New Interactive Video Game Could Help Older Adults Strengthen Their Brains and Bodies

An immersive video game could help older adults maintain physical and cognitive health.A smiling dolphin named Bandit is the star of an interactive video game that could help older adults strengthen their brains and bodies.Michelle Carlson, PhD, MA, a professor in Mental Health, is exploring the game ’s viability as a toolto exercise neural networks that control complex cognition and mobility.Players use a remote control and arm movements to guide Bandit through increasingly challenging game levels, from catching fish to battling a shark.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:A Video Game Starring Bandit the Dolphin Aims to Strengthen Aging BrainsBy Jackie PowderIllustrations by Dung HoangThe project, funded by theJohns Hopkins Roybal Center for Translational Research, builds on Carlson ’s earlier work on the aging brain, including the Experience Corps studies,which demonstrated that seniors who tutored elementary school students showed cognitive improvements in the brain regions at greatest risk for age-related degeneration.Carlson and her team adapted the original video game, developed by the Kata design studio in theJohns Hopkins School of Medicine ’s Department of Neurology.“We wanted to create an environment to wash the brain in a simulated world that is fun to be in and physically, cognitively and socially enriching,” says Carlson, core faculty with the Center on Aging and Health.Problems with B...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimers bandit brain care of dementia patients care of memory elder care health strengthen brain video game Source Type: blogs