The “3LGames4Prevention” project (Serious Games for Lifelong Language Learning to Prevent Neurodegenerative Disorders: from gut microbiota to brain networking) aims to develop an experimental model meant to help prevent neurological disorders secondary to cognitive decline through innovative second language (L2) learning pathways based on serious games. The research outcomes will be assessed using methodologies that will allow for a reliable and scientific evaluation of the procedure’s effectiveness (new, non-invasive functional neuroimaging techniques). The results thus obtained will lead to an improved understanding of possible specific gut microbiota markers linked to cognitive performance, thereby enabling the implementation of appropriate strategies to support optimal cognitive functioning.
Our game activities will be designed to deconstruct cognitive rigidity and stereotyped thinking. More specifically, in light of the artistic, cultural, and literary value of the proposal, players will be faced with tasks defined by high order thinking processes. Indeed, the task completion will not require the binary/linear answers proper of fast thinking (reality processing and decoding through a right/wrong scheme), but will rather depend on high order thinking, i.e., complex thinking. This methodology aims to foster slow thinking and reduce functional illiteracy.
More specifically, to overcome the challenges included in the game and its activities, abductions, shifts, and correlations will necessarily be engaged. This will activate not only information reception, but metacognition, as well. The language learning processes thus fostered can aid the development of critical and creative thinking – two competencies recognised by the European Union as crucial for both personal and community growth.
The project focuses on the prevention (or slowdown) of third-age neurodegenerative disorders which have an enormous financial impact on our society, institutions, and families. The model we intend to test is tailored for a relatively young population (between 45 and 55 years of age); that is, an age range prior to the possible onset of clinical signs of cognitive decline. The objective is, therefore, to help prolong full autonomy for future third-age individuals who currently make up most of the world population (particularly in the Eurozone).
In the context of a necessarily plurilingual and multicultural society, the increasingly rapid growth and demographic prominence of an adult and third-age population call for reflection on effective models and procedures to prevent neurocognitive decline. Not only does lifelong learning offer the possibility of preserving cognitive functioning and social activity, but it also plays a key role in maintaining good health. This is because it helps to lower the occurrence risk of inflammatory-degenerative neurological diseases by favouring the development of cognitive reserve. The nervous system is, indeed, capable of permanently modifying itself, at a functional as well as structural level, in response to life experiences and environmental interactions. This allows for a constant reconfiguration of the functional circuits and neural architectures that ensure the brain’s adaptability to the new cultural challenges it must face. Foreign language learning is one of those forms of intellectual training we wish to employ to prevent cognitive decline. Our methodology, based on creativity, will test differentiated models of foreign language learning through serious games, in order to foster user engagement.