The blinking images of a video game offer new hope for children suffering from attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , according to a recent study led by Notre Dame psychologist
Brad Gibson. The associate professor and his colleagues have confirmed an earlier Swedish
study that memory exercises in the form of computer games can mitigate ADHD symptoms in
children.
Gibson and his team followed the progress of 12 students age 12 to 14 who had been
diagnosed with ADHD as they completed the Cogmed Working Memory Training Program's
video "game" RoboMemo. The program, developed by a Swedish company, challenges students
with various visual-spatial and memory games. For instance, a sequence of numbers or images,
shaped like floating asteroids or space aliens, are flashed on the screen, and the student must
replicate the sequence. As they progress, the sequences become increasingly difficult.
Gibson found that spatial working memory appears to be more critical than verbal
working memory in mitigating ADHD symptoms. The ND psychologist theorizes that the
lessening of ADHD symptoms results from changes in fluid intelligence, defined as the ability to
solve problems or adapt to new situations as they happen.
At the conclusion of the five-week memory training program in which students played
the "game" about 30 minutes a day, five days a week, the ND psychologist found that about 75
percent experienced improvement in their ADHD symptoms. Why memory training is more
successful for some children than others is a goal of future research.
(July 2007)
