Video games may be effective in treating depression

In a multiple study analysis, researchers found engaging patients in a video game interface displayed through an app could be an effective treatment of depression by targeting underlying cognitive issues.

The research, completed by a team from the University of Washington (UW) Health Sciences, were published Jan. 3 in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

"We found that moderately depressed people do better with apps like this because they address or treat correlates of depression," said Patricia Areán, a UW researcher in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Project: EVO, the video game interface designed to improve focus and attention at a neurological level, was use in a pair of studies and compared with other methods of treatment of depression.

The first study included older adults with late-life depression where they either received EVO or in-person problem-solving therapy. Both groups attended weekly meetings with a clinician. Results showed that the EVO group demonstrated cognitive benefits for attention, mood and self-reported function. Adherence was 100 percent, and many participants using it more than the required 20 minutes per day, five times a week.

"While EVO was not directly designed to treat depressive symptomw, we hypothesized that there may indeed be beneficial effects on these symptoms by improving cognitive issues with targeted treatment, and so far, the results are promising," said Joaquin A. Anguera, a researcher in neurology and psychiatry University of California, San Francisco.

The second study, published Dec. 20, 2016, in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, included 600 participants who were moderately or mildly depressed. Researchers placed participants in three groups: one with the EVO, another with iPST, an app providing problem-solving therapy, and a control group. Results showed that mildly depressed people were able to improve in all groups but showed greater gains with Project EVO or iPST. However, without the intervention of a clinician, the rate of adherence dropped compared to the first study, with only 42 percent of participants downloading the apps.