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The researchers found that gamblers with a high genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease took less effective ways to reach the game's checkpoints. Moreover, movement patterns were identified among the players in the pool. genetic risk that had not yet displayed other memory problems, they said.
By creating a global online network for survey topics, scientists have also been able to draw their conclusions from what one might call the speed of distortion. They noted the equivalent of five hours of lab research for every two minutes of play, they said, as vast amounts of data about each player are available every second of play.
The results offer many opportunities, including helping "develop more personalized measures for future diagnostic and addiction treatment programs," said researcher Gillian Coughlan.
"The largest study on dementia in history"
The researchers undertook to test the hypothesis of space navigation in a new way: they created Sea Hero Quest and hired casual gamers from around the world.
To clarify their scientific goals, developers focused on Apple and Android users in the UK, allowing them to decide whether they allowed researchers to collect data on how they had evolved around the world. They ended up with 4.3 million players, paving the way for what they call "the largest study on dementia in history."
The scientists then badyzed data from over 27,000 players aged 50 to 75 – the group most at risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms in a decade – to create a global reference on how most people evolve in the game, according to the study.
Finally, they compared these results with the performance of 60 people in the laboratory: 31 with the APOE4 gene, which increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and 29 without this gene.
The audit found a clear difference in the patterns of displacement of risk group members – who opted for less effective paths – and other actors, researchers said.
Memory tests are still the norm
By focusing on navigation as an early identifier for Alzheimer's disease, the Sea Hero Quest test differs from the memory and cognition tests typically used in clinics, scientists said.
"The current diagnosis of dementia is strongly based on memory symptoms, which, as we now know, occur when the disease is very advanced," said Michael Hornberger, principal investigator, in a press release. "Instead, new evidence shows that subtle deficits in space navigation and awareness can precede the symptoms of memory for many years."
Indeed, loss of consciousness of space and navigational skills are often among the first obvious signs that dementia has adverse consequences on the life of someone, said Hilary Evans, director of 39; Alzheimer's Research UK, who collaborated with researchers.
Evans often hears heartbreaking stories about "people with dementia who get lost and can not find their way back," she said in a statement.
Sea Hero Quest is a partnership between researchers from University College London, the University of East Anglia and Alzheimer's Research UK. It was created by the developer of Glitchers applications and funded by Deutsche Telekom.
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