In regard to Alzheimer’s disease, not much can be done if a child already carries genes that promote its development. “In theory, however, playing chess could delay or halt its process, and improve a person’s quality of life. There are no current studies that I am aware of that link chess and Alzheimer’s disease, no one can predict if the disease halts or delays its process”.
If such a study were to be valid, it should be conducted over several years with people who’d played chess during their childhood or youth, in order to determine if during their adulthood, they were likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Or if during their latter years they’d played chess, and we’d compare the results with those who hadn’t played and eventually developed the disease.
“It’d be an interesting study. However, it’d be difficult to test if chess is the only variable that can delay the appearance or reverse the process of Alzheimer’s disease”.
In neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, impairment is inevitable and irreversible. It is worth mentioning that a faster progression is not the same as a slow progression, and the latter could greatly improve the quality of life of many during longer periods of time.
Alzheimer’s disease depends on numerous factors, but it is mainly idiopathic. Therefore, according to Guevara Guzmán, the mentioned study must focus on every variable that influences the emergence of the disease.
As it is known, 10% of cases are genetically inherited while 90% rise from various causes, such as: brain injury, neuron damaging viruses or lack f blood circulation in the brain.
The strategy game of chess could promote child brain development and instruction of more mentally active children.
In theory, the game may delay the appearance and development of Alzheimer’s disease. Memory is a training process and often times a blurred memory is sought by the nervous system through alternative paths in order to find that stored information.
When the central nervous system and memory work properly, the neural connections in the brain are being “drawn and established” thanks to training, and we are able to easily reach that stored memory:
“During childhood, the central nervous system has a tremendous learning capacity. A child exposed to chess or video games is able to develop mental strategies to solve a particular problem”, said Rosalinda Guevara Guzmán, researcher at Faculty of Medicine.
That is to say, a child may be taught the best strategies in order to achieve a result, and therefore, he will know how and where that information is stored. Thus, strategies used to win over an opponent during a game of chess, are the same strategies he will used to achieve other goals.
Chess specifically may promote child brain development and instruction of more mentally active children, with tools to solve problems.
We could perform a comparative research at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) involving young people who play chess frequently. “ For instance, this could show their ability to solve tests, and demonstrate if chess has in any way influenced their cognitive development. This may be a variable among many others; therefore, success achieved by students must be compared and measured in order to see its relevance”.
The experiments made Tomatis formulate laws that bear his name and which in 1953 were officially recognized by the French Academy of Science.
The law states the following:
- The voice produces what the ear hears.
- If a person’s hearing is modified, their voice is immediately and unconsciously modified.
- It is possible to transform the voice by means of continuous auditory stimulation undertaken over a certain time (the law of Remanence).