eLearningworld News from the UK
Researchers at King’s College London have discovered that cognitive training with online games can improve the everyday lives of people that are 60+. The research is based on a study of 7000 people over the age of 50 that were recruited through the BBC, Alzheimer’s Society and the Medical Research Council. During six months some of the participants were encouraged to play games with focus on reasoning and memory skills. The results shows that people that were 60+ made significant improvement in carry out everyday tasks, while 50+ improved their verbal skills and reasoning. The conclusion of the study is that “lifestyle interventions may provide a more realistic opportunity to maintain cognitive function, and potentially reduce the risk of cognitive decline later in life, particularly in the absence of any drug treatments to prevent dementia.” Dr Anne Corbett, King’s College London. Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society explained that: “Online brain training is rapidly growing into a multi-million pound industry and studies like this are vital to help us understand what these games can and cannot do.” Source: King’s College London