Study: Computer brain games useless

Praxius

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Dec 18, 2007
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Just another stupid idea - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

LONDON — People playing computer games to train their brains might as well be playing Super Mario, new research suggests.

In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve cognitive skills didn’t get smarter.

Researchers recruited participants from viewers of the BBC’s science show Bang Goes the Theory. More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week.

They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn’t play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of IQ test before and after the experiment.

Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn’t do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher.

The study was paid for by the BBC and published online Tuesday by the journal Nature.

"If you’re (playing these games) because they’re fun, that’s absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, assistant director of the Cognition and Brain Sciences unit at Britain’s Medical Research Council, the study’s lead author. "But if you’re expecting (these games) to improve your IQ, our data suggests this isn’t the case," he said Tuesday.

One maker of brain games said the BBC study did not apply to its products. Steve Aldrich, CEO of Posit Science, said the company’s games, some funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, have been proven to boost brain power.

"Their conclusion would be like saying, "I cannot run a mile in under four minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so,’ " Aldrich said.

Posit Science has published research in journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing their games improved memory in older people.

Computer games available online and marketed by companies like Nintendo that supposedly enhance memory, reasoning and other cognitive skills are played by millions of people worldwide, though few studies have examined if the games work.

"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois.

Do you agree with the report towards these types of games?

Have you had any personal experience in using any of these games?
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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I don't know anyone who has an expectation of becoming smarter due to playing video games nor should they even if it's sold under the guise of being an IQ builder etc.
 

GreenFish66

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Apr 16, 2008
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Doing something is better than doing nothing ...Brain games do work to stimulate the brain......Math Game? ..reading Game?..Quiz game? ..Video games ..All get the brain working ...Is better than drewling over the idiot box...Absorbing all the useless info it spits out nowadays ..With the exception of educational programing ..Like discovery ...national geographic ....History ...etc... I hardly even watch the boob tube anymore ...Computer is so much more stimulating for the brain ..

Is your brain useless ? ...Depends on how you choose to use it ...Brain Games can help ..