“In order to attain long-term retention and transfer, plasticity is key”
“and loss of functionality of the frontostriatal dopamine system”
(PS: no research is yet done on the release of dopamine while playing game, in the context of this loss!)
Reading on research done on braintraining and braintrain-gaming, I only recognise the urgent need for better development of games, and better game research. Games are complex systems, therefor hard to use as tool for research, and as research, since the rich combination of many features and contexts. A game being played can differ depending on the player, the setting, the scenery, the context…. therefor not easy to exclude conditions which effect the results of the game. But still there are so many oportunaties to progress in this area… how we can maximise our brains in usage and functions, how we can learn from our brains, with games or via games is in my perspective the most intriguing path to do this research ; )
Ps2: social interaction in braintraining might also have a big effect for mental health…. not researched yet, as far as I can find so far.
My conclusion: more (game)research is needed!
Read the article: Brain training in progress: a review of trainability in healthy seniors
Training Executive Functions, Shifting, Task switching, Multitasking, Updating, Inhibition, Decision-Making, Novelty, Memory, Strategies