Research reveals that Super Mario 64 helps prevent Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's is a disease that affects many people around the world and, unfortunately, still has no cure. Now, researchers at the University of Montreal have discovered that 3D platform games are able to activate different areas of the brain in older people, especially in the hippocampus, the place responsible for memories.

For the study, 33 people were evaluated in 3 groups of 11, aged between 55 and 75 years. The first group did nothing, the second learned to play the piano on the computer, and the third had to play Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes over six months.

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The group that played piano showed some brain benefits, however, those who played Mario 64 had positive results in the gray matter of the hippocampus, this demonstrates that the game can be effective in helping people with Alzheimer's disease.

"We found that Super Mario 64 increases gray matter in the hippocampus, along with another structure in the cerebellum, which is very important for motor coordination," Gregory West, a professor in the department of psychology, told Digital Trends.

West also believes that 3D platform games are effective as they encourage the exploration of environments, which contributes to memorization. So people need to make an interpretation of the environment they're playing in, and that provides hippocampal activity.

Thus, not only is Super Mario 64 useful in this regard, but other games with the same purpose can be effective in brain activities.