ON THE WEB ON THE WEB Websites featuring games and tasks intended to aid mental acuity: • Lumosity.com

• Braintrain.com

• Cogmed.com

• Playattention.com

• Sharpbrains.com

• HelpforADD.com Murali Doraiswamy Handout HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER Computer games have been inching their way into the medical world over the last few years and though your local hospital may not become a mini-arcade, experts say patients can expect to see more gaming in medical settings in the years to come, especially brain games. About 350 medical experts, computer gaming professionals and entrepreneurs gathered last week at the fifth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston. For the first time, the conference featured a day of sessions specifically focused on gaming and cognitive health, and included presentations by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology , as well as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. GAME HUNTERS:Check out Brain Age or Personal Trainer: Math games YOUR HEALTH: Fitness games get a workout LOOK QUICK: Action games improve adult vision Topics ranged from the use of gaming to change behavior to helping neurodegenerative disease patients improve balance. "Ten years ago, researchers wouldn't have thought this could happen," said Alvaro Fernandez, CEO and co-founder of Sharp Brains, a San Francisco market research firm that specializes in cognitive science, and that organized the conference. "Now we're seeing that brain games may be able to help with attention, memory and the ability to regulate stress," Fernandez said. Alvaro says products come in many formats: CD-ROMs, iPhone applications, handheld devices, while others, like Wii, are adapted for big screens. One birdwatching game, for example, by Luminosity, aims at improving attention and the ability to process visual information. Medical experts say there is a lot of pilot research looking at how gaming can help patients with an array of illnesses, but more research is needed to understand what kind of games and how much time spent with them will make a difference, says David Rabiner, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University . Another hurdle is that gaming and medicine are such disparate fields, says Murali Doraiswamy, chief of Biological Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, who gave a talk at last week's conference, encouraging attendees to form a consensus group made up of leaders from many sectors to bring gaming for health to the next level. "We're on the cusp of something big. What it needs to galvanize is discussion between academia, government agencies, gaming companies and insurance companies," Doraiswamy says. "There are two streams of thought right now: Do you take something healthy and try to make it fun or something fun and try to make it healthy?" he says. READERS: Have you ever tried computer or video games to improve your cognitive and physical health? How did it work? Share your views and reviews below: Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more