Videogames - could they be good for the brain?
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Alex Wilson |
Sony PlayStations are set to be used in a research project into the cognitive rehabilitation of people with a brain injury.
The project, to be undertaken by Masters of Clinical Neuropsychology and PhD student Alex Wilson, will be conducted at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney.
Wilson will be working with young males who have suffered a moderate brain injury. Brain injury is defined by how long a patient is in post traumatic amnesia. For a person with a moderate injury it would be from one to 24 hours. While those with a mild injury would be expected to fully recover there is some residual deficit for those with a moderate injury.
"Attention is a real problem after a brain injury," explains Wilson. "Attention lies at the bottom of the hierarchy of cognition. So if you have problems with attention you are going to have problems with memory because you are not laying down those memories. That is why we want to rehabilitate those basic functions first and then move further up the hierarchy.
"Research has shown that video games can improve the attention of normal people but it hasn't yet been shown in a brain injury population. I am hoping that using video games will help my subjects improve their attention."
Sony has sponsored the research project and has already provided 10 PlayStations. They will also supply the video games that Wilson decides will best suit her subjects.
Motivation for research
By the third year of her undergraduate degree Wilson had decided she wanted to gain entry into the Masters program and began undertaking volunteer work to gain some valuable experience. While at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre in Ryde she met a brain injury patient who inspired her path of research.
"I met an incredible guy, who is the same age as me, was at university before his accident and now has a severe brain injury," Wilson says. "He totally inspired me to get involved and try to make things better for brain injury patients. When they come through the system rehabilitation is focused on physiotherapy which is really important but often they go home without any cognitive therapy."
Two years down the track Wilson's friend and inspiration is still an inpatient at the Royal Rehabilitation Centre. "Talking to him and his family I thought it would be really good to find a cost effective cognitive behaviour therapy that could realistically go into rehab centres without the need for a neuropsychologist on site all the time."
Wilson is looking to commence research from January 2008. Forty subjects will take part in her first experiment all whom will undergo some form of treatment. Half of this group will go into a training program using the PlayStations.
For further information contact Wilson's supervisors Professor Max Coltheart max.coltheart@mq.edu.au or Dr Robyn Langdon robyn.langdon@mq.edu.au