Playing Nintendo Wii 'relieves Parkinson's symptoms'

Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | June 12, 2009

[Schnucki]

The games console, which simulates sport and other physical activities like dancing and guitar hero, could potentially improve symptoms of the degenerative illness, experts say.

As well as helping with coordination and reflexes - Parkinson's impairs motor skills - medics think that the Wii has other benefits as well...such as lifting depression and increasing energy levels in patients.

Doctors at the Medical College of Georgia piloted an eight-week study where they asked 20 Parkinson's sufferers to spend an hour the Wii three times a week for four weeks.

The patients, all in a stage of the disease where both body sides were affected, played two games each of tennis and bowling and one game of boxing  games where bilateral movement, balance and fast pace were needed.

Dr Ben Herz, program director and assistant professor School of Allied Health Sciences Department of Occupational Therapy at the MCG, said that halfway through the study some of the patients were able to beat their opponent in the first round - proving that "Wii-hab" really does work.

"By the middle of the study, we actually had a number of people who could defeat their opponent out in the first round, which amazed us.

"The Wii allows patients to work in a virtual environment that's safe, fun and motivational. The games require visual perception, eye-hand coordination, figure-ground relationships and sequenced movement, so it's a huge treatment tool from an occupational therapy perspective."

It is estimated 45 percent of Parkinson's patients suffer from depression, though Dr. Herz said he suspects the actual figure is much higher - but that the Wii could help that too.

He said exercise and video games independently can increase the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deficient in Parkinson's patients that also helps improve voluntary, functional movements, which sufferers "use or

[Little Pig]

Other studies have shown that playing “first-person shooter” games improves mental ability through the need to remain aware of your position within the game.

And, video games in general can be seen as preparatory to future careers in robotics and surgery, as both are expected to require (and in surgery’s case, already does) the ability to manipulate “remote” tools. Indeed, many remote technologies already use controllers similar to the modern d-pad/joystick a/b/x/y video controller.