An interesting study showed that people who played Nintendo’s flagship game “Super Mario” in Japan were able to experience relief from depression.
A research team from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn in Germany made this claim in a recently published experimental report. The therapeutic effects of games on some diseases have already attracted attention, but there have been rare cases where the connection between world-famous games and depression has been examined, attracting attention.
The research team recruited 46 men and women with depression and began an experiment. They were divided into three groups, A, B and C, and group A was created to enjoy the 3D game “Super Mario Odyssey” released for Nintendo Switch in 2017 for 6 weeks. Group B applied “Cog Pack”, a computer software used for the rehabilitation of cognitive functions. Group C received conventional medications and psychotherapy for depression.
As a result, in group A, the number of patients with severe depressive symptoms decreased by almost half in just 6 weeks. The depression-reducing effect of Group A was higher than that of Groups B and C, and, in particular, their motivation for treatment was significantly higher than that of Group B. However, the improvement predicted by the research group in memory sensory, including vision, was lower than that of group B.
Super Mario Odyssey, a Nintendo game released in 2017 <사진=닌텐도 아메리카 공식 홈페이지>
An official of the experiment said: “It has been confirmed that the specific effects of the game are the improvement of resentment symptoms, the encouragement of treatment motivation and the improvement of visual memory.” He added: “Group A, who played with Mario for 6 weeks, showed symptoms of depression compared to the comparison group.” “The percentage of patients with, and furthermore, their willingness to receive treatment seemed to have improved,” he said.
This official said: “‘Super Mario Odyssey’ requires you to skillfully control Mario to adventure through a complex three-dimensional world. This type of game mobilizes the power of the hippocampus, which controls memory in the brain, and is particularly effective in improving visual memory. “I think it exists,” he said.
Depression is a typical disease that causes memory loss. Patients experience various types of memory loss, including visual memory, and depression is thought to become more severe as a result. Some scholars have hypothesized that reviving various sensory memories, such as visual ones, through games may have an effect on alleviating depression.
Depression not only causes emotional problems but also reduces various sensory memories. <사진=pixabay>
An official of the experiment said: “The number of participants in the study was relatively small, 46, and although the improvement in visual memory was confirmed, the effect was partial.” He added: “It cannot be said that the effect of improving depression in group A is significantly better than that in groups B or C, but the treatment of depression of the game” The possibility has been fully revealed, “he added.
He continued: “So far, research on depression has focused heavily on emotions such as sadness or hopelessness, that is, problems of the mind.” He added: “Depression is accompanied by cognitive dysfunction and, when it worsens, concentration decreases significantly, making it difficult to decide for yourself what to do.” “Therefore, we need to look into this matter carefully,” she stressed.
The claim that games are effective in treating various human diseases is quite old. The University of California, US, announced in October last year the results of research showing that rhythm games improve short-term memory in older adults. Finland’s Aalto University attracted attention in December last year by launching a virtual reality (VR) game that has proven effective in treating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Journalist Lee Yoon-seo lys@sputnik.kr
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