Memory workouts beat other computer games in study

via reuters

Training the brain with a computer workout program may be better than classic computer games at staving off age-related mental decline, scientists reported on Friday.

While the computer and video game store has long been the bastion of teenagers and hard-core gamers, a host of new games for older folk have made their way into the stores.

The games, from companies like Nintendo and Mattel Inc., are based on studies showing that with a little training, older people can improve their brain power.

Researchers in Israel compared how one brain-training program, MindFit, fared versus a workout with a sampling of classic computer games, such as the puzzle game Tetris.

The study, funded by a grant from game maker CogniFit Ltd., involved 121 volunteers over 50 who used the MindFit training program or a sampling of computer games for three months. Volunteers were divided into groups. They were not told whether they were playing the brain workout program or a dummy program.

Both groups benefited, but the group using the MindFit program showed a statistically significant improvement in spatial short-term memory, spatial learning and focused attention.

These areas would be especially helpful with things like driving or preventing falls, a major source of injury in the elderly, said Dr. Nir Giladi, a neurologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel who conducted the study..