Memory rehabilitation is essential in the treatment of patients with neurological damage, such as those who have suffered a stroke, traumatic brain injury or dementia. Traditionally, memory rehabilitation has involved repetitive exercises and conventional techniques that, although effective, often lack appeal and can be monotonous for patients. Gamified tools offer an innovative way to improve memory through patient motivation and engagement.
Benefits of Gamification in Memory Rehabilitation
Gamified tools turn memory exercises into interactive activities that increase adherence to treatment. These applications combine game elements, such as rewards, levels and immediate feedback, to stimulate brain plasticity and improve information retention.
Example of a memory rehabilitation session
Auditory working memory
The patient hears a series of words in a specific order and has to repeat them in the order indicated.
Verbal working memory
A list of words will appear, and after a short memorization time, the patient will have to choose from a series of words the ones that appeared in the list.
Verbal memory
In this sustained attention activity, the patient has to to touch all the geometric shapes that appear on the screen. Often the ability to pay attention for extended periods of time is impaired in people with severe cognitive impairment.
Spatial memory
The goal objective of this spatial memory rehabilitation activity is to remember correctly where some images were placed.
Visual memory
An activity to train expressive language and phonological awareness is to find the picture that begins with the given syllable. In many cases of dementia and various cognitive impairments, language deficit is a primary concern.
Memoria a largo plazo
Stimuli will be shown that the patient has to memorize and then perform a distracting task. and then he/she will have to perform a distractor task. After this, you will have to recall the stimuli memorized at the beginning of the task.
Neurorehabilitation professionals must integrate these tools as a complement to traditional therapies. It is key to select scientifically validated platforms and to adjust the exercises to each patient’s capabilities and goals. In addition, monitoring progress and making adjustments based on patient performance optimizes results.
