Dementia cure: 'Brain training' game can help tackle disease
A “BRAIN training” game can improve the memory of people in the earliest stages of dementia.
A 'brain training' game can help improve the memory of people in the early stages of dementia
Cognitive training has shown benefits but packages are usually repetitive and boring, affecting patients’ motivation.
Now Cambridge University researchers have developed Game Show, and tested its effects on cognition and motivation.
Participants play it on an iPad, taking part in a make-believe game show to win gold coins.
A show host encourages the player to maintain and progress beyond their last played level.
Good brain health is as important as good physical health
The results, published in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, show that patients who played the game made around a third fewer errors than those on basic cognitive training.
They also needed fewer trials and improved their memory score by around 40 per cent.
Researchers have developed Game Show which tests effects on cognition and motivation
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The research team said this type of memory was important for many day-to-day activities.
It is used, for example, when remembering where we left our keys in the house or where we parked our car in a multi-story car park.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, co-inventor, said: “Good brain health is as important as good physical health.”