Keeping the brain nimble in older adulthood may be as simple as playing a video game, according to researchers who compared the thought-process benefits of crossword puzzles with a computer program that increased users’ mental speed and agility.
“It seems some remodeling of the brain is taking place, but we need to figure out exactly which parts of the brain are undergoing functional improvements,” added Wolinsky, who has no financial stake in the video game used in the research.
The video game centers on quickly identifying a type of vehicle and matching its symbol with the correct road sign among a circular array of possibilities. The player must succeed three out of every four tries to advance to the next level, which speeds up the process and adds more distractions.
Participants who played the video game scored significantly higher than those in the crossword puzzle group on tests involving executive function such as concentration, agile shifting from one mental task to another, and information processing speed. The mental improvement in the video game group ranged from 1.5 to nearly seven years compared to those doing crossword puzzles, the investigators found.
“It’s really interesting to be able to demonstrate that these more challenging kinds of tasks … showed a significant benefit compared to crossword puzzles,” said Galvin, also a professor of neurology and psychiatry. “The nature of the brain is that even later in life, we can still remodel it. This suggests we have an opportunity to make a real impact on older adults in terms of their mental ability.”