The use of online games can promote brain plasticity, and have great potential as a therapeutic tool, for example, in the treatment of anxiety disorders. That is the conclusion of a recently published interdisciplinary perspective involving Dr. Radwa Khalil, neurobiologist at Constructor University.
In the review, the researchers investigate the connection between games, creativity, and neuroplasticity, i.e., its ability to learn and form new connections between nerve cells through training. "In creative therapy, the use of games to improve patients' health is often overlooked," says Radwa Khalil, "but we are convinced of their potentials, which needs more empirical considerations."
According to the researchers, games can activate and improve imagination and other cognitive processes associated with creativity. This refers to the executive functions of the brain, for example, its ability to control attention, memory, decisions or self-control. Cognitive abilities could be improved through the use of games, which can be particularly beneficial in therapeutic treatment for people with anxiety or stress symptoms.
"More attention should be paid to the therapeutic uses of games," says Radwan Khalil, who is in favor of further research in this area. "Evidence-based certainty is needed so that games can be used more effectively in therapies."
The study "The light side of gaming: creativity and brain plasticity" has been published in the journal "Frontiers in Human Neuroscience". In addition to Radwa Khalil, the authors are Dr Christiane Gnater-Gast, Professor of Art Therapy at Nürtingen-Geislingen University; Dr Marc Schipper, Professor of Psychology at Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg; Manouchehr Shamsrizi and Dr Christian Stein, Gamelab. Berlin.
Questions answered by:
Dr. Radwa Khalil | Neurobiologist
rkhalil@constructor.university | Tel.: +49 421 200-3430