io9
I've been trying to figure out ways that I can defy age. I'm turning 30 this year, which means I will have a harder time remembering things, filtering information, and staying in shape. Since I'm not Ray Kurzweil and I can't afford plastic surgery, I'm banking on Brain Age 2, Nintendo's cognitive training software, to keep me away from wrinkles and Alzheimer's. Every day before I go to bed, I do a round of math problems (they give me the numbers; I have to find the sign that will make sense out of them), I play a song a virtual piano with my stylus (yesterday it was The Blue Bells of Scotland), and I count the change from my imaginary purchase. The primary goal is to beat yesterday's me—if I can do that on a fairly consistent basis, maybe that means I'm reversing the aging process, at least cognitively.
I wanted to make sure my regime was legit, so I called up Ryuta Kawashima, the the Tohoku University neuroscientist featured in Brain Age and Brain Age 2, and asked him some questions to make sure I was on track. Here's an excerpt from our interview:
Q: What does "brain training" mean?I already told you guys about my love affair with Tetris as a kid. It made me smarter, more insightful, and more zen than I could have been had I not obsessed over blocks my entire childhood. If a video game can make me a better person, then who's to say that a video game can't make me younger? I think the reason a lot of Asian people look half our age is because we are genetically inclined to play more video games at higher frequencies throughout our formative years and beyond.
A: By performing a cognitive task, you raise your ability to perform that specific task, and you can transfer that ability to other tasks, too. Think of it as enhancing your neural networks.
Q: Can I really get smarter just by playing this game?
A: You can't really measure smartness, but older people with Alzheimer's did improve their condition.
Q: Why should I play this game instead of going out and getting a PhD?
A: Times are tough. We live in a tough world, and people are trying to find ways to ease their souls. There's the theory that the heart is actually in the brain, so by training your brain, you're going to live a happier life. People are just starting to realize this.
Q: Yeah, and games are fun. Do any of the other brain games work?
A: I don't know about the copycats. I'm skeptical.
Q: Do people recognize you on the street?
A: They've started to, yes. It's a bit disconcerting.
Q: I would definitely recognize you if I saw you on the street. My mom, my brother, and I all watch your animated face bounce around on our DS screens every night before we go to bed.
A: Wow. Thanks.
Comments
Well, interesting article, although if you conducted an interview, could we see the whole interview? Did he talk at any greater length about the cognitive processes involved?
And that last statement, about Asians' youthful appearance/video gaming proclivity...um...maybe it was a joke, in which case, hehe. If it wasn't, then that's utter nonsense.
Thanks to Doom, Call of Duty, and Halo, any demons, nazis, or aliens I come across are doomed.
It IS utter nonsense, but them my wife thinks that black people age better than white people...
This concept of keeping the mind active being responsible for arresting the aging process is not entirely accurate, but computer gaming in general...in fact, ANY kind of activity that challenges the mind to respond in a creative and proactive fashion, is going to be an immense help in everything from maintaining a healthy outlook and a positive attitude, to maintaining efficient brain functions and even helping to stave off the effects of Alzheimer's in one's advancing years. This has already been established to be true regarding crossword puzzles - so the greater the challenge, the more beneficial the effects. Kudos, Lisa, for posting this article.
Also, my own 'games of choice' would encompass the puzzle variety of games, as well as role playing games and RTS (real time strategy) games.
all i know is, if i play a game too long (bloody mozaki blocks on zone) i see it when i close my eyes.
where are the games for the rest of my cells?
@CMG's Evil Twin: The worst is when you try to sleep after an extended period of gaming. I've had to play Tetris in my head before just to get to sleep. It's maddening.
@ratlas: At the gym or your local playground.
I "play" Brain Age 1, but I wish they had included a few more features.
The first would be to turn off the incessant chatter of the Dr's character. I just want to get to the task - I know how to do it and don't need to click through 6 screens of worthless info to get to it.
The biggest thing lacking in the game is a practice program to learn/train your handwriting and voice for the number games. Nothing is more frustrating than going through 100 math problems and having it tell you your clearly legible 3 is a 7. The same for the voice math problems. Either learn my voice or allow me to practice to figure out how to say the number such that the DS will recognize it...
I have unfortunately stopped my brain training. I need to pick the games up again and train some more so eventually I can say hello 18 year old me.
There are real ways to fight aging: Eat right, excersise daily, meditate and drink the blood of unborn children. It works.
@Jeff-Minor: Have you tried SoBe's Pomegranate-Fetus Punch? Refreshing!
@rbb: Actually, that was why I stopped "playing" the game. I write my little e's from the bottom up instead of the center out, so it always registered it as something else. Annoyed the piss out of me.
I just use Brain Age for the Sudoku on my 2 hour commute (each way!), to hell and back.
I wonder if online jigsaw puzzles work as well? They are more fun, especially the beautiful ones here on the NatGeo site:
[ngm.nationalgeographic.com]
Brain Age 1's Stroop Test INFURIATED me. It would NOT accept the way I said blue, no matter how I tried to vary the way I spoke.
@DarlingMagpie: I have the same problem with the rock paper scissors test on Brain Age 2!
I found that my gf was actually better at Brain Age than I was. She was able to reduce her brain age to the lowest score in just under a month, where as I did not even come close...she is younger than me so that might be a factor...or maybe I am just slow....or maybe girls are smarter...or maybe all of those are correct......
....man, I can't wait to become a cyborg so I can get the upperhand. ;)
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