Nintendo German study indicates that playing "Super Mario Odyssey" reduced depressive symptoms by 50%

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I can easily believe that these results would be reflected in other Nintendo titles if they were similarly evaluted.

 

Cognitive trainings using video games might increase subjective well-being of individuals with depression

WWW.PSYPOST.ORG

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A recent study found that "Super Mario Odyssey" reduced depression symptoms more than cognitive training or standard treatments, with participants showing higher motivation and selective memory improvements.

 

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A study conducted in Germany revealed that playing the 3D video game “Super Mario Odyssey” resulted in a more significant reduction in depression symptoms compared to participants who used a cognitive training computer program (“CogPack”) or underwent standard treatments for these symptoms. The study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, also found that participants in the 3D video game group exhibited higher levels of training motivation.

 

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Study author Moritz Bergmann and his colleagues wanted to investigate whether a six-week video game intervention leads to improvements in depressed mood, training motivation, and visuo-spatial memory functions in individuals with major depressive disorder. They compared the effects of playing the video game “Super Mario Odyssey” on a Nintendo Switch console with the effects of a cognitive training program “CogPack” and usual treatments for this disorder.

 

The game “Super Mario Odyssey” requires participants to navigate within 3D environments while relying on processes that depend on the hippocampus region of the brain. In this way, it could potentially influence performance on hippocampally-mediated memory tasks, specifically visuo-spatial memory.

 

 

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The study involved 46 individuals diagnosed with depression who reported infrequent video game play in their leisure time. These participants were randomly divided into three groups: one playing “Super Mario Odyssey,” one using the “CogPack” program, and one receiving standard clinical treatment, which included medication and psychotherapy.

 

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Results showed that the percentage of participants with high levels of depressive symptoms decreased the most in the “Super Mario Odyssey” group. Their number almost halved. The decreases in the other two groups were smaller and insufficient to exclude the possibility that they were due to random variations in answers instead of treatment effects.

 

Participants assigned to play “Super Mario Odyssey” reported higher motivation for treatment compared to those in the “CogPack” group. Visuo-spatial memory scores improved most notably in the “CogPack” group. One of the memory tests showed a smaller improvement in the “Super Mario Odyssey” group compared to the “CogPack,” while the other test did not show any memory improvement in the “Super Mario Odyssey” group. Participants undergoing standard treatments for depression showed no improvement in memory.

 

“Results indicate that after six weeks of training the 3D video gaming group [the ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ group] showed a significant decrease in the proportion of participants with clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms by self-report and a higher mean training motivation when compared with the active control group,” the study authors concluded.

 

 

[legend]

This might hold for other Nintendo games, but I'm not sure how many. Mario Odyssey is kind of unique IMO in just how chill of a game it is to play. The game isn't really hard, so there isn't frustration, yet it somehow manages to remain engaging and just a joy to play.

[Xbob42]

I like how the study was "3D video games" but they only used a single game and since that's all they used the headlines are just about Super Mario Odyssey in particular.

[Remarkableriots]

Endless mode in Bejeweled 2 helped reduce my stress when I played it on 360. I wish it was on PSN.

[stepee]

This is definitely true for me with any new 3D Mario game but it’s more like 110%

[legend]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

I like how the study was "3D video games" but they only used a single game and since that's all they used the headlines are just about Super Mario Odyssey in particular.

 

Better to start with an instance where you think an effect might exist to see if it does. If it does, then you can narrow down further on what kinds of 3D video games would satisfy and which wouldn't. If you threw in a bunch at once, that would be a lot more variables to control for (or just muddy the result if you don't)

[Xbob42]

Just now, legend said:

 

Better to start with an instance where you think an effect might exist to see if it does. If it does, then you can narrow down further on what kinds of 3D video games would satisfy and which wouldn't. If you threw in a bunch at once, that would be a lot more variables to control for (or just muddy the result if you don't)

I mean if it was up to me, I would've just had multiple groups, each with one game. But I get it.

"The Gollum group is under strict surveillance to protect them from self-harm following 6 weeks of play."

[GameDadGrant]

Well, if any country is an expert at depression, it’s probably Germany.

[gamer.tv]

I’d like to see a comparison between Odyssey and Galaxy for most relaxing. Just swirling around the worlds in Galaxy felt wonderful.