Companies make games to treat ADHD; now they have to test if they work

Transcription

1 Companies make games to treat ADHD; now they have to test if they work By Scientific American, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 642 Instructor Thaddeus Owings (center) helps Nicholas Sanchez work on creating a video game while at an id Tech Camp at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, June 19, Photo: AP/Jaime Henry-White There is great excitement about products that train the brain. Older people fear memory loss. College students want to keep their brains sharp. Yet among leading scientists, there is uncertainty about these products. Last year 70 scientists signed a statement speaking out against computer games that promise better mental ability. They said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the games work. Testing Project EVO At least two companies say they will do large tests of their computer games to see if they are able to treat certain health conditions. They are Akili Interactive Labs in Boston, Massachusetts and Posit Science in San Francisco, California.

2 The companies want their games to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is the government agency that oversees health products. Akili Interactive Labs already did a small study of its video game. It is called Project: EVO. More than 6 million children in the United States suffer from the condition. One-tenth of children worldwide have it. They struggle with paying attention and self-control. Project: EVO is an adventure game. Players tilt their tablet devices to steer a raft down a winding icy river. They tap their screens to catch aliens and other objects. They do all of this while trying to avoid interruptions. As the players improve, the game gets harder. Trying To Strengthen The Brain The game's developers say players must make quick decisions while performing a task with their hands. This helps strengthen parts of the brain that control attention and memory. These are the things that typically become weaker in people suffering from ADHD. Eddie Martucci helped start Akili. He says the hope is that when you play the game for a long time, it will actually change how the brain processes information. Scott Kollins is an expert on the brain at Duke University in North Carolina. He says the main goals of the study were not to see how well the game worked. "We had to make sure the game is safe and well tolerated to see that kids wouldn t get bored and throw the ipad against the wall. Players did not get sick of the game. It also did not make anyone feel sick to their stomachs, like some actions games can do. In addition, the kids with ADHD did a better job paying attention and remembering things. They were also better at controlling themselves. More Questions To Answer Some ADHD experts are not sure the game will work as well in real life. Lawrence Scahill is a professor at Emory University in Georgia. He studies children with ADHD. He says that although the study showed certain promising effects, what that means in the real world is anyone s guess. In the coming months, Akili plans to launch a larger ADHD study. The company is also testing its video game on people with other brain conditions, including bad brain injuries. Posit Science is the second company to come up with a computer training program for ADHD. Its goal is also to help people pay attention.

3 Doctors Want More Proof The company has also completed a small study. Thirty-one children with ADHD took part. The results showed the same small improvements as the kids with ADHD in Akili's study. The improvements were still there six months later. Posit already sells products that claim to improve the brain's abilities. However, the company needs FDA approval if it wants to claim a product treats a certain disease. Doctors who treat ADHD are taking a wait-and-see approach. Lawrence Diller is a children's doctor in California. He is not sure about the computer games but says the companies are doing the right thing by seeking approval from the FDA. They re going about it in a proper fashion, he says.

4 Quiz 1 Which statement supports the idea that not everyone believes games can improve the brain? Last year 70 scientists signed a statement speaking out against computer games that promise better mental ability. He says the hope is that when you play the game for a long time, it will actually change how the brain processes information. The companies want their games to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 2 Read this sentence from the article. Which sentence BEST explains what ADHD is? More than 6 million children in the United States suffer from the condition. They struggle with paying attention and self-control. One-tenth of children worldwide have it. Players did not get sick of the game. 3 Which sentence from the section "Trying To Strengthen The Brain" shows that a game can help people with ADHD? The game's developers say players must make quick decisions while performing a task with their hands. This helps strengthen parts of the brain that control attention and memory. These are the things that typically become weaker in people suffering from ADHD. It also did not make anyone feel sick to their stomachs, like some actions games can do.

5 4 Read the sentence below. College students want to keep their brains sharp. Which sentence uses "sharp" in the same way as the above sentence? Many of the piano's notes were sharp, so we had it tuned. A sharp knife will make it easier to cut the fruit. The sharp student noticed the differences in the pictures. The bus made a sharp turn to miss the tree in the road.

6 Answer Key 1 Which statement supports the idea that not everyone believes games can improve the brain? Last year 70 scientists signed a statement speaking out against computer games that promise better mental ability. He says the hope is that when you play the game for a long time, it will actually change how the brain processes information. The companies want their games to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 2 Read this sentence from the article. Which sentence BEST explains what ADHD is? More than 6 million children in the United States suffer from the condition. They struggle with paying attention and self-control. One-tenth of children worldwide have it. Players did not get sick of the game. 3 Which sentence from the section "Trying To Strengthen The Brain" shows that a game can help people with ADHD? The game's developers say players must make quick decisions while performing a task with their hands. This helps strengthen parts of the brain that control attention and memory. These are the things that typically become weaker in people suffering from ADHD. It also did not make anyone feel sick to their stomachs, like some actions games can do.

7 4 Read the sentence below. College students want to keep their brains sharp. Which sentence uses "sharp" in the same way as the above sentence? Many of the piano's notes were sharp, so we had it tuned. A sharp knife will make it easier to cut the fruit. The sharp student noticed the differences in the pictures. The bus made a sharp turn to miss the tree in the road.