13. Implications and applications

Here's a bit of the mental process I went through to define the path for my final project.

What?

Wearable

Programmable gloves that activate the cognitive process, increasing neuroplasticity through a game

Why?

Seeking to combine physical movement with meaningful mental processing

Movement strengthens neural connections more than thought alone; that is, when we move and "do something" with what we know, these connections are precisely when they are modulated, shaped, and reinforced. The difficulty level of the project I propose will be gradual to adapt to each player's cognitive and motor skills, reinforcing attention and concentration through gamification.

Who?

Target group: Youngs / Youngs-adults (12-25)

This project will use the premise of Gamification (explain in the first block of information), to make it more attractive and enjoy full.

Now, I don’t want it to get confused for a toy since kids can use it. It is not exclusively designed for kids.

How?

For this project I am certain I will need to apply the knowledge of E-textiles, but depending of the final design maybe even wearables, circular fashion (modules), digital fabrication.

I am not close to the idea of doing one or another.

When?

More details with submission dates:

Slide show

Stakeholders

Research

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity, is the nervous system's ability to modify its structure and function in response to new stimuli, learning, or injury. Brain plasticity operates at multiple levels: from microscopic changes in synaptic connections to massive reorganizations of entire brain areas (De Medeiros, 2025).

De Medeiros, A. (2025, 22 mayo). ¿Qué es la neuroplasticidad? Estimulación Cognitiva Madrid | Academia Neurona. https://academianeurona.com/neuroplasticidad/

Functional roles and cognitive contributions

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex regions, primarily BA46 and BA9 bilaterally are responsible for executive control functions such as transformation and manipulation of information, updating and maintenance of a specific goal.

BA46’s has a role regarding working memory functions related to event memory and planning, showing increased activation when multitasking. It is also one of the parts involve for cognitive functions.

Moreover, it contributes to the maintance and manipulation of semantic information

Krawczyk, D. C. (s. f.). Contributions of the prefrontal cortex to the neural basis of human decision making (Vol. 26). https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-7634(02)00021-0

Cognitive functions

Cognitive functions are what happened in the brain so we can process information and perform activities, this involves millions of neuronal connections distributed throughout the brain lobes, and depending on the task/stimulus the activation of different areas.

When do cognitive functions start to deteriorate?

Aging is the primary reason of this happening, now, how this process happens, along with health, functional capacities, depend on  both the genetic structure and the environment that has surrounded us throughout our lives.

Of course, neurodegenerative diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, mental illness, intellectual disabilities can also play a role in the deteriorate of this functions.

Can we preserve cognitive functions?

Yes, it has been shown that this deterioration can slow down if we keep a healthy life, active, and stimulating environments, specially working in our abilities through cognitive stimulation practices and exercises.

Gnosis

It refers to the ability of the brain to recognize previous learning regarding objects, people, or places, there are different types:

1. Visual: Recognize elements and attribute meaning to them, especially objects, faces, places, colors.

2. Auditory: Recognize and differentiate sounds.

3. Tactile: Recognize objects by touch, like textures, temperatures.

4. Olfactory: Recognize odors, smells.

5. Gustatory: Recognize trough taste, flavors.

6. Body schema: Recognize and mentally perceive the body, its parts and develop the movements that can be done with each. It involves orientation of the body in the space.

Attention

Attention is the process of directing cognitive resources towards certain aspects of the environment, or towards the execution of certain actions that seem most appropriate. It refers to the state of observation and alertness that allows awareness of what is happening in the environment (Ballesteros, 2000).

It’s the ability to generate, maintain or direct a state of alertness and process correctly information.

• Sustained attention: Ability to maintain fluidly focus for a prolonged period on an specific task or event.

• Selective attention: Ability to direct attention and focus on something allowing other stimuli, either internal or external, to interrupt the task. (Understanding Cognitive Functions: Types, Importance, And How To Preserve Them, s. f.)

• Processing speed: Is the rating of how fast the brain can perform a task.

Executive functions:

Executive functions are complex cognitive processes necessary for planning, organizing, guiding, revising, regulating, and evaluating behavior necessary to adapt effectively to the environment and to achieve goals (Bauermeister, 2008).

• Flexibility: Ability to generate new strategies to adapt behaviors, base on what the changing environment demands.

• Inhibition: Ability to ignore impulses or irrelevant information, it can be either externally or internally when performing a task.

• Decision making: Ability to decide the course of action after analyzing the possible options, with their possible outcomes and consequences.

• Dual execution: Ability to be able to perform two task of different types at the same time, paying both attention simultaneously.

• Branching (Multitasking): ability to organize and optimally perform tasks simultaneously, inter-mixing them yet always knowing the status of each.

Understanding Cognitive Functions: Types, Importance, and How to Preserve Them. (s. f.-b). https://neuronup.us/areas-of-intervention/cognitive-functions/

Gamification

This term refers to the technique where game-design elements or strategies are used in non-game context.

To successfully apply this concept, it is needed to specify: - What is it that we want the people to do. What do we want to measure?

• Who is it going to “play”. What motivates them.

• What is the trajectory of activities. Small victories.

• What's the fun part?

• What techniques and tools are we going to do

Escobar, C. (2024, 14 febrero). Que es y cómo se implementa la Gamification. UPB. https://www.upb.edu.co/es/central-blogs/gerencia-empresa-liderazgo/que-es-gamification-como-se-implementa

References & Inspiration

Some examples of common games or exercises that work under the same principle of working on cognitive functions, stimulating neuroplasticity are:

@klemfamily Don’t touch the color!😂 Can Taylor make an epic comeback in this game?? #familyfun #familygamenight #gameswithfriends #fungame #partygames #gamenight #colormatch ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey	@chrisjohnsondc Here’s how simple brain training games can help kids improve their regulation: 1️⃣ Stroop task - The child is asked to respond to the spelled word rather than the color of the letters. Its hard than you think! The task requires response inhibition and executive function skills. 2️⃣ Metronome training - Motor timing is a very important neurological function, and impacts not just impulsivity but reading, academic skills and more. Keeping the beat requires precise regulation- impulsive kids tend to anticipate the beat, while inattentive kids might lag behind. The feedback on each beat helps the brain re-calibrate and improve. 3️⃣ No Go Tasks - The child is asked to respond to one stimulus, but not another. In this example the child only reacts when two pictures match. “Simon Says” is an example of a no go game! No Go tasks exercise the part of the brain responsible for impulse control- the prefrontal cortex. 🧠 I combine these types of activities with laser therapy and other forms of brain stimulation to further activate the brain. You can see that the first child is wearing a tDCS headband, another way of directly stimulating the prefrontal cortex. By doing reps of these simple brain exercises along with our laser program, we help kids rewire their brains for success. Want to work with me? Send me a message :) #pediatrictherapy #functionalneurology #tdcs #braintraining ♬ original sound - chrisjohnsondc
This game involves placing four colors, with the instruction NOT to select the color called out, but any other. The brain instinctively tries to select the color it hears, thus working on, among other things, processing speed and inhibition.	Here are shown different ways of taking the basics of tests like Stroop and making them games, but doing it in a digital way

01.

@wta Attention players: a new game is about to begin 🚨 #WTA #WTALinz #ReactionGame ♬ original sound - WTA

The person who is playing is supposed to catch all the sticks that drops aleatory.

The interaction is kinesthetic and visual, since the person identify which stick dropped and proceeds to catch it, all in seconds.

The cognitive functions that it involves are: - Gnosis - Selective attention - Processing speed - Dual exestuation

02.

@activategamesmanufacture Fast press button reaction game faster be faster.#reactiongame #buttongame #reactiongamechallenge #earmoney ♬ Fire in Your Eyes - Jai Nova

This one consist in the person touching all the buttons that light up, it can be following a sequence that adds one more each time, or just fast responding to the aleatory buttons.

The interaction once again is kinesthetic, and visual. First identifying the one that light up, then pressing.

The cognitive functions that it involves are: - Gnosis - Selective attention - Processing speed

03.

Ieva Marija Dautartaitė Fabricademy 2023-2024.

Naim Al-Haj Ali Fabricademy 2024-2025

I also took as an example this two final projects of previous years. These projects aim to simplify learning about electronics, making it user-friendly and easy to understand for all ages. Both projects built upon the foundations of e-textile and developed various elements to facilitate connections, component changes, and other related tasks.

Mentoring notes

Frame your projects based on the infrastructure, materials, and knowledge you have on production techniques. Also collaborate with teachers and experts from day one through codesign sessions.

The combination of e-textile objects appears to be a good project for neuro-development. The presentation is well-detailed. Good work!

Looking forward to seeing this! I would encourage you to test as soon as possible with people to see what works and what doesn't. You can also explore what exists in the space of neurology and tools to combat neuro-degenerative diseases, in terms of how they test this kind of gamified tools

Learning is endless in the sens that you can learn element with your head but learning is also buy your dexterity or observation. maybe you can decide what you want to learn speficatly, what do thinck it's hard to learn and how can you make it fun. Fun is escentiel for the the perceverence.

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I got some feedback after the first presentation of my Project, and apart from all good advices and ideas, it also helped me to understand how my project is perceived by others, and thus to precisely define the path of the project.

So here I added more concrete and specific information about the project, re-evaluating certain parts, but its just mainly refinement of everything I proposed in the previous information.

Click here to check it out!