Games in Stroke Recovery

Games have the potential to be used in various areas of education and learning, from Mathblaster teaching grade school level to subliminal conditioning of adult players. However, one of the most interesting and useful applications of games is stroke recovery.

There are various ongoing studies, as well as some preliminary studies that have been completed, that suggest that the playing of games can be an extremely useful tool in helping stroke victims recovers brain function. In stroke victims, parts of the brain die off, leaving the victims with impaired abilities like aphasia (loss of language skills, like the ability to translate thoughts to words, or to understand written or spoken language), paralysis (often specific to one side of the body), and very often loss of fine motor control. Treatments for stroke involve providing stimulus to the brain through physical therapy, repeating simple tasks to rebuild brain pathways, and more recently, playing video games.

Playing games with flashcards to recover lost vocabulary have been part of stroke recovery therapies for some time [1], but not until recently have games been used to help stroke victims stimulate their minds and bodies to aid in recovery [2]. One of the biggest obstacles that stroke victims encounter is the sheer difficulty of retraining basic skills and language; it’s so daunting a task that many patients get frustrated and give up. Video games are one way that doctors have found keeps patients interested and motivated in recovery by providing an easy system of reward. Games are also very good at providing variable stimulus that can be easily targeted at specific areas that need recovery. Video games for therapy can also increase the player’s medical knowledge that is specific to their particular condition.

The medical application of video games goes further than just stroke recovery. Games have been used to recondition people with various phobias, and aspects of video game design have been used in creating simulations that help with medical training, so that procedures can be practiced without endangering a patient. The field of medicine shows great potential for educational and learning games.