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Mind Games II: 3D Games & Depression

Thanks to Tiny Dancer over at gaygamer.net I got to read a very interesting article on how 3D game environments are being used as a measure for depression.  The article is featured on the Science Daily website, and reports on research results published in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry (read the abstract HERE).  Here's the gist of the article:

"Scientists are using a virtual-reality, three-dimensional video game that challenges spatial memory as a new tool for assessing the link between depression and the hippocampus, the brain's memory hub. . . Researchers found that depressed people performed poorly on the video game compared with nondepressed people, suggesting that their hippocampi were not working properly."

Previous studies have linked decreased memory function with depression, associated with a smaller sized hippocampus among depressed individuals.  In order to test their theory, the researchers designed a spatial memory test for a selection of depressed and non-depressed patients, since spatial memory functions in the brain have been shown to reside in the hippocampus. What's interesting here is that they originally did this research using "a two-dimensional memory test traditionally used in such studies" but were unable to see any difference in performance between the two groups being tested.  They decided to rework the study using a three-dimensional virtual-reality game environment, and were able to more accurately measure differences in spatial memory between depressed and non-depressed patients.

Here is the conclusion they reached:

"Thus, the video game is a more revealing measure of spatial memory and a more sensitive measure of hippocampal dysfunction — a more powerful tool for exploring the link between the hippocampus and depression. It may one day be a tool for detecting hippocampus deficits in depressed patients."

From the point of view of the scientists who published these results, I can imagine they are pleased to have worked out a better way to test for depression related spatial memory issues using 3D video games.  From the point of view of a gamer, though, I am curious about the specific role that this type of 3D virtual world interaction could have for us.  Does this mean that there is the possibility that the converse is true - that interacting within 3D virtual game worlds could offer a way to improve the function of the hippocampus and perhaps strengthen spatial memory function among the depressed and non-depressed alike?

Everyone who has ever played a video game knows that the longer you play a game the better you get at it.  This isn't only the case when replaying the same area in a game due to familiarity with the specific landscape, but is also true with unexplored levels as you progress through a game.  If that weren't the case there would be no need for level designers to increase the difficulty of gameplay as the game progresses.  From a completely unscientifically based assumption, I would have to guess that the reason players get better as they go has much to do with the learning that is taking place as they play, and that learning, as far as the brain is concerned, translates into increased connection between neurons creating more and better connections within the brain.

I don't want to speculate how this assumption would expand to include the reduced size of the hippocampus as it correlates with depression, but I can imagine that time spent interacting inside 3D game worlds could provide opportunities to strengthen what spatial memory resources a player has - even if that capacity is limited by depression's affect on the hippocampus.  This makes me want to think, in my overly simplified hypothesis, that even depressed gamers have a chance at improved spatial memory functions compared to their non-gaming peers due to the time they spend interacting inside 3D virtual worlds.

I love that psychologists are interested in using game technology as a tool in their studies, but I think they could reveal some very interesting things when they do so if they also incorporated experienced gamers as part of the test group.  People have been speculating on the possible negative effect that games have on their players since the arcade days, especially when it applies to young children.  Wouldn't it be great to see studies like this one being done that begin with the hypothesis that time spent in 3D game worlds might result in positive effects on the players?  We might be surprised by the results.

Mind Games

I just read an article on Yahoo! News about games targeted at improving mental health.  One specific game, called MindHabits Booster has been designed to help raise self-esteem by training players to focus on positive feedback in the form of smiling faces, picked out from a crowd of frowners.  This from the mindhabits.com website:

"We drew on research showing that certain people have attentional biases toward socially threatening information, so they automatically focus on any sign of rejection or criticism from others, which in turn perpetuates their sensitivity to rejection and heightened tendency to experience social stress."

The concept behind this kind of interactive therapy seems sound and well-researched, but I am wondering about the implementation.  There seems to be something missing from what is being offered by MindHabits Booster, at least from what I can see in the demo version. If psychology based games like these are tested and proved to be effective in having specific and lasting effects on issues such as self-esteem then there is going to be a great deal of interest in this approach to game design.  But if these games are going to be more than the equivalent of having to remember to take your multi-vitamin everyday - as in, I know this is good for me so I have to make myself play this for ten minutes everyday - then the gameplay elements are going to have to be developed with the same kind of scrutiny that have been applied to the psychological elements.  Are we actually going to spend the time playing self-improvement games of any type if they aren't fun and compelling?  Dance Dance Revolution succeeds first as a really fun game, and then as a great source of aerobic exercise.  Do you think that schools would be adding DDR to their curriculum if they were only as much fun as your average aerobic workout tape?

I am particularly interested in seeing the development and appreciation of games as a medium expand beyond the present borders of entertainment, and have no doubt that we will see a great explosion of new applications for interactive game-like environments used for a wide range of "therapies" as time goes on.  I am always interested when I see things like MindHabits Booster because it gives me a sense of watching this medium develop right before my eyes.  I know it is only a matter of time before someone takes a Will Wrightian leap forward with this kind of game idea, and it will be fascinating to see what simple shifts in thinking will lead into altogether new ways of experiencing games.

I have embedded a trial of the game below to give you a chance to try it out (let me know if there are any technical issues with it working from the blog).  Please let me know what you think about this demo, I will be interested to hear your thoughts.

Demo Source: http://www.mindhabits.com