Study: Video Games Can Help Fight Depression in Older Adults

Research at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Medicine suggests video games may help older adults combat depression, reports the Hartford Courant . "With only gaming added to their treatment plan, and no other changes, these study subjects have already experienced a statistically significant reduction in their depression over just six weeks," observed UConn Center on Aging Professor Kevin Manning. The U.S. National Institutes of Health has just allocated a grant to Manning via its young faculty career-development program, to understand whether aggressive computerized brain training can improve mood, cognition, and brain activation in older adults with depression. The clinical trial study is applying functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor how the brain responds to gaming. "Cognitive stimulation through computerized video games might be a new alternative way to treat depression in older adults and an additional way for us to help our older subjects improve their cognitive fitness," Manning said.