New research from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (and recently reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) reveals that puzzle-based video games that exercise working memory can improve abstract reasoning and problem solving skills in children. The research also revealed that these improvements have a residual affect for at least three months after participants stopped playing the games.
Psychologist Susanne M. Jaeggi, PhD. and a team of researchers were trying to determine what effects video games might have on the brain. The study used 62 elementary and middle school children; 32 were trained for fifteen minutes five times a week for a month using a "computerized task" while the other 30 practiced general knowledge and vocabulary tasks. The video games tested working memory, or the brain's ability to hold information while solving a problem.
The working memory games required subjects to remember a sequence of positions on a grid, recognize the pattern and respond to questions. Each successfully completed sequence was followed by a longer one. The games required concentration for over a minute and participants had to be able to block out distractions while concentrating on the single task.
The researchers found that the children who had been involved in the brain-training games had what they called "clear improvements in abstract reasoning and problem solving." These improvements persisted for three months after the training stopped.
"We propose that future research should not investigate whether cognitive training works, but rather should determine what training regimens and what training conditions result in the best transfer effects, investigate the underlying neural and cognitive mechanisms, and finally, investigate for whom cognitive training is most useful."
Children with good working memory have an easier time remembering teacher instructions, find focusing on classroom tasks easier, and are not easily distracted, according to the authors.
Source: Medical News Today
