Mind-controlled computer game may stave off Alzheimer's disease

Chinese researchers are trying to delay the onset of brain diseases with computer games.

Yao Dezhong, deputy to the National People's Congress and professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology, told China Daily during the two sessions that his team has invented a mind-controlled computer game to help stave off Alzheimer's disease.

"Previous studies found that early signs of Alzheimer's disease usually appear at the age of 60, and people above the age of 80 are more likely to get the disease," said Yao.

The cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet well understood. However, it is characterized by the formation of plaques in the patients’ brains. The plaques are dense deposits of protein that build up over time between brain cells.

Scientists have not reached a consensus on whether it is right to remove the plaques or inhibit their formation. But it is the common view that getting the brain "moving" can stave off Alzheimer's disease, Yao said.

Yao said scientists have tried to prevent Alzheimer's with medicine, but to no effect. Some wanted to cure the disease by surgery, but no obvious lesions can be found.

"The best way seems to affect the brain through external stimuli," he said, adding that computer games are good for exercising the intelligence and improvements in the thinking of old people have been confirmed by the medical community.

Instead of the hands, Yao said, the game they invented is controlled by the mind.

To play the game, one wears an electrode cap that turns brain wave into signals, which enables the user to control the computer with their mind to bypass the barriers on the screen.

Yao said stroke patients can also experience rehabilitation by playing the game.