Playing 3-D video games may help stop memory loss

Playing three dimensional video games may protect against the dulling of memory that comes with age, a study has found.

By The Newsroom Wednesday, 9th December 2015, 11:54 am

A screenshot from Super Mario 3D World, which study volunteers played

Scientists believe 3D gaming could provide a novel treatment for people affected by age-related memory loss or dementia.

Student volunteers playing the game Super Mario 3D World boosted their performance in memory tests by around 12 per cent – roughly the amount it normally decreases by between the ages of 45 and 70.

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But playing a less involving two dimensional game, Angry Birds did not have the same beneficial effect.

3D games are thought to stimulate the hippocampus, a brain region vital to memory that shrinks with age and is damaged by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.