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Some video games are good for older adults' brains
Science Daily ^ | December 6, 2017 | Université de Montréal

Posted on 12/06/2017 7:11:02 PM PST by sparklite2

If you're between 55 and 75 years old, you may want to try playing 3D platform games like Super Mario 64 to stave off mild cognitive impairment and perhaps even prevent Alzheimer's disease.

According to the MRI test results, only the participants in the video-game cohort saw increases in gray matter volume in the hippocampus and cerebellum. Their short-term memory also improved.

The tests also revealed gray matter increases in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum of the participants who took piano lessons, whereas some degree of atrophy was noted in all three areas of the brain among those in the passive control group.

(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Science
KEYWORDS: dsj02
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My recent games were Dark Souls III and Skyrim. Current are Wolfenstein and Call of Duty WWII. What are you doing for your brain today?
1 posted on 12/06/2017 7:11:02 PM PST by sparklite2
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To: sparklite2

The kids left Nancy Drew games on our computer. That makes me hard core!


2 posted on 12/06/2017 7:13:40 PM PST by LYDIAONTARIO
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To: sparklite2

I used to love to play pinball when I was a kid although I could not afford to play a lot.

I wonder if there is a reasonably priced digital version.


3 posted on 12/06/2017 7:13:55 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: sparklite2

I still play Duke Nukem and Shadow Warrior on my PC.


4 posted on 12/06/2017 7:15:16 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (MAGA!!!)
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To: sparklite2

I only try some crossword puzzles and kenken.


5 posted on 12/06/2017 7:17:18 PM PST by SMGFan (Sarah Michelle Gellar is on twitter @SarahMGellar)
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To: sparklite2
This is more my speed.


6 posted on 12/06/2017 7:17:43 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Take Covfefe Ree Zig!)
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To: sparklite2

I have Wolfenstein Collossus on my XBOX ONE X..dang that game, the scene with the killing of the dog is BRUTAL!! Bought the game on sale at Best Buy on Black Friday..Wasnt going to buy it since Bethesda went anti Trump with their “There is only one side” slogan but still the game is fun


7 posted on 12/06/2017 7:18:08 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: sparklite2

EVE Online since 2013. Mind boggling complexity. Amazing beauty. No endgame. No scripts. No one “wins” EVE. You can only participate.


8 posted on 12/06/2017 7:18:13 PM PST by Noumenon ("progressive” describes the progression of a terminal disease.)
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To: yarddog

Pinball. Check out “Pinball Arcade” from Farsight Studios.


9 posted on 12/06/2017 7:18:18 PM PST by edh
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To: sparklite2

Extreme level sudoku puzzles, building a room in the basement, purchasing repairing and re selling various household items off the web, writing (in long hand cursive) letters to various folks.

Cooking dinner, canning various fruits and veggies, designing and manufacturing a catalytic woodstove, cutting and stacking firewood for same, keeping house.

Oh yeah, I work full-time, too.

Who has time for video games?


10 posted on 12/06/2017 7:19:56 PM PST by Don W (When blacks riot, neighbourhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn.)
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To: Larry Lucido

Burgertime. :-). I need to find one to restore.

They made an updated version of that a few years back. Same concept and addictive play but with modern eye candy. It was a pretty good game.


11 posted on 12/06/2017 7:19:57 PM PST by edh
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To: edh

Thanks, I will.


12 posted on 12/06/2017 7:19:59 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: Noumenon

I want to give Eve Online a try sometime. But it’s complexity seems way daunting. Still, even if I never play it, Eve is the kind of thing that I’m glad exists in this world. The massive wars that have broken out and cost serious real life currency boggles the mind.


13 posted on 12/06/2017 7:21:51 PM PST by Ciaphas Cain (I don't give a damn about your feelings. Try to impress me with your convictions.)
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To: sparklite2

Civilization V


14 posted on 12/06/2017 7:26:25 PM PST by XEHRpa
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To: sparklite2

Aces High WW2 combat vs a couple hundred players in one big arena. Fly planes, drive tanks, PT boats, carriers, cruisers. Keeps the brain firing.


15 posted on 12/06/2017 7:30:27 PM PST by redcatcherb412 (Emerged intact.)
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To: sparklite2
I've been playing Overwatch with my 11 year-old son. At 46 it amazes me how slow my reactions are compared to his. Albeit, he has a lot more time to play this first-person shooter, but when I hand the controller over to him during an online match, I'm amazed at what he can do.

As far as a workout for my mind, it's mostly just an exercise in humility.

16 posted on 12/06/2017 7:30:32 PM PST by GOP_Party_Animal
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To: Ciaphas Cain

It’s now possible to play for free and have access to significant skills, resources and ships. Jump in.


17 posted on 12/06/2017 7:31:06 PM PST by Noumenon ("progressive” describes the progression of a terminal disease.)
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To: sparklite2
About 35 years ago I figured out how to rescue the Princess on Super Mario Brothers.The pride I felt was hard to exaggerate.
18 posted on 12/06/2017 7:33:42 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Remember: All Cultures Are Equal!)
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To: All

Chess. Face to face with a real human probably is the best game to play to keep the mind working well.

When I was a kid, my grades would go way up in those periods where my father would play a few games of chess with me during the week. Decades later, after he came down with Alzheimer’s he seemed to do much better overall, when we started playing chess again, although it was sometimes difficult to get him to keep his mind on the game.


19 posted on 12/06/2017 7:35:52 PM PST by LegendHasIt
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To: sparklite2

Any of you guys play World of Tanks or Blitz??


20 posted on 12/06/2017 7:38:57 PM PST by Dr. Pritchett
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