Researchers from the University of Cambridge developed, tested, and published the results of a “brain test” game called Decoder. They claim that Decoder increases user’s ability to pay attention, citing the results of their 75 participant study publish in the Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience journal. An academic from the University of London applauded the research, claiming that it clearly showed a benefit between playing the game and one’s ability to pay attention. This study does beg the question of sustainability: will this level of attentiveness only be possible by playing the game in the future?
Key Takeaways:
- The researchers evaluated the effects of Decoder as being comparable to Ritalin’s impact on ADHD patients.
- One remaining question is how long these impacts last if someone stops playing Decoder.
- The study’s authors developed Decoder with the help of neuroimaging and other forms of neuropsychological research.
“For the study, 75 healthy participants were split into three groups: one that played Decoder, one that played no game at all and another group who played the game Bingo…People who played Decoder for eight hours in one month showed significantly better attention than others who played Bingo or no game at all.”