Can gaming help rehabilitate patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)?

An innovative research study published in Cogent Psychology has found that first person shooter computer games, such as Medal of Honor, can help rehabilitate patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries. This type of injury can leave patients with brain damage unable to carry out basic day to day tasks or return to work, because they have problems processing basic information. In this new paper, Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr Alexandra Vakili from Macquarie University, Australia, details a pilot study on patients with this type of injury and how gaming can help with their everyday life. Participants were trained on a first person shooter game while they were taught skills and strategies based on the problems presented in the game, to see if the program would help improve their attention and ability to process information. Crucially, participants not only got better at the game, but were able to carry out some everyday tasks faster and more successfully than the control group.

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