SubscribeMany are using Nintendo’s Brain Age game to boost their brain power.
Here are two more powerful tools, however, you can add to your brain
gym:
- Dance Dance Revolution
- In the Groove
[Two videos follow at the end of the article]
Both are music video games that may improve your ability to
concentrate as well as increase your intelligence. The research that
supports this view basically comes from the work done with Synchronized
Metronome Tapping (SMT), a technique that seeks to develop the rhythm and timing circuitry of the brain.
Rhythm and Timing involves multiple brain regions such as the:
- cerebellum
- basal ganglia
- frontal lobes
- thalamus
- motor cortex
- temporal lobes
- sensory cortex
- corpus callosum
Additionally, the crucial neural pathways that interconnect these structures and enable them to communicate with each other are also invoked.
Importantly, several scientific studies have been published on the beneficial effects of SMT; these include:
- A recent exploratory study presented at the learning & Brain
Conference at Harvard in 2005 revealed that SMT treatment resulted in a
7-20% greater growth in reading and math achievement - A study involving 9 to 12 year old boys diagnosed with ADHD showed significant patterns of improvement in attention, coordination, reading and language processing
- A study involving 1500 middle and high school students showed significant increases in reading fluency and math fluency
- A study of 360 9th and 10th graders showed higher scores in
broad reading, reading fluency, and math calculation skills. Math
fluency and attention also improved significantly.
[The above were taken from the Interactive Metronome website, which also features other studies showing its cognitive benefits].
If you’d like to see a video of SMT in action via the Interactive Metronome (a commercial product) click here.
As you can see from the video link above, Interactive metronome
training doesn’t look too exciting or like very much fun. And it costs
about $1500 for 15 sessions. Above 15 sessions, the cost runs $80 per
session.
Now, what I suspect is that games like Dance Dance Revolution and In the Groove pack many of the same brain benefits as the Interactive Metronome and SMT, but would:
- cost much less(home versions are available on the Playstation and Xbox)
- be a heck of a lot more fun (you can practice with real music, colorful graphics, and can play with friends)
- Would probably be even more effective, as you’re not only utilizing
sound for rhythm and timing, but also incorporating visual systems
(i.e. via the ’step arrows’-see videos below).
Interestingly, there’s been a lot of buzz in the media over the past year about how DDR and ITG games are also being used as fun ways to aerobically exercise and lose weight.
Furthermore, over 756 state schools will be installing DDR games in house as part of their fitness programs [Wikipedia].
Additionally, some universities are also allowing students to fulfill their physical education requirements with these machines.
If you’d like to see these games in action, and compare it to SMT, enjoy these videos:
Dance Dance Revolution: (toward the end of the video, this guy’s feet move inhumanly fast)
In the Groove: (in the U.S., this game seems to be overtaking DDR in popularity).
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[...] Visit original post by Dr. R.L. Kaplan [...]
This article is so true. Before I started playing I was kinda chubby, now I’m more athletic and active.
The popularity of this game gave me an idea to start a club at my school. It was a success. DDR and ITG is considered a sport in its own way. Everyone has more fun when it comes to the music and fun routines.
Oh gosh. When I read this, I was rather shocked. I’ve played DDR for a year or two now and I just recently got my own metal pad to get rid of arcade fees. My mom always supported me when I played it because it was actual exercise. Somehow, tapping the x button on a PS2 controller doesn’t seem like exercise to her….
[/sarcasm]
It’s completely believeable. Well… okay, the math and reading part was shocking. But I can understand it. I haven’t noticed a difference because I haven’t been paying attention and looking for differences.
It’s quite addictive, so I think that all schools should include it. I think it’s an excellent way to get exercise, plus now there’s these intelligence boosts. Plus with DDR and ITG (I personally perfer DDR, though) there’s quite possibly something for everyone. There seems to be several songs for each genre of music on the machines, so when someone’s playing it they can pick what they want. They won’t get bored. Even for someone like me who hates dancing and has no confidence in their dancing skills whatsoever, DDR could be fun. I love it. : D
To the comment above; a school club would be exellent. We had one last year in our school for about three meetings, but it started at the end of the year so it didn’t have enough time to take off the ground…
What about games like “Guitar Hero?”
Kyle- I would expect Guitar Hero to have similar effects. The fingers actually take up more brain ‘real estate’ than the legs. However, from what I remember of the game, only 1 hand is really doing the work?
In Guitar Hero both hands are involved to some degree. The other hand is “picking,” so (especially at faster speeds) coordination between the hands is important, and the picking rhythm must match the instructions on-screen.
This article is awesome. A lot of people think that the dancing games are dumb. This helps to show it’s not just about jumping around. Thanks for using my video!!
Hi Amber, thanks for stopping by. It’s been awhile since I checked this post; the text formatting needs to be fixed, will try to take care of shortly.
ok, the article’s formatting has been fixed