World of Warcraft is Good for Aging

World of Warcraft Online Game. WOW as it is known is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment. I, along with a recently reported 12 million other players are anxiously awaiting the Dec. 7th release of their latest and greatest expansion titled Cataclysm.  Fortunately a growing number of experts who study aging and brain function are reccomending computer games as a way to maintain cognitive skills.

.....and this from OregonLive.com : Bye bye, Lawrence Welk; hello, "World of Warcraft"? Yes, seniors who want to remember every punchline, birthday and even the latest March Madness joy might want to duke it out with their closest teenager for extra computer time. The irony is that the very games that parents think of as not being great for their kids (or spouses) actually may help people of a certain age develop better memories and reasoning skills.  A pilot study that taught seniors to play "World of Warcraft" found that spending at least 14 hours (in two weeks) playing the game improved the results of tests that measured thinking speed, memory, executive function (what you use when you plan and organize) and spatial ability. The more they played, the better they got -- both at the game and at these mental skills.