Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Cognitive Science

Playing Super Mario video game can improve executive functioning in older adults

by Christian Rigg
March 29, 2020
in Cognitive Science
(Photo credit: Hope For Gorilla)

(Photo credit: Hope For Gorilla)

[Follow PsyPost on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The old-age population is growing quickly; people are living longer lives, but the same mental and cognitive deficits occur at traditional times. This presents many opportunities for research that can help lead to healthier old age. To this end, a study published in Experimental Brain Research has examined how playing 3D-platform video games can increase executive function in older adults.

Executive function refers to a suite of cognitive processes that regulate behaviors used in goal-attainment: controlling attention, inhibiting cognition, working memory, etc. Used in combination, they result in higher cognitive functions like reasoning and problem solving. As humans age, these capabilities start to decline, accompanied by reduced grey matter in associated brain regions.

In the current study, researchers tested the impact of 3D-platform video gaming on an antisaccade task, which tests the ability of participants to properly ignore a stimulus (inhibition of the reflexive saccade) and perform a saccade, or rapid eye movement, in the opposite direction (execution of the voluntary saccade). Decreased performance is known to correlate with reduced executive function, and indicates loss of inhibitory control, a key process in maintaining attention.

Noting the fact that games like Super Mario 64 require players to inhibit distractions to achieve specific goals (like ignoring coins to evade enemies), the study’s authors hypothesized it would correlate with improved antisaccade test scores and increased grey matter in the Frontal Eye Fields (FEF), a region of the brain responsible for directing eye movement.

Researchers recruited 33 participants aged 55 to 75, divided into three groups: one receiving training in Super Mario 65, one that received piano lessons, and one with no intervention. When tested again, subjects in the game training group demonstrated significant improvements in inhibition of reflexive saccades and, as predicted, increases in the right FEF. The results of the study suggest that frontal inhibitory processes, a key component of executive function, can be improved by training with 3D-platform games.

One limitation of the study, which has important consequences for real-world implementation, was that the video-game group experienced a greater number of drop-outs. The authors attribute this to its greater difficulty. As a result, they highlight the need for video games better suited to older adults.

As life expectancy increases, we will have greater need for regular cognitive upkeep to maintain important functions, a worthwhile goal to which studies like this contribute.

The study, “Playing Super Mario increases oculomotor inhibition and frontal eye field grey matter in older adults“, was authored by Moussa Diarra, Benjamin Rich Zendel, Jessica Benady-Chorney, Caroll-Ann Blanchette, Franco Lepore, Isabelle Peretz, Sylvie Belleville, and Greg L. West.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin1Send
Previous Post

Death of a close friend affects people more than previously believed

Next Post

People with low psychological well-being more likely to report positive outcomes after psychedelic use

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Brain stimulation technique combined with cognitive training reduces ADHD symptoms in children

2016 election study uncovers surprising unconscious memory shifts among voters

Childhood maltreatment among depressed adults linked to difficulty in interpreting facial emotions

Mindfulness study: Practicing self-compassion reduces impulse buying

New study highlights psilocybin’s promise for major depressive disorder treatment

RECENT

Mindfulness meditation might help people manage emotional distractions, new study suggests

Infidelity motivated by sexual dissatisfaction may lead to stronger negative emotions than infidelity due to emotional dissatisfaction

Childhood maltreatment among depressed adults linked to difficulty in interpreting facial emotions

New psychological insights: Unraveling the dating app experiences of incels

2016 election study uncovers surprising unconscious memory shifts among voters

New study highlights psilocybin’s promise for major depressive disorder treatment

Neuroimaging study reveals hate speech dulls brain’s empathy responses

Most Americans think that other people view pornography more often than they do, study finds

Currently Playing

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Narcissism
Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Mental Health
New study provides insight into the psychological core of dark personality traits

Four distinct trajectories of psychopathic traits identified among youth in the legal system

Psychopathy
Social working memory abnormalities may be a neurocognitive mechanism underlying poorer social connection in PTSD

Exposure to wood smoke leads to complex and long-lasting neuroinflammatory and neurometabolomic alterations

Mental Health
People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

Business
People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

Mental Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist