Researchers around the world have been studying whether
interactive video games can improve motor skills since, well,
the advent of video games. (For instance, this study on the
effects of video games on hand-eye coordination in the elderly
was published in 1985.) But a team out of St. Michael's Hospital
in Toronto finds that after analyzing 12 studies looking at the
effects of these games on upper arm strength and mobility,
stroke patients who game are up to five times as likely to
improve arm motor function than those undergoing standard
physical therapy. The meta analysis, published in the April
issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association,
suggests that video games on systems such as the Wii and
PlayStation help the brains of stroke victims recover by
improving neuroplasticity--which is the brain's ability to
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