Review
Should we integrate video games into home-based rehabilitation therapies for cerebral palsy? Biddess, E. Future Neurology 2012;7 (5) 515-518
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Summary: This article reviews the effectiveness of video games on neuroplasticity. Two articles are cited, each using specialized gaming systems and showed neural changes related to specific neurological goals. You et al.(1) found “cortical reorganization following a 4 week intervention with an 8 year old child with hemiparetic CP who engaged in videogame play for 60 min durations, 5 times a week.” Goloumb et al.(2) showed “improved functional scores and altered cortical activation profiles during a grasp tasks in a study fo three adolescents with hemiplegic CP who participated in videogame play for 30 min per days, 5 days a week over a three month period.”
Other trends noted with video games used in therapeutic environments are that games that allow a latitude of movement variability typically would diminish therapeutic benefits, that games typically offer limited possibilities of movement regimes that fit with therapeutic goals, and that in-game feedback and rewards are not always sufficient to motivate the player to persist to the level of therapeutic benefits.
- You SH, Jang SH, Kim Y, Kwon Y, Barrow I, Hallett M. Cortical reorganization induced by virtual reality therapy in a child with hemiparetic CP. Dev. Med. Child Neurol.47,628–635 (2005).
- Golomb MR, McDonald B, Warden S et al. In-home virtual reality videogame telerehabilitation in adolescents with hemiplegic CP. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil.91,1–7 (2010).