How Can Video Games Be Good for Your Brain?

If you were a fly on the wall of my house, chances are you'd hear, "Too much tv and video games will rot your brains!" Turns out, I may have to revise that opinion. A study published online in the journal Plos One has demonstrated a pretty surprising (at least, it's surprising to me) effect of a video game on cognition. The study involved 681 participants who were categorized according to their ages: 50-64 and age 65 & over. They were then randomly assigned to one of two different groups: A control group of people who worked on crossword puzzles online for a total of 10 hours A group of people who were split into 3 different groups and played the video game Road Tour which focuses on improving visual processing speed Of those who played the video game, some received onsite training on playing the game at the university labs for 10 hours, and others received the same onsite training along with an additional 4 hour booster training. The participants in the third subgroup were given a copy of the video game to use at home on their own computers for 10 hours. The results were startling. All three subgroups in both age categories experienced a significant cognitive benefit from playing the video game, while those who participated in the online crossword puzzles experienced normal cognitive decline as expected per their age. Cognition was measured by several different tests including the Useful Field of View test, the Trail Making (Trails) A and B Tests, Symbol Digit Mo...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news