Staying Sharp: Electronic Games and Exercises to Fight Memory Loss - Memory Loss

You know what exercise does for your body: It strengthens your muscles and increases your flexibility, making you better able to handle physical challenges. But did you know that "mental calisthenics," otherwise known as brain games or memory games, can do the same for your mind by slowing down age-related memory loss?

A study of 2,832 seniors (average age 73.6 years old) reported in a 2006 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that regular memory-training exercises reduced functional decline and improved cognitive ability up to five years after the initiation of the training. This supported an earlier study reported in Neurology that concluded that frequent participation in brain-stimulating activities can reduce cognitive decline in older persons.

Fortunately, you don't have to engage in any heavy lifting to build more "brain muscle" and keep memory loss at bay. There are countless easy and enjoyable activities that can help protect and build brainpower, such as doing daily crossword or Sudoku puzzles or learning to speak a foreign language. See Brain Exercises to Boost Memory and Mental Fitness for more tips.

However, if you'd like to try a more technologically advanced option, consider investing a few dollars in something that's specially designed to strengthen your brain. There are several types of electronic games that challenge your brain, and they are available for computers, video-game systems like the Wii, handheld video-game platforms like the Nintendo DS, and through subscription-based Web sites.

Positive Effects of Software-Based Brain Games
While the effectiveness of software-based brain games has not yet been studied or proven in a clinical environment, studies have shown that we have a lifelong ability to learn. According to Eduardo Locatelli, MD, MPH, neurologist and founder/medical director of the Florida Neuroscience Center, "Recent scientific research has shown that the brain, at all ages, has significant potential to acquire new knowledge and skills with proper training and exercise. By challenging your brain with new activities or games, you strengthen such cognitive skills as the ability to remember something, solve a problem, or use a particular strategy to win a game. Playing games that are challenging takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to utilize unused areas of your brain. With memory, you either use it or lose it. I like to say, 'Use it and keep it. Challenge it and gain,' when it comes to the brain and memory."

Patricia Belchior, the lead investigator in a University of Florida study of adults age 65 and older, reported that action video games significantly improved participants' ability to remain attentive. "In addition to our work, there is a growing body of research that supports, in controlled trials, the positive mental benefits of playing certain video games," said Belchior. "Like different types of physical exercise, no single mental exercise is 'all-purpose.' For instance, crossword puzzles, while fun and challenging, emphasize skills that continue to grow throughout one's lifespan (verbal abilities). Video games, on the other hand, tend to emphasize skills that are vulnerable to aging (speed, attention, memory, etc.). Thus, video games may offer the opportunity to get 'exercise' in areas that need it most. In addition, video games are novel (at least for most older adults), and research suggests that this newness is an important ingredient for successful cognitive intervention. You need to challenge the system to experience gain."

Evaluating Electronic Brain Games
When selecting a game to challenge your brain, Dr. Locatelli recommends seeing how many processes will be engaged at one time. "Look for games that challenge the five senses: hearing, feel, taste, smell, and sight. Games that require problem solving are also ideal." Here are six programs that may be worth the investment:

HAPPYneuron online brain games
Cost: Subscriptions are available for $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year.

Claim: HAPPYneuron is founded by scientists and neuropsychologists, who based the games on their research. Included in this group is Dr. Bernard Croisile, a respected French neurologist and neuroscientist, and his colleague and coauthor Dr. Michel Noir, a cognitive psychologist. According to Iowa geriatrician Robert Bender, MD, who conducted a CDC-funded pilot study that included specific cognitive training with HAPPYneuron games, "mental exercise programs like HAPPYneuron have enormous potential to raise the probabilities of remaining sharp as we age."

Description: HAPPYneuron online brain games feature over 34 games, with more than 3,000 hours of game play. The games exercise all five cognitive areas of the brain, including memory, attention, language, visual/spatial processing, and overall executive functioning. Examples of two popular games include "The Towers of Hanoi" in which a player must rebuild a tower of rings by making strategic moves, and "An American in Paris," which asks players to memorize the placement of famous monuments across the globe.