While mental health issues are traditionally treated with therapy and/or medication, a California neuroscientist wants to make video games a popular treatment, writes Lindsay Holmes at the Huffington Post.
“Neuroracer”, a video game developed by Adam Gazzaley of the University of California’s Gazzaley Neuroscience Research Lab, was made for this purpose. A preliminary study by the scientist demonstrated that the game, by requiring the player to multitask, can provide enhanced cognitive control in adults, assess cognitive abilities and underlying neural mechanisms, among other findings.
As NPR reports, a California startup called Akili that Gazzaley advises plans to make games like “Neuroracer” a commonly practiced medical treatment. And though video games are thought to have great potential for the treatment of mental health problems, their use has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Though it may take many years and lots of money, Akili is trying to get approval by running clinical trials for its “Project: EVO” platform. Based on science developed by Gazzaley, the platform is the company’s first and it’s currently being being tested on patients with autism, traumatic brain injury, depression and ADHD, according to the company’s website.
THE VIEW OF SCIENTISTS
Some consider video games a potential game-changer for mental health treatment, but their value for medicating or “training” the brain disputed by neuroscientists. Many in the scientific community are of the opinion that the ability of “brain games” to make a person smarter is questionable, citing the limits of the brain’s malleability and its biological function.
“We’re really talking about a biological system,” Randall Engle, a psychology professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology told NPR. “The idea that you can do some little computer game for half an hour a day for 10 days and change that system is ludicrous on the face of it.”
ONE SCIENTIST THINKS SO
Despite his vested interest in Akili, Gazzaley is critical of claims about the games’ capabilities. “I am cautiously optimistic about this,” the scientist said. Like Engle, he was one of the scientists who signed a letter criticizing the the brain games industry for selling products with “little evidence” for their efficacy.
In addition, their use might be welcomed by some psychiatrists. Dr. Petra Steinbuchel, a psychiatrist based in Oakland, told NPR that “Nobody wants to give their child a medication, and many people have a lot of hangups about that.”
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