Send an avatar surfing down an icy river by tilting the computer tablet from side to side. Grab bluebirds (but not red birds) each time they appear on the screen by tapping a thumb on the surface. Zoom over flashing power stations‚ but steer clear of the riverbanks.
These are the challenges of Project: EVO‚ a computer programme created to improve attention and reduce impulsivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Its creators plan to conduct a large clinical trial of the product early next year.
After that‚ they intend to seek American Food and Drug Administration approval for physicians to prescribe it to treat ADHD‚ much as they do medications. Many parents worry that fast-paced video games are actually aggravating their children’s ADHD and, in fact‚ some research suggests that attention problems may increase with the number of hours spent in front of computer and television screens.
But proponents of so-called brain-training programmes marketed to combat ADHD‚ including Cogmed and Activate‚ argue research shows that with the right sorts of challenges and rewards‚ limited sessions of game-playing can actually help.
A pilot study of Project: EVO‚ the results of which were released in late October at the annual conference of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry‚ found that children with ADHD who played the game for half-an-hour a day‚ five times a week for four weeks‚ significantly improved on several tests of attention.
The study involved 80 children‚ half of who had a diagnosis of ADHD. The researchers found no significant improvements in the children without ADHD.
Project: EVO is the creation of a team including Adam Gazzaley‚ a neuroscientist at the University of California‚ San Francisco‚ and is modelled on NeuroRacer‚ an earlier invention that the team created to improve cognitive skills in old age.
A study published in the journal Nature found that playing the game helped ageing adults improve their focus.
A 2013 analysis of 25 studies on brain-training programs for ADHD said the training had a “nonsignificant or negligible” effect on academic functioning.
The US Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on claims made by the brain-training industry.
“Companies must back up their brain-training claims with reliable science‚” says Jessica Rich‚ the commission’s director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Founders of Akili and of C8 Sciences‚ which makes Activate‚ contend that they are doing just that‚ with a new generation of more sophisticated products.
The theory behind the brain-training industry is that people can improve cognitive functions through repetitive‚ progressively difficult exercises.
Pharmaceutical firms are paying attention. Shire‚ which manufactures Adderall‚ was an early investor in Akili and helped design the pilot study. — New York Times
New game could help kids with ADHD
These are the challenges of Project: EVO‚ a computer programme created to improve attention and reduce impulsivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Its creators plan to conduct a large clinical trial of the product early next year.
After that‚ they intend to seek American Food and Drug Administration approval for physicians to prescribe it to treat ADHD‚ much as they do medications. Many parents worry that fast-paced video games are actually aggravating their children’s ADHD and, in fact‚ some research suggests that attention problems may increase with the number of hours spent in front of computer and television screens.
But proponents of so-called brain-training programmes marketed to combat ADHD‚ including Cogmed and Activate‚ argue research shows that with the right sorts of challenges and rewards‚ limited sessions of game-playing can actually help.
A pilot study of Project: EVO‚ the results of which were released in late October at the annual conference of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry‚ found that children with ADHD who played the game for half-an-hour a day‚ five times a week for four weeks‚ significantly improved on several tests of attention.
The study involved 80 children‚ half of who had a diagnosis of ADHD. The researchers found no significant improvements in the children without ADHD.
Project: EVO is the creation of a team including Adam Gazzaley‚ a neuroscientist at the University of California‚ San Francisco‚ and is modelled on NeuroRacer‚ an earlier invention that the team created to improve cognitive skills in old age.
A study published in the journal Nature found that playing the game helped ageing adults improve their focus.
A 2013 analysis of 25 studies on brain-training programs for ADHD said the training had a “nonsignificant or negligible” effect on academic functioning.
The US Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on claims made by the brain-training industry.
“Companies must back up their brain-training claims with reliable science‚” says Jessica Rich‚ the commission’s director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Founders of Akili and of C8 Sciences‚ which makes Activate‚ contend that they are doing just that‚ with a new generation of more sophisticated products.
The theory behind the brain-training industry is that people can improve cognitive functions through repetitive‚ progressively difficult exercises.
Pharmaceutical firms are paying attention. Shire‚ which manufactures Adderall‚ was an early investor in Akili and helped design the pilot study. — New York Times
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