Game Playing Equals Brain Training

Did you ever think that video games may help people with stress or concentration rather than the games being the cause? Well that is exactly what is happening. I watched a video that tells the watcher that a program that was previously used for NASA pilots is now being used in the form of therapy used especially for people diagnosed with ADHD so as not to use medicine that may or may not cause side effects. This therapy is known as biofeedback but since the video is a bit older, today's term is known more specifically as neurotherapy. Children go through therapy and also get to enjoy it.

Research Scientist Dr. Alan Pope thought of using his program for keeping pilots alert for biofeedback using different brain waves. Flight simulations were replaced with video games to add entertainment and make it easier to train the brain with motivation. How does this game therapy train involuntarily functions? ADHD patients can train their brains to have the waves that are associated with focusing. Patients learn to increase their beta waves and decrease their theta waves. When a patient's waves aren't in tune, the therapy addresses those specific problems. So far, do you think children could perform this task easily without games or does it help that they are motivated to participate in the therapy because of the games?

This therapy works with the controller. The child's waves connect with the controller which sends out frequencies while the child plays the game. For example, when playing a racing game, the waves control the speed of the car. The car goes faster when the child actually uses the brain waves he or she needs, and the car goes slower when the child has waves that aren't wanted. This drilling makes the child have the power to change the involuntarily waves that do not allow for concentration. Have your previous thoughts changed about neurotherapy? Think about how people can use games to change what was thought to be uncontrollable. What other methods could this be used for?

Hopefully this may have interested you. If you would like to watch the video then please click here. Also if you are interested in neurotherapy then I have looked up a website to find a local center. Click on neurotherapy.

Let's keep playing

neurofeedbacker. (2007). Nasa video game training for adhd [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26Kk-ueWjQ