Evaluation of cognitive functions of aged patients using video games

Due to the increase of life expectancy age-related cognitive decline and dementia are a major health issue. Regular evaluation and follow-up must be performed to assess cognitive functions. Regular training (lectures, memory exercises, calculation…) is the best way to preserve cognitive function. Since a few years plenty of video games have been developed to train the brain. Evidence started to emerge about the efficacy of such kind of intervention. However there is a lack of information about the relation between the scores obtained in the games and the cognitive function of the patients. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine if there are correlations between scores obtained from the games and cognitive function. Twenty 18-aged controls and 16 patients with cognitive impairments (MMSE >20) participated in this study. Scores obtained in 8 mini-games were correlated with MMSE and the revised version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Evaluation (ACE-R). Mean correlation between the 8 games and the MMSE is 0.62 and 0.65 for the ACE-R. Those results seems to indicate that cognitive video games could be used to follow evolution of cognitive function of aged people with and without cognitive impairment at least when MMSE is > 20/30.