Playing video games as a child could improve cognitive performance
In the endless debate of whether or not video games are bad for you, or even possibly good for you, a new study provides insight into the matter once more. In a study that consisted of nearly 2,000 children, the ones that played video games for three hours a day or more did better than other children that did not play video games, when it came to skills like impulse control and memory. This is part of an ongoing study on cognitive development in adolescents. An MRI of the observed children in the video game-playing group showed that they had higher brain activity in the parts of their brains related to memory and attention, while the having less activity in the part of their brain that handles vision. The reasoning behind the latter statistic is attributed to the fact that kids who play games have brains that are more efficient at handling visual processing, because of the repetition and practice that video games require.
This study does not confirm ones that have come before it, that claim video games cause children or even adults to be more aggressive or depressed. However, they will continue to track that as the children mature, as this is a long-term study. Researchers involved say that despite the results, it doesn't mean you should allow kids to play video games endlessly, nor does it mean that any video game in general can cause a correlation to improved cognitive performance; the genre of game may impact that aspect, a detail that was not specified or studied.
While we cannot say whether playing video games regularly caused superior neurocognitive performance, it is an encouraging finding, and one that we must continue to investigate in these children as they transition into adolescence and young adulthood
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study) is a long-term study taking place in the United States, which tracks the development of over 12,000 children as they age, and various factors that help or hinder their growth.
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