Reflection: "Brain Craze"

  People should spend some time on video games, but not the majority of time. There are some benefits from video games. They can make people think and respond quickly; they keep people interested and entertained. Also, according to the article "Brain Craze," the video game introduced by the Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima can  increase the prefrontal cortex, and it is said to be a booster for people's mental capabilities, especially for the elderly. However, there are also a lot of disadvantages of video games. First, they will decrease people's attention span. When people are accustomed to the short, attention-grabbing scenarios in the games, they will find a hard time concentrating on things that require long-term attention, such as reading. In addition, for this article, the credibility of the video games created by Kawashima for improving mental capabilities is still questionable. A lot of scientists still think  that the reason why the scores for the game can be improved over time, is because people get better at the device itself rather than actually improving mental health. In my opinion, this so called "brain age" game for training brain is merely a fad. The scores only show how well the user has learned the skill to play the game. Like playing a new sport and driving a car, if you have mastered certain techniques, along with a lot of practice, you can do well. Besides the lack of evidence to show that the video game can actually improve mental health, I'm amused by how the game gives a number to indicate brain age. It is as irrational as some Facebook app such as "To Test Your Mental Age." How do they know what a 62-year-old brain is capable to do? How do they know a 20-year-old brain can answer this many questions correctly? This video game can be absolutely be replaced by the traditional and effective way: reading and doing mathematics. In conclusion, people can spend some time playing video games only for entertainment, but should not heavily rely on them.  
  Neuroscience should be considered as an emerging area of medicine, and be given more attention and done more research on it. The nervous system is the commander of all the organ systems in the body. If we understand it better, we might find the cure for many mental diseases such as Alzheimer, schizophrenia. Also, we might know how to use our neurons maximally, instead of the less than 10% for now, so that everyone can be smarter. Add to that, it's probable to extend people's life expectancy by knowing a way to prolong the vitality of the neurons.