RUTH-ANN STYRON, LRT, BCBEAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CASUAL VIDEO GAMES IN IMPROVING COGNITION IN PEOPLE AGED 50

AND OLDER

Objectives

To learn about the current state of evidence-based research surrounding video games used for health and wellness.

To understand the need for effective interventions for declines in cognition.

To learn about how casual video games could be used to maintain and improve cognition.

To understand the methodology used for this study.

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES

Video Game Research

Anxiety

(Patel et al., 2006)

Reduced anxietyin children beforesurgery, as effectiveas an oral sedative

20% reductionin pain whencompared withstandardanalgesic interventions

Burn Pain

(Sharar et al., 2007)

Changes in cognition associated with Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Diagnostic Tool

(Jimison, Pavel, McKanna & Pavel, 2004)

Improvingpatient carein cancerunits

Training Medical Students

(Fukuchi, Offutt, Sacks, & Mann, 2000).

Cognition

Cognition

Processing speedMental FlexibilityMemoryAttentionInhibitionOrganizingDecision-making

Frontal Lobe

Purpose

Cognition deficits occur as people age.

Effective interventions to maintain and improve cognition are needed.

Current interventions have low compliance and little evidence-based research for effectiveness.

Current Interventions – Serious Games

Playing Brain Age for 4 weekscould lead to improved cognitivefunctions in older adults (Nouchi et al., 2012)

Non-quantitative reviewof cognitive interventionsshows limited support(Vidovich & Almeida, 2011)

Casual Video Games

Casual Video Games

How Video Games Improve Cognition

Brain Plasticity

Task Engagement

Transfer of Training

Flow and Task Engagement

ability challenge

Frustration

Boredom

How Video Games Improve Cognition

Brain Plasticity

Task Engagement

Transfer of Training

RESEARCH DESIGN

Methodology

Population & Sample

Population Individuals in Eastern North Carolina aged fifty years

and older.

Sample included adults over the age of fifty who are able to give informed consent and possess at least a sixth grade reading level.

Incentives

Data Collection Protocol

Psychophysiological Measurements

Measurement of Electrical Brain Activity - Electroencephalography (EEG)

Measurement of Physiological Stress - Heart Rate Variability  (HRV)

Measurement of Breathing Rate – Respiration Strap

Next Steps

Participant RecruitmentData CollectionStatistical AnalysisPublication

References

Patel, A., Schieble, T., Davidson, M., Tran, M. C. J., Schoenberg, C., Delphin, E., & Bennett, H. (2006). Distraction with a hand-held video game reduces pediatric preoperative anxiety. Pediatric Anesthesia, 16, 1019–1027.

Sharar, S., Carrougher, G., Nakamura, D., Hoffman, H., Blough, D., & Patterson, D. (2007). Factors influencing the efficacy of virtual reality distraction analgesia during postburn physical therapy: Preliminary results from 3 ongoing studies. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 88, s43–s49.

References

Jimison, H.B., Pavel, M., McKanna, J. and Pavel, J. (2004). Unobtrusive monitoring of computer interactions to detect cognitive status in elders. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 8(3), 248-252.

Fukuchi, S., Offutt, L., Sacks, J., & Mann, B. (2000). Teaching a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment during surgical clerkship via an interactive board game. The American Journal of Surgery, 179, 337–340.

References

Nouchi, R., Yasuyuki, T., Hikaru, T., Hiroshi, H., Yuko, A., Yayoi, S.,… Ryuta, K. (2012). Brain training game improves executive functions and processing speed in the elderly: A randomized controlled trial. Plos One, 7(1), e29676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029676

Vidovich, M., & Almeida, O. (2011). Cognition-focused interventions for older adults: The state of play. Australasian Psychiatry, 19(4), 313-316. doi: 10.3109/10398562.2011.579973