A surprising study result that "Super Mario 64" helps protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease

byRobert Norris

NINTENDO 64It appeared in 1996 as a game for "Super Mario 64But whatAlzheimer's diseaseThe research results that are useful for the treatment of cancer are published.

Playing Super Mario 64 increased hippocampal gray matter in older adults
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187779

Good news: 'Super Mario 64' could help save your brain from Alzheimer's
https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/alzheimers-mario-64/

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, and it is said that 60 to 80% of cases of dementia are due to Alzheimer's disease. Medication is the most orthodox treatment for such Alzheimer's disease, but side effects of drugs are considered, so better treatment methods have been sought. And, the latest research found a method of treating Alzheimer's disease without worrying about side effects of medicine, but that method was to play Nintendo 64 which is a Nintendo game machine that appeared in the 1990's was.

byDigital Game Museum

Researchers at the University of Montreal examined the impact of 3D games on the brains of the elderly in the latest survey. Particularly in the survey it is present in a part of the brain region called hippocampusgray matterWe focused attention on the change. This is because the gray matter is the nerve tissue used for memory building and the disappearance of hippocampal gray matter is related to the onset of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease.

In the study, 33 subjects between 55 and 75 years old were divided into three groups, group A who does nothing, group B which plays the piano on computer, and group C which plays super mario 64 in computer. Group C played Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes per day and continued playing for 6 months. Six months after starting the experiment, the brains of the entire group were scanned and investigated. As a result, the gray matter of the hippocampus was the largest increase in Group C. Although improvement was seen in Group B compared to Group A, the gray matter of the hippocampus did not increase.

"What we discovered is that training using Super Mario 64 results in an increase in hippocampal gray matter and gray matter also increases in the cerebellum, which plays an important role for factors such as motor regulation and balance "Gregory West said Professor of Psychology, who leads the research.

byWells Baum

However, it does not mean that it helps to increase the gray matter quality of any hippocampus, for example,FPSOther studies have revealed that hippocampal gray matter is reduced.

Mr. West said that the effect greatly differs for each genre or title of the game, "This is greatly related to the design of the game and what the game requires for the player. (Like Super Mario 64) 3D game We are hypothesizing that we will explore new environments for people and memorize it and that such game design will have a positive impact on the gray matter of the hippocampus. When you play, the player creates a cognitive map and uses it as a map to move through the game.This act promotes the activity of the hippocampus from past studies of humans and rodents I know that it is possible. "