video games have been linked to aggressive behavior and reduced self-control.

Increasingly, however, researchers are finding video games may have some benefits. Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study that found Tetris could reduce cravings, while other research suggested story-based video games could help people with autism.

Now, researchers from the University of California-Irvine (UCI) suggest the benefits of video games could reach even further, possibly helping people with dementia or other conditions associated with memory loss.

They publish their findings in The Journal of Neuroscience.

3D video games improved memory performance by 12%

Study coauthors Craig Stark and Dane Clemenson, of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory at UCI, asked a number of non-gamer college students to play one of two video games for 30 minutes daily for 2 weeks - either the 2D game "Angry Birds" or the 3D game "Super Mario 3D world."

Students took part in memory tests both before and after the 2-week gaming period, which involved them viewing images of specific everyday objects. They were then shown images of the same objects, new objects and objects that differed slightly from the original images and were asked to categorize each one.

Such tests engage the hippocampus - the brain region associated with memory and learning - according to Stark, and previous studies he conducted showed that the ability to perform well on such tests reduces as we age.

Compared with students who played the 2D game over the 2-week period, those who played the 3D game improved memory performance by around 12%.

To put this in context, the team notes that between the ages of 45-70, memory performance normally reduces by around 12%, suggesting that 3D video games could help maintain cognitive functioning as we age.

But why do 3D video games appear to boost memory while 2D games do not?

3D games may increase neuronal growth, signaling in the hippocampus

Previous studies by Clemenson and colleagues found rodents that explored an environment showed increased neuronal growth and signaling in the hippocampus, and the team notes there are similarities between the environment the rodents explored and the 3D game the students played.

Stark explains that 3D games contain more spatial information than 2D, giving the player more to explore. What is more, 3D games are significantly more complex, meaning the player has more to learn.

Stark adds that video games activate cognitive processes, including visual, spatial, attentional, motivational and emotional processes, as well as critical thinking, problem-solving and working memory.

"It's quite possible that by explicitly avoiding a narrow focus on a single [...] cognitive domain and by more closely paralleling natural experience, immersive video games may be better suited to provide enriching experiences that translate into functional gains," he explains.

Next, the team plans to determine whether 3D video games or other real-world exploration experiences can help reverse cognitive declines in older individuals.

"Can we use this video game approach to help improve hippocampus functioning? It's often suggested that an active, engaged lifestyle can be a real factor in stemming cognitive aging," says Stark. "While we can't all travel the world on vacation, we can do many other things to keep us cognitively engaged and active. Video games may be a nice, viable route."

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/303789.php

Category: Future Trends & Possibilies International Perspectives Research Smart AT General Videos Virtual Environments

Added by Lisa Kelly · 8 years ago

Presented by: Sander van Berlo, Director at Onmi B.V., the Netherlands

Recorded On: 2 October 2015

This webinar was specifically held and recorded for the Community Care Smart Assistive Technology Collaborative Platform.  Introduced by Eleanor Horton,  Expert Reference Group member and Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Category: Connected Health International Perspectives Mobile Technologies Research Videos

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Presented by: Sander van Berlo, Director at Onmi B.V., the Netherlands

Recorded On: 2 October 2015

This webinar was specifically held and recorded for the Community Care Smart Assistive Technology Collaborative Platform.  Introduced by Eleanor Horton,  Expert Reference Group member and Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Category: Connected Health International Perspectives Mobile Technologies Research Videos

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

 Author/s:Kyra Bobinet, MD MPH, John Petito, MS

Prepared for: The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

This white paper covers key elements of design for consumer-centered telehealth. Given the rapid growth of telehealth and overall disruption of healthcare reimbursement and care delivery, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) commissioned a design session focused on this topic on April 10, 2015 with over 30 stakeholders in attendance.

Category: Connected Health International Perspectives Research Workforces Considerations

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Authors:  Richard Fleming and Shima Sum

 This review was supported by a grant from the Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, UNSW as part of the Australian government’s Dementia: A Health Priority national initiative.

This review of literature explores the ways in which technology has been applied to more than helping people with dementia carry out tasks and how it may be making a contribution to the wellbeing of these people by reducing their behavioural problems and improving their emotional state.

Category: Research

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Principal Researcher(s): Prof. Lisa Jackson Pulver

Other Researchers/Staff: Prof. Tony Broe, A/Prof. Dave Grayson, Dr. Simon Chalkley, Prof. Leon Flicker, Ms.Gail Daylight, Dr. Holly Mack

Corresponding Author: Dr. Holly Mack

Published by: Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre

Published on: August 2012

Dementia is a growing concern for Aboriginal Australians (1-2), but remains poorly understood in urban and regional (i.e., non-remote) Aboriginal peoples, who comprise the vast majority of Australia’s Indigenous population (3). There is a need for better understanding of dementia and appropriate services in these communities, but one of the major obstacles for research and clinical practice is that there are no validated cognitive screening tools for use in urban/regional populations. How to effectively and appropriately assess dementia and cognitive impairment is a key issue in working with (older) Aboriginal people.

Category: ATSI Service Delivery Research Rural & Remote Service Delivery

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Author: Karin Tanja-Dijkstra1, Sabine Pahl , Mathew P. White, Jackie Andrade, Cheng Qian, Malcolm Bruce, Jon May, David R. Moles

Published By: School of Psychology Plymouth University 

Published: 2014

Dental anxiety creates significant problems for both patients and the dental profession. Some distraction interventions are

already used by healthcare professionals to help patients cope with unpleasant procedures. The present study is novel

because it a) builds on evidence that natural scenery is beneficial for patients, and b) uses a Virtual Reality (VR)

representation of nature to distract participants. Extending previous work that has investigated pain and anxiety during

treatment, c) we also consider the longer term effects in terms of more positive memories of the treatment, building on a

cognitive theory of memory (Elaborated Intrusions). Participants (n = 69) took part in a simulated dental experience and

were randomly assigned to one of three VR conditions (active vs. passive vs. control). In addition, participants were

distinguished into high and low dentally anxious according to a median split resulting in a 362 between-subjects design. VR

distraction in a simulated dental context affected memories a week later. The VR distraction had effects not only on

concurrent experiences, such as perceived control, but longitudinally upon the vividness of memories after the dental

experience had ended. Participants with higher dental anxiety (for whom the dental procedures were presumably more

aversive) showed a greater reduction in memory vividness than lower dental-anxiety participants. This study thus suggests

that VR distractions can be considered as a relevant intervention for cycles of care in which people’s previous experiences

affect their behaviour for future events.

Category: Case Studies Research Virtual Environments

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Author: Richard Simpson

Published By: Journal of Research and Development

Published On: August 2005

Several studies have shown that both children and adults benefit substantially from access to a means of independent mobility. While the needs of many individuals with disabilities can be satisfied with traditional manual or powered wheelchairs, a segment of the disabled community finds it difficult or impossible to use wheelchairs independently. To accommodate this population, researchers have used technologies originally developed for mobile robots to create 'smart wheelchairs'. Smart wheelchairs have been the subject of research since the 1980s and have been developed on four continents. This article presents a summary of the current state of the art and directions for future research.

Category: Mobility Research Robotics Transport

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

Author: Lilian Lazarevic and Darren Button 

Published By: Health Outcomes Australia

Published On: May 2014

This paper presents the key organisational influencers of successful smart assistive technology implementations in a disability service setting.

Category: Policy & Funding Quality & Standards Research

Added by Ash-Lee Hall · 9 years ago

More and more research is aimed at tackling the grand challenges of society and addressing complex problems that do not fall within the traditional academic disciplines. The need for an interdisciplinary approach to these complex issues continues to increase. The growing demand for interdisciplinary research is seen in every field and the need to understand how best to approach this does not diminish.

Category: Local Perspectives Policy & Funding Research

Added by Tony Shaw · 9 years ago