Brain Health - Memory Game

Title: Calligraphy-Guqin for Brain Health and Emotion. Abstract Previous study has shown that calligraphy training improves one's cognitive functions as well as emotional and mental health conditions (Kao, 2011; Kwok, et.al, 2011). Guqin is a seven-stringed Chinese zither without bridges, which has been the preferred instrument of the Chinese scholars and literati for inducing emotion regulation and stability. We investigated the effects of Guqin and calligraphy training by finger writing, both for the first time, through a single-case clinical trial focusing on brain health and emotion regulation. We employed a HRV Calligraphy-Guqin biofeedback intervention that is implemented with a Zephyr Blue Tooth chest heartrate device and a HTC EVO 3D Android mobile phone. A Web-based HRV App, the Heart-Love, stored the data from 3 consecutive sessions of the intervention: (1) 5 minutes of Guqin music listening; (2) 5 minutes of finger writing of calligraphy and (3) again 5 minutes of Guqin music listening Results showed that the first and third Guqin sessions elicited 55% and 68% respectively, and the second calligraphy session elicited 31% of high HRV coherence. This indicated a preliminary observation that finger calligraphy and Guqin music listening both improved one's emotion regulation, and that this effect could mean a shortening of intervention duration as well as an application of both treatments with the use of a smart phone or a hand-held tablet. The second session with <b>...</b>