Wii-hab Rising

Physical therapy benefits for patients using the Wii has hit the tipping point. A nice article by Teresa Martin over at CapeEyes.com chronicles the use of the Wii, “at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape & Islands (RHCI) in Sandwich, MA.”

Susan Owen is a grandmother and recovering stroke patient — and the Wii is part of fast-growing trend in rehabilitative therapy: Wii-Hab.

“You get so caught up in the moment of the game that you forget you’re ‘not supposed’ to be able to move that way,” she told me as she and her physical therapist competed with each other to knock down the most virtual pins.

Another therapist helped support her as she “threw” the ball, while at the same time relearning how to shift weight, regain strength, and redevelop her balance.

Beyond physical therapy, patients at RHCI use Brain Academy for cognitive therapy, according to Martin.

The folks at RHCI and its sister Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston have been actively integrating Wii activities into both physical and cognitive rehabilitation – and they are part of a rapidly growing international trend:

• William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is using the Wii and Guitar Hero to help severe burn victims start moving their arms and upper torsos again.
• Dr. Bruce Battles a physician specializing in brain injury rehabilitation at Western Kentucky University, received a US Dept. of Education grant to look at the outcomes of Wii-Hab. Battles began exploring rehab uses of the Wii after his own 16-year old son suffered serious head injuries in a car accident.
• The Medical College of Georgia is working with Parkinson’s patients and the Wii. Initial research from their work shows the Wii made significant impact on rigidity, movement, fine motor skills, and energy levels – and depression.

Finally, and of most interest to us, Martin points us to wii-hab.com, and their most interesting Research page. Thanks for the tip.

Study: Reaction Times Lowered Via Video Games

The folks over at Rochester have another study published on the benefits of playing action video games. Dr. Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green have published in the past on the improved visual plasticity action video game players gain, and evidence of improved eyesight from playing. This article, with lead writer Matthew Dye, focuses on increased mental processing which apparently does not adversely affect accuracy.

Here’s the abstract:

In many everyday situations, speed is of the essence. However, fast decisions typically mean more mistakes. To this day, it remains unknown whether reaction times can be reduced with appropriate training, within one individual, across a range of tasks, and without compromising accuracy. Here we review evidence that the very act of playing action video games significantly reduces reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. Critically, this increase in speed is observed across various tasks beyond game situations. Video gaming may therefore provide an efficient training regimen to induce a general speeding of perceptual reaction times without decreases in accuracy of performance.

References:
Dye, M.W.G., Green, C.S., & Bavelier, D. (2009, December). Increasing speed of processing with action video games. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(6). 321-326.

Brain Age Influential

Torrent Bomb World lists The Top 15 Most Influential Video Games of the Decade. Nice to see Brain Age on the list.

[O]ne of the most emblematic games of the decade was produced by a team of nine people in just a few months. Brain Age, an addictive series of puzzles, brainteasers and math problems, promised to be a sort of daily calisthenic [sic] regimen for your gray matter. The series has sold almost 18 million copies, roughly the same number as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As a killer app that sold the Nintendo DS to a grown-up audience, it’s the most extreme example of how Nintendo has bucked the dominant trends and made a killing doing it.

1. The Sims
2. Grand Theft Auto III
3. Guitar Hero
4. World of Warcraft
5. Brain Age
6. Halo
7. Bejeweled
8. Wii Sports
9. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
10. Metroid Prime
11. Silent Hill 2
12. Half-Life 2
13. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
14. Happy Farm
15. Portal

Introducing Astropolis: The Video Game Suite Designed to Help Study Autism

Matthew Belmonte over at Cornell is leading a team that has designed a suite of video games specifically to study autism. The game suite, called Astropolis, has all the adventure and science fiction elements so popular with young boys. It was developed and research is ongoing thanks to funding in part by the National Science Foundation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Autism Speaks.

Aimed at children ages 10-15 diagnosed autistic, the games contain activities allowing researchers to test differing hypotheses within the framework of autism research. A past problem with autism research is that it often takes place strictly in lab environments, outside of natural settings for the subjects. Belmonte hopes these video games will provide immersive environments that will yield richer information than traditional lab settings.

Another benefit promoting natural environments: the games capture information while the subjects play that can be retrieved later. Thus, subjects can install the game suite on laptops taken home and played in familiar surroundings, and info can be retrieved when the laptops return to the lab.

Belmonte also uses EEG measurements in lab settings with the subjects, a technique popularized by Mark Klinger at U. Alabama. (MRI scans are also popular measurement techniques to use on video game players.)

So far, Dr. Belmonte has released two research abstracts at conferences of the International Society of Autism Research, here and here. No doubt journal published, peer reviewed research is forthcoming.

Read the press release from Cornell here for much more information. Check out the Autism Collaborative Wiki here for notes on development and other background information.

Finally, since the software was developed with public grants, it is freely available as a download at AutismCollaborative.org.

References:
Professor uses video games to explore facets of autism. (October 13, 2009). [Online.] Available: http://www.physorg.com/news174650438.html

AARP Gaming Recommendations for Senior Citizens

Last year, the AARP people redesigned their website, and included a gaming section devoted to discussing video games for senior citizens. For Summer 2009, AARP has several games reviewed for older players. Some of the picks are interesting. Hasbro Family Night obviously was included to encourage grandparents to play with grandchildren and other family members, as was an electronic version of the card game classic Uno. The usual assortment of puzzle games were included, no doubt as a nod to research indicating such mind crunching benefits cognition in aging brains. I was a little surprised to see Resident Evil 5 on the list, along with Castle Wolfenstein for the iPhone.  Oh well, “Age is the one discrimination we all grow out of.”

Read the entire list here.

Study: Action Video Games Help Improve Eyesight

News outlets are buzzing about a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience indicating that playing action video games was found to help improve eyesight.

The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is routinely assessed in clinical evaluation of vision and is the primary limiting factor in how well one sees. CSF improvements are typically brought about by correction of the optics of the eye with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. We found that the very act of action video game playing also enhanced contrast sensitivity, providing a complementary route to eyesight improvement.

Therefore, action videogames help to improve eyesight, complimenting glasses, contacts, or surgery. The paper offers further elaboration here:

Expert action video game players (VGPs) were compared to gender- and age-matched non–action game players (NVGPs) in a CSF procedure… Because we were interested in the effect of gaming on everyday eyesight, participants were tested binocularly with their current eye prescription. We were interested in whether vision, which should not be far from optimal under such conditions in young adults, may be further heightened by action video game practice. The VGP group showed enhanced contrast sensitivity as compared with the NVGP group, and this population difference interacted with spatial frequency, indicating a greater group difference at intermediate and higher spatial frequencies than at the lowest spatial frequency… We propose that the changes that we observed after action game playing also reflect cortical plasticity, but for the better in this case.

So, using appropriate video screen activities can apparently “exercise the eyes” as well as reflexes. This has caught the media’s imagination as Google News indicates over 230 articles have reported the study since its online release.

Not surprisingly, Daphne Bavelier over at U. Rochester had a hand in this research. Previous work by Dr. Bavelier in this field is blogged about here.

References:
Li, R., Polat, U., Makous, W., and Bavelier, D. (2009, March 29). Enhancing the contrast sensitivity function through action video game training. Nature Neuroscience. [Online.] Retrieved April 1, 2009 from http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.2296.html

Study: DS Neither Better Nor Worse than Paper for Memory Games

Game researchers are talking about a new study out of France regarding Nintendo’s Brain Training line of mind-stimulating games for the DS. Alain Lieury over at University of Rennes, Brittany, conducted a study of 67 ten year old players. The students were divided into four groups and given pre and post tests on memory and mathematics. Two groups used the Nintendo DS games for seven weeks. Another group used traditional paper puzzles like Soduko while the fourth group was offered no intervention. Adam Sage with The Times Online details the results:

Researchers found that children using the Nintendo DS system failed to show any significant improvement in memory tests. They did do 19 per cent better in mathematics – but so did the pencil-and-paper group, while the fourth group did 18 per cent better. When it came to memorising, the pencil-and-paper group recorded a 33 per cent improvement, while the Nintendo children were 17 per cent worse. In logic tests the Nintendo children registered a 10 per cent improvement, as did the pencil-and-paper group. The children who had no specific training improved 20 per cent.

The variety of results comes as no surprise. Researchers have long known that all things being equal, the media in which content is delivered does not affect test results. For instance, if one student attended a lecture in person while another student watched a video recording of the same lecture and a third student read a transcript of the lecture, then all things being equal the three students will likely offer identical answers when queried on the lecture’s content. The reason for this is, the content is identical despite the different delivery methods (Clark’s delivery truck metaphor).

Therefore, it seems reasonable that the same or similar exercises performed on digital devices will yield similar benefits for students as exercises performed on paper. Other variables play into the equation, however, when technology is used. For instance, a computing device on which to perform the exercises may offer a novelty effect for students, resulting in an initial increase in exercises performed. After the novelty wears off, the number of exercises between groups may level out. On the other hand, a program may be poorly written so that students using it obtain an inaccurate representation of the facts leading to lower scores in the post test.

In short, it does not appear this study either hurts or helps the notion of improving cognitive abilities through the use of handheld games. However, it can be portrayed negatively in the press since it does not fully support the notion. Anyhow, according to Sage’s news report the study will be detailed in Prof. Lieury’s new book, Stimulate Your Neurones, (his spelling) due out soon.

References:
Sage, A. (2009, January 26). Nintendo brain-trainer ‘no better than pencil and paper’. The Times Online. [Online.] Retrieved January 30, 2009 from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article5587314.ece

Full Spectrum Warrior Used to Treat PTSS

We’ve talked a lot about how the military uses video games for training and PR purposes. Here’s an interesting video over at The New Yorker about how a popular military video game is being used to treat post traumatic stress syndrome for soldiers returning from battle. The game is basically a modification of Full Spectrum Warrior, called Virtual Iraq. The basic idea with immersion therapy and other such treatments is to provide repeated exposure to the patient so that the negative reflexes become muted. I was particularly interested to note that smells can be introduced to the regimen, including diesel fumes. The olfactory glands are the biggest in the brain, and can trigger strong reactions and memories. The work is spearheaded by Albert “Skip” Rizzo over at USC.

Will Older Drivers Pay Lower Insurance by Playing Video Games?

Insurance giant Allstate (“Are you in good hands?”) is researching to determine if video games help drivers over 50 drive better. CNN reports:

Under a new pilot program called InSight, Allstate will offer specialized computer games to 100,000 customers in Pennsylvania aged 50 to 75. The games’ developer, San Francisco-based Posit Science, will track the total number of hours these drivers play.

Then the group’s accident rates will be compared to a control group of people who do not play the games.

The article goes on to explain the subjects won’t be playing a driving game, but rather one “designed to reverse age-related cognitive decline and improve visual alertness.”

For example, a game called “Jewel Diver” has players keep track of underwater jewels that pop up on the screen for a moment before they are hidden under fish swimming around. When the fish stop moving, players click on the fish hiding the jewel. It’s like Three Card Monte but without the cheating. Over time, the game gets more complicated as more fish appear on the screen.

It seems drivers with the fewest accidents are aged 50-60, but somewhere after 60 accident rates start to climb again. Allstate thinks using brain training video games might fight cognitive decline in older drivers, thus the experiment.

References:
Drivers may get insurance breaks for playing computer games. (2008, October 1). Retrieved October 9, 2001 from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/10/01/older.drivers.videogames.ap/

Study: HopeLab’s Re-Mission Game Is Effective

The serious gaming community was buzzing today about the publication of results from a major study in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ official journal, showing that HopeLab’s cancer education and encouragement game, Re-Mission, is effective in accomplishing its objectives.

A total of 375 subjects, ages 13-29, were recruited from 34 academic medical centers in North America and Australia in 2004-05. Subjects were screened by language (if they couldn’t communicate in one of the languages Re-Mission uses (English, French, & Spanish), they were screened out), ability to follow directions (if they ignored screeners’ directions, they were screened out), and, “history of seizures as a result of photosensitivity,” (if the flashing lights of the videogame bothered them, they were screened out).

Subjects played the game at least one hour per week for three months. The control group (n = 178 ) played, “A PC version of Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb … because the play structure and controller interface closely resembled that of Re-Mission.” All subjects were given a computer. Control group subjects received a computer with only the Indiana Jones game while the experimental group subjects’ computers had both the Indiana Jones game and Re-Mission.

Here is the conclusion:

The video-game intervention [Re-Mission] significantly improved treatment adherence and indicators of cancer-related self-efficacy and knowledge in adolescents and young adults who were undergoing cancer therapy. The findings support current efforts to develop effective video-game interventions for education and training in health care.

“Treatment adherence” means subjects took their medication. Therefore, the study shows an increased willingness to continue chemo or other treatments by young cancer patients when offered the videogame intervention.

The pilot study took place in San Antonio, so local coverage was heavy. Visit the San Antonio Business Journal and WOAI for more details.