The Debate on Brain Age, Kawashima’s game.
As a muscle, the brain needs to be worked in order to grow, strengthen, and be healthy. Nowadays, there is a trend of brain improving among city people. And the trend on the brain development is likely to be games. It is said that the activities to exercise or improve the brain mainly suggested are the games like word puzzles or crosswords. Even video games which are mostly blamed for violence and crime in youth are currently proved to benefits to the brain particularly on intellectual skills.
In Japan, Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, the Japanese neuroscientist, creates the brain training games called ‘Brain Age’ and ‘Nintendo’. The video games created to help exercise the brain and reduce stress as Dr. Kawashima promotes that computer games can boost the ageing brain.
The game is now becoming popular not only in Japan but also in North America, Australia, and Europe. In Australia, the official Brain Training web site features an article claiming Glenn Rees, the National Executive Director for Alzheimer’s Australia indicated that to play the game regularly, the ability of thought and alertness are found increased. This claim is also supported by many authorities of brain research in Australia that the game helps decrease brain aging.
Likewise, the BBC reports that 30 students of the ST Columba’s primary school in Dundee, Scotland were given the game to use as a before and after mathematic experiment by LTS (Learning and Teaching Scotland) for ten weeks. It is found that the students have more mental progress than students in other schools. Derek Robertson from LTS also acknowledged that Dr. Kawashima projects has displayed that a game can help to boost the students’ math skills.
However, there is still a debate on the benefit of games. In 2001, Dr. Kawashima claimed in the book “Jibun no Nou wo Jibun de Sodateru (Develop your own brain)” that gaming decrease prefrontal activation and have bad or no benefit for kid’s brain. He campared the fMRI image of someone doing simple calculations and playing games, and apparently the image of the former showed more activities.
The becoming boom again of the game nowadays and this time among the adults is just because of marketing plan. Go Hirano, the NewWell company (neuroscience for wellness) owner has points out that the mentioned book of Dr. Kawashima in 2001 published by a company that provides a franchised chain of learning classes. Those books actually aimed at students but as they were not successful among students, they appeared in the adult version which was really popular. When seeing adults are interested in brain care and games may be sold for adults as well, they have the new idea for the new market.
In the same year, 2001, there is also a book written by Dr. Akio Mori, a researcher indicated that he found ‘beta-wave’ from game players and that are the same as senior people with dementia. It would be found because of the lack of activities in the prefrontal cortex which means more chance of lower academic performance and crime.
Concerning to the Brain Age video game, the effectiveness of the game in maintaining mental fitness amongst its users remains unclear. Also a lot of studies have found a correlation between level of mental stimulation and risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Nintendo of America has denied to support any scientific claims to the benefits of the game and emphasizing that the games are just in the entertainment business.