Forget the idea that being good at computer games is a sign of a misspent
youth. If millions of Japanese are to be believed, it is the secret to a happy
and healthy old age as millions of them take up brain training, the country’s
latest computer game craze that is due to arrive in Britain by the summer.
Designed by a prominent neuroscientist, Brain Training for Adults, a package of
cerebral workouts aimed at the over-45s by the Japanese game console and
software maker Nintendo, is said to improve mental agility and even slow the
onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Players have to complete puzzles as quickly and accurately as possible,
including reading literary classics aloud, doing simple arithmetic, drawing, and
responding rapidly to deceptively easy teasers using voice-recognition software.
The player’s "brain age" is then determined. A physically fit, yet cerebrally
past-it 30-year-old might be told after his first few attempts that his brain is
into its 50s; a retired woman could, over time, end up with a brain age 20 years
her junior.
The challenge, to reduce one’s brain age, is proving addictive among Japan’s
baby boomers, many of whom say their only contact with game consoles was limited
to bemused glances over the shoulders of grandchildren.
Targeting grey gamers is proving a smart move by Nintendo as software makers try
to wean themselves off the shrinking teen market. About 20% of Japan’s 127
million people are 65 and older, and the number is expected to rise to almost
30% by 2025. More than 3.3m of the games have been sold in Japan since they went
on sale in May, with the second package in the series selling 500,000 units in
the first week.
The first in the English-language series of games, Brain Age, is due for its US
release on April 17, followed by Big Brain Academy in May. The games are
expected to go on sale in Europe in June.
In Britain, Nintendo is reportedly gearing up for a £2m advertising campaign
that will include adverts in Saga magazine, and promotions through Mensa. The
game is expected to feature all of the exercises popular in Japan, as well as
the sudoku number puzzle.
The game’s success has taken even its maker by surprise. Soaring demand is
behind Nintendo’s struggle to produce enough of its new dual-screen DS game
consoles. A new batch is not expected in shops for two weeks.
Brain Age (known in Japan as Brain Training) was part-developed by Ryuta
Kawashima, a 46-year-old professor of neuroscience at Tohoku University, who has
spent years studying the possible cerebral benefits of solving straightforward
mathematical and other problems. His series of No o Kotaeru (brain training)
books, first published in 2003, quickly became bestsellers, and were followed by
a glut of TV shows and board games all extolling the supposed virtues of regular
mental workouts.
Some commentators say that Japan’s elderly people have seized on the fun and
easy-to-use consoles to confront fears that without mental, as well as physical,
well-being, they can expect to spend their twilight years miserable and lonely.
"The idea of training the brain gives us hope," Rika Kayama, a psychiatrist,
told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. "I think many of us are overly frightened of
getting old, or even refuse to admit it."
Prof Kawashima says he has proof that a few minutes every day spent exercising a
particular part of the brain brings improvements. During research he captured
images of various brain functions and found the organ functions better when
confronted with simple calculations than when multi-tasking during a
conventional computer game.
In his learning therapy experiments, he claims to have seen marked improvements
in people with dementia who are set simple mental tasks that require them to use
the prefrontal cortex to restore brain function. "In future, those with
Alzheimer’s disease may not have to take drugs to delay the symptoms if they
keep up with the learning therapy," he said during a recent interview.
Brain Age-equipped consoles are even available in waiting rooms and wards of
several hospitals, including Uchida hospital in Kyoto, which runs a memory loss
clinic for people with dementia. "The game won’t cure dementia, but it’s a good
form of stimulation, especially for old people living alone," Takeshi Kihara, a
neuropsychiatrist at the hospital, told the Associated Press.
Some researchers are sceptical. "There’s not a single study that they can rely
on showing this," said Torkel Klingberg, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm. His research has shown that training "working memory" –
like remembering phone numbers for a short time – can bring benefits. But he
added: "That doesn’t mean every kind of cognitive activity improves the brain in
some kind of general way."
Another problem is whether the training helps with other tasks. "You might get
better at sudoku, but you don’t get better at much else," said Guy Claxton, a
learning expert at Bristol University. "This has kind of been swept under the
carpet by people who sell intelligence-improving devices."
Exercise your mind …
Mozart, sudoku, chess, a good book, a walk, a good sleep – all are claimed to
help turn your brain from jumble to genius, but which ones work?
Memory tasks
Torkel Klingberg and his team at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm gave 50
children five weeks training on either easy or hard "working memory" tasks –
such as memorising phone numbers for short periods. Only the tough training
brought a general improvement in attention and problem solving. But the training
has to be intensive and prolonged, he said.
Routine change
Some researchers suggest tricking your brain with a new routine improves
cognitive abilities, for example by brushing your teeth with the "wrong" hand or
by taking a different route to work. There’s no evidence this actually works. "Is
it enough of a challenge to give you a training effect? That’s a totally open
question," said Prof Klingberg.
Playing the violin
One study of nearly 500 Americans aged over 75 found playing a musical
instrument, reading, board games and dancing were associated with a reduced risk
of dementia. The study recorded each subject’s activities over five years and
associated their leisure time with whether they developed Alzheimer’s and other
forms of dementia. Only regular, intensive activities were beneficial.
Exercise
A stint in the gym can boost your brain as well as biceps. Studies suggest
walking for half an hour three times a week boosts mental abilities such as
abstract reasoning by 15%.
Mozart
One famous study suggested Mozart boosts mental abilities – even rats find their
way around a maze faster. But not all follow-up studies have replicated the
effect. It seems the benefit, if there is one, is due to the relaxing and
stimulating effects of music. People who feel better perform better in mental
tasks.
SOURCE: The Guardian