Investigating multi-player online video games for brain-injured people

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot experiment to test if multi-player online video games could provide a measurable cognitive therapeutic benefit for brain-injured people. Design/methodology/approach – Single-subject research design with n=3 brain-injured participants. Four alternating intervention and non-intervention weeks. Battery of cognitive tests taken at the start of the experiment and at the end of each week. Findings – Widely varying results with large standard deviation overall. Research limitations/implications – The experimental design was heavily reliant on multiple participants logging in at the same time. Server logs showed that this happened relatively rarely. Practical implications – Implications for the next iteration of the experiment are to refine the game design to avoid the need to synchronise the participants. The findings presented may be of practical use to other researchers in this area. Social implications – Acquired brain injury has been described as an epidemic, and is rising, with stroke being a leading cause. Traumatic brain injury (e.g. due to road traffic accident) has increasing prevalence in low-middle income countries. This research aims to provide a form of therapy to people for whom physical access to rehabilitation services is limited. Originality/value – The use of multi-player online video games as rehabilitation is a relatively unexplored area. A positive result in an experiment of this nature would indicate the potential for a new, complimentary form of cognitive therapy for brain-injured people.