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Thom James Carter

What Gaming Does to Your Brain—and How You Might Benefit

To stay away from Azeroth—which is to remain unsubscribed from Blizzard Entertainment’s enduring MMORPG, World of Warcraft —is no simple task. In fact, the gaming community has long (and only half-jokingly) referred to the orc- and elf-filled game as “ World of Warcrack .”

As somebody who, over the past 14 years, has racked up more than 600 days played, the pull of WoW ’s constant new dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds is something I can attest to. When I’m at a loose end, the first thing that comes to mind is logging on my level-60 rogue. And if I don’t play for an extended period of time, I’ll, quite literally, see WoW in my dreams. On a conscious and subconscious level, I can’t quite escape.

Video game “addiction,” though, isn’t solely relegated to WoW ; it’s cross-genre and cross-platform . Neither is addiction the only neurological and psychological side effect of video games. So how, scientifically, do video games—from MMORPGs to shooters and RPGs—affect our brains? And despite the drawbacks, can the brain benefit from video games?

When the subject of how video games affect us crops up, the first thing that comes to mind is video game addiction —a field that’s being increasingly studied by psychologists and neuroscientists alike and is often played up for headlines more than it is an actual mental health threat on its face. “Roughly speaking, there are no big differences between video game addiction and other addictions,” says Marc Palaus, who holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from the Open University of Catalonia. “One key aspect to understand how addictions work is the reward system of the brain. The reward system mediates how pleasant stimuli (such as the presence of food, water, social interaction, sexual contact, or video games in this case) act as positive reinforcers for behavior.” Once our brains have been exposed to something pleasurable, we often want (and then set out to get) more—and video games are certainly no exception.

Considering WoW ’s longevity and impressive following (at the time of writing, there are around 5 million monthly players ), it’s no surprise that DIY support communities have surfaced. /r/nowow , a subreddit of over 1,000 members, functions as a safe space where struggling WoW addicts can discuss broken relationships, wasted time, hindered education, and relapses. 

It’s a place I’ve personally found reassuring and frightening in equal measure—the highly engaging and enjoyable world-away-from-our-own-world, with its daily and weekly quests and never-ending updates, has sucked many a gamer in.

Lee Chambers, an environmental psychologist I spoke to, is someone whose story is similar to those posting on /r/nowow. “I found World of Warcraft in my second year of university, and sadly at a time when I was struggling with my mental health,” he said. “The game gave me the social connection I needed, but I became dependent on it as my mental health became worse, and I became embroiled in the game and avoided life, leading to me being taken home by my parents after isolating myself for weeks.” Thankfully, Chambers has since come out the other side.

The high-octane environments of shooters are a world apart from the slower-paced grind of an MMORPG like WoW , Final Fantasy XIV , and Elder Scrolls Online . And it’s Epic Games’ Fortnite , the candy-hued survival shooter, that’s particularly interesting when it comes to video games and the brain, not least because it’s become a cultural phenomenon, especially among young gamers whose brains are still developing.

At its core, Fortnite is a quick-fire and inherently repeatable game, with co-op, battle royale, and sandbox modes catering to different play styles. ( Fortnite Battle Royale matches last about 20 minutes, but players can be eliminated shortly after games begin, depending on their skill level and/or luck.) The thrill of staying alive in pressured, digital life-or-death scenarios, in addition to obtaining pop-culture-referencing skins and post-ironic dances, can release dopamine—one of the brain’s neurotransmitters. And after a match in Fortnite , the more dopamine that your brain releases and the more pleasure you feel, the greater your desire to play another round.

Fortnite ’s ability to keep gamers playing—not addicted, but certainly glued to the screen for extended periods—is well documented. In 2018, a year after the game’s official release, a 9-year-old girl in the UK was taken to rehab after deliberately wetting herself in order to keep playing—it became an international news story. A year later, in 2019, a Montreal-based legal firm sought to launch a class-action lawsuit against Epic Games; the firm argued that Epic had intentionally designed the game to be addictive. Prince Harry—as in the royal who’s sixth in line to the British throne—proclaimed, during a media event, “ That game shouldn't be allowed. ”

Adrienne So

Despite the bad press, Fortnite , and games like it, have proven brain-related benefits. First- and third-person shooters improve spatial reasoning, decisionmaking , and, contrary to popular belief, attention . In an article published by Men’s Health , writer Yo Zushi said that “even the heart-racing pressure you feel as your mate hunts you down in Fortnite Battle Royale turns out to be good for you: ‘Positive stress’ in the context of gameplay helps to motivate you while increasing your ability to focus IRL.”

Neurological and psychological research on video games is in its infancy—it’s in its early alpha stage, if you will. That’s because video games, as we know them, are modern inventions. And when assessing the research so far, studies show that it isn’t all warnings and worries. In fact, video games can be effective tools for upgrading our brains and our cognitive skill sets—especially in the long run.

Video game research truly kicked off in the late ’90s, with Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green leading the charge while at the University of Rochester. They began to explore the unconventional idea that video games could impact and perhaps even aid with neuroplasticity—a biological process where the brain changes and adapts when exposed to new experiences.

After years of research, they found that action games in particular—games where reflexes, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination are challenged, like in the now-retro classics Doom and Team Fortress Classic —provided tangible cognitive advantages that help us in everyday life. As Bavelier and Green noted in the July 2016 issue of Scientific American : “Individuals who regularly play action games demonstrate improved ability to focus on visual details, useful for reading fine print in a legal document or on a prescription bottle. They also display heightened sensitivity to visual contrast, important when driving in thick fog … The multitasking required to switch back and forth between reading a menu and holding a conversation with a dinner partner also comes more easily.”

In Bavelier’s TEDxCHUV talk “ Your Brain on Video Games ,” she makes the case that playing action games like Call of Duty in reasonable doses is positively powerful. Instead of parents perceiving their kids’ virtual zombie and designated “bad” guy shooting as brainless, it should instead be viewed as brain-boosting, she claims.

Others, too, have touted the brain-related benefits of video games. For instance, researchers at UC Irvine found that 3D games can improve the functioning of the hippocampus , which is the part of the brain that’s involved with learning and memory. Meanwhile, researchers from Queen Mary University of London and University College London found that video games can aid mental agility and enhance strategic thinking . This correlates with what James Mitchell, a UX designer and avid gamer, told me when I asked how he thought video games have impacted him: “I definitely think that my critical thinking and strategy has improved, and I find it easier to predict certain movements, especially relating to other games, and even card games. I have also learned to be more unpredictable with my movements.”

Despite video game research being a recent phenomenon, it’s proven that video games do provide out-and-out brain gains—good news for those of us partial to a video game (or two, or three, or 400). They can, however, have the potential to suck us in to a degree that isn’t healthy, which could potentially manifest as video game addiction.

So what can be done so our brains benefit from +3 agility and +3 intelligence without suffering from –5 stamina? How can a healthy relationship with video games be sustained? As C. Shawn Green—who earned a PhD in brain and cognitive studies—said to WIRED: “What healthy gameplay might look like in practice may differ greatly across individuals, and across the lifespan (e.g., in children versus adults). In other words, there really aren’t any one-size-fits-all guidelines for healthy gameplay that will work for everyone-is-a-different-size human beings.” Generally speaking, though, it’s important to be aware of how gaming may impact other areas of our lives in the short and long term, Green says. “It’s a matter of thinking through the proximal and downstream consequences,” he said.

Granted, the fact that games are specifically designed to keep us playing makes following this advice harder. But by remaining cognizant of our own (and our families’) gaming habits, making sure to log off sometimes to do other things, and by ultimately playing video games in a way that doesn’t unrestrictedly keep us on the hedonic treadmill , there’s potential to leverage gaming to be mentally more resilient, quicker, and smarter IRL.

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Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the Brain: Evidence from a Systematic Review

Denilson brilliant t..

1 Department of Biomedicine, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), East Jakarta 13210, Indonesia

2 Smart Ageing Research Center (SARC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; pj.ca.ukohot@iur (R.N.); pj.ca.ukohot@atuyr (R.K.)

3 Department of Cognitive Health Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan

Ryuta Kawashima

4 Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan

Video gaming, the experience of playing electronic games, has shown several benefits for human health. Recently, numerous video gaming studies showed beneficial effects on cognition and the brain. A systematic review of video gaming has been published. However, the previous systematic review has several differences to this systematic review. This systematic review evaluates the beneficial effects of video gaming on neuroplasticity specifically on intervention studies. Literature research was conducted from randomized controlled trials in PubMed and Google Scholar published after 2000. A systematic review was written instead of a meta-analytic review because of variations among participants, video games, and outcomes. Nine scientific articles were eligible for the review. Overall, the eligible articles showed fair quality according to Delphi Criteria. Video gaming affects the brain structure and function depending on how the game is played. The game genres examined were 3D adventure, first-person shooting (FPS), puzzle, rhythm dance, and strategy. The total training durations were 16–90 h. Results of this systematic review demonstrated that video gaming can be beneficial to the brain. However, the beneficial effects vary among video game types.

1. Introduction

Video gaming refers to the experience of playing electronic games, which vary from action to passive games, presenting a player with physical and mental challenges. The motivation to play video games might derive from the experience of autonomy or competing with others, which can explain why video gaming is pleasurable and addictive [ 1 ].

Video games can act as “teachers” depending on the game purpose [ 2 ]. Video gaming has varying effects depending on the game genre. For instance, an active video game can improve physical fitness [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], whereas social video games can improve social behavior [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The most interesting results show that playing video games can change cognition and the brain [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].

Earlier studies have demonstrated that playing video games can benefit cognition. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that the experience of video gaming is associated with better cognitive function, specifically in terms of visual attention and short-term memory [ 14 ], reaction time [ 15 ], and working memory [ 16 ]. Additionally, some randomized controlled studies show positive effects of video gaming interventions on cognition [ 17 , 18 ]. Recent meta-analytical studies have also supported the positive effects of video gaming on cognition [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These studies demonstrate that playing video games does provide cognitive benefits.

The effects of video gaming intervention are ever more widely discussed among scientists [ 13 ]. A review of the results and methodological quality of recently published intervention studies must be done. One systematic review of video gaming and neural correlates has been reported [ 19 ]. However, the technique of neuroimaging of the reviewed studies was not specific. This systematic review reviewed only magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in contrast to the previous systematic review to focus on neuroplasticity effect. Neuroplasticity is capability of the brain that accommodates adaptation for learning, memorizing, and recovery purposes [ 19 ]. In normal adaptation, the brain is adapting to learn, remember, forget, and repair itself. Recent studies using MRI for brain imaging techniques have demonstrated neuroplasticity effects after an intervention, which include cognitive, exercise, and music training on the grey matter [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] and white matter [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. However, the molecular mechanisms of the grey and white matter change remain inconclusive. The proposed mechanisms for the grey matter change are neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis, whereas those for white matter change are myelin modeling and formation, fiber organization, and angiogenesis [ 30 ]. Recent studies using MRI technique for brain imaging have demonstrated video gaming effects on neuroplasticity. Earlier imaging studies using cross-sectional and longitudinal methods have shown that playing video games affects the brain structure by changing the grey matter [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], white matter [ 34 , 35 ], and functional connectivity [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Additionally, a few intervention studies have demonstrated that playing video games changed brain structure and functions [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].

The earlier review also found a link between neural correlates of video gaming and cognitive function [ 19 ]. However, that review used both experimental and correlational studies and included non-healthy participants, which contrasts to this review. The differences between this and the previous review are presented in Table 1 . This review assesses only experimental studies conducted of healthy participants. Additionally, the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies merely showed an association between video gaming experiences and the brain, showing direct effects of playing video games in the brain is difficult. Therefore, this systematic review specifically examined intervention studies. This review is more specific as it reviews intervention and MRI studies on healthy participants. The purposes of this systematic review are therefore to evaluate the beneficial effects of video gaming and to assess the methodological quality of recent video gaming intervention studies.

Differences between previous review and current review.

CT, computed tomography; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; MEG, magnetoencephalography MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PET, positron emission tomography; SPECT, single photon emission computed tomography; tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation; EEG, electroencephalography; NIRS, near-infrared spectroscopy.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. search strategy.

This systematic review was designed in accordance with the PRISMA checklist [ 44 ] shown in Appendix Table A1 . A literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies. The keywords used for the literature search were combinations of “video game”, “video gaming”, “game”, “action video game”, “video game training”, “training”, “play”, “playing”, “MRI”, “cognitive”, “cognition”, “executive function”, and “randomized control trial”.

2.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

The primary inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trial study, video game interaction, and MRI/fMRI analysis. Studies that qualified with only one or two primary inclusions were not included. Review papers and experimental protocols were also not included. The secondary inclusion criteria were publishing after 2000 and published in English. Excluded were duration of less than 4 weeks or unspecified length intervention or combination intervention. Also excluded were studies of cognition-based games, and studies of participants with psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, and medical disorders.

2.3. Quality Assessment

Each of the quality studies was assessed using Delphi criteria [ 45 ] with several additional elements [ 46 ]: details of allocation methods, adequate descriptions of control and training groups, statistical comparisons between control and training groups, and dropout reports. The respective total scores (max = 12) are shown in Table 3. The quality assessment also includes assessment for risk of bias, which is shown in criteria numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 12.

2.4. Statistical Analysis

Instead of a meta-analysis study, a systematic review of the video game training/video gaming and the effects was conducted because of the variation in ranges of participant age, video game genre, control type, MRI and statistical analysis, and training outcomes. Therefore, the quality, inclusion and exclusion, control, treatment, game title, participants, training period, and MRI analysis and specification of the studies were recorded for the respective games.

The literature search made of the databases yielded 140 scientific articles. All scientific articles were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of those 140 scientific articles, nine were eligible for the review [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Video gaming effects are listed in Table 2 .

Summary of beneficial effect of video gaming.

Duration was converted into weeks (1 month = 4 weeks); DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; GM, grey matter; FPS, first person shooting. * Participants were categorized based on how they played during the video gaming intervention.

We excluded 121 articles: 46 were not MRI studies, 16 were not controlled studies, 38 were not intervention studies, 13 were review articles, and eight were miscellaneous, including study protocols, non-video gaming studies, and non-brain studies. Of 18 included scientific articles, nine were excluded. Of those nine excluded articles, two were cognitive-based game studies, three were shorter than 4 weeks in duration or were without a specified length intervention, two studies used a non-healthy participant treatment, and one was a combination intervention study. A screening flowchart is portrayed in Figure 1 .

Flowchart of literature search.

3.1. Quality Assessment

The assessment methodology based on Delphi criteria [ 45 ] for the quality of eligible studies is presented in Table 3 . The quality scores assigned to the studies were 3–9 (mean = 6.10; S.D. = 1.69). Overall, the studies showed fair methodological quality according to the Delphi criteria. The highest quality score of the nine eligible articles was assigned to “Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adult” published by West et al. in 2017, which scored 9 of 12. The scores assigned for criteria 6 (blinded care provider) and 7 (blinded patient) were lowest because of unspecified information related to blinding for those criteria. Additionally, criteria 2 (concealed allocation) and 5 (blinding assessor) were low because only two articles specified that information. All articles met criteria 3 and 4 adequately.

Methodological quality of eligible studies.

Q1, Random allocation; Q2, Concealed allocation; Q3, Similar baselines among groups; Q4, Eligibility specified; Q5, Blinded assessor outcome; Q6, Blinded care provider; Q7, Blinded patient; Q8, Intention-to-treat analysis; Q9, Detail of allocation method; Q10, Adequate description of each group; Q11, Statistical comparison between groups; Q12, Dropout report (1, specified; 0, unspecified).

3.2. Inclusion and Exclusion

Most studies included participants with little or no experience with gaming and excluded participants with psychiatric/mental, neurological, and medical illness. Four studies specified handedness of the participants and excluded participants with game training experience. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are presented in Table 4 .

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for eligible studies.

i1, Little/no experience in video gaming; i2, Right-handed; i3, Sex-specific; e1, Psychiatric/mental illness; e2, Neurological illness; e3, Medical illness; e4, MRI contraindication; e5, experience in game training.

3.3. Control Group

Nine eligible studies were categorized as three types based on the control type. Two studies used active control, five studies used passive control, and two studies used both active and passive control. A summary of the control group is presented in Table 5 .

Control group examined eligible studies.

3.4. Game Title and Genre

Of the nine eligible studies, four used the same 3D adventure game with different game platforms, which were “Super Mario 64” original and the DS version. One study used first-person shooting (FPS) shooting games with many different game titles: “Call of Duty” is one title. Two studies used puzzle games: “Tetris” and “Professor Layton and The Pandora’s Box.” One study used a rhythm dance game: Dance Revolution. One study used a strategy game: “Space Fortress.” Game genres are presented in Table 6 .

Genres and game titles of video gaming intervention.

* West et al. used multiple games; other games are Call of Duty 2, 3, Black Ops, and World at War, Killzone 2 and 3, Battlefield 2, 3, and 4, Resistance 2 and Fall of Man, and Medal of Honor.

3.5. Participants and Sample Size

Among the nine studies, one study examined teenage participants, six studies included young adult participants, and two studies assessed older adult participants. Participant information is shown in Table 7 . Numbers of participants were 20–75 participants (mean = 43.67; S.D. = 15.63). Three studies examined female-only participants, whereas six others used male and female participants. Six studies with female and male participants had more female than male participants.

Participant details of eligible studies.

3.6. Training Period and Intensity

The training period was 4–24 weeks (mean = 11.49; S.D. = 6.88). One study by Lee et al. had two length periods and total hours because the study examined video game training of two types. The total training hours were 16–90 h (mean = 40.63; S.D. = 26.22), whereas the training intensity was 1.5–10.68 h/week (mean = 4.96; S.D. = 3.00). One study did not specify total training hours. Two studies did not specify the training intensity. The training periods and intensities are in Table 8 .

Periods and intensities of video gaming intervention.

The training length was converted into weeks (1 month = 4 weeks). ns, not specified; n/a, not available; * exact length is not available.

3.7. MRI Analysis and Specifications

Of nine eligible studies, one study used resting-state MRI analysis, three studies (excluding that by Haier et al. [ 40 ]) used structural MRI analysis, and five studies used task-based MRI analysis. A study by Haier et al. used MRI analyses of two types [ 40 ]. A summary of MRI analyses is presented in Table 9 . The related resting-state, structural, and task-based MRI specifications are presented in Table 10 , Table 11 and Table 12 respectively.

MRI analysis details of eligible studies.

* Haier et al. conducted structural and task analyses. + Compared pre-training and post-training between groups without using contrast. TFCE, Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement; FEW, familywise error rate; FDR, false discovery rate.

Resting-State MRI specifications of eligible studies.

Structural MRI specifications of eligible studies.

Task-Based MRI specifications of eligible studies.

All analyses used 3 Tesla magnetic force; TR = repetition time; TE = echo time, ns = not specified.

4. Discussion

This literature review evaluated the effect of noncognitive-based video game intervention on the cognitive function of healthy people. Comparison of studies is difficult because of the heterogeneities of participant ages, beneficial effects, and durations. Comparisons are limited to studies sharing factors.

4.1. Participant Age

Video gaming intervention affects all age categories except for the children category. The exception derives from a lack of intervention studies using children as participants. The underlying reason for this exception is that the brain is still developing until age 10–12 [ 52 , 53 ]. Among the eligible studies were a study investigating adolescents [ 40 ], six studies investigating young adults [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 49 , 51 ] and two studies investigating older adults [ 48 , 50 ].

Differences among study purposes underlie the differences in participant age categories. The study by Haier et al. was intended to study adolescents because the category shows the most potential brain changes. The human brain is more sensitive to synaptic reorganization during the adolescent period [ 54 ]. Generally, grey matter decreases whereas white matter increases during the adolescent period [ 55 , 56 ]. By contrast, the cortical surface of the brain increases despite reduction of grey matter [ 55 , 57 ]. Six studies were investigating young adults with the intention of studying brain changes after the brain reaches maturity. The human brain reaches maturity during the young adult period [ 58 ]. Two studies were investigating older adults with the intention of combating difficulties caused by aging. The human brain shrinks as age increases [ 56 , 59 ], which almost invariably leads to declining cognitive function [ 59 , 60 ].

4.2. Beneficial Effects

Three beneficial outcomes were observed using MRI method: grey matter change [ 40 , 42 , 50 ], brain activity change [ 40 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], and functional connectivity change [ 41 ]. The affected brain area corresponds to how the respective games were played.

Four studies of 3D video gaming showed effects on the structure of hippocampus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), cerebellum [ 42 , 43 , 50 ], and DLPFC [ 43 ] and ventral striatum activity [ 49 ]. In this case, the hippocampus is used for memory [ 61 ] and scene recognition [ 62 ], whereas the DLPFC and cerebellum are used for working memory function for information manipulation and problem-solving processes [ 63 ]. The grey matter of the corresponding brain region has been shown to increase during training [ 20 , 64 ]. The increased grey matter of the hippocampus, DLPFC, and cerebellum are associated with better performance in reference and working memory [ 64 , 65 ].

The reduced activity of DLPFC found in the study by Gleich et al. corresponds to studies that showed reduced brain activity associated with brain training [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Decreased activity of the DLPFC after training is associated with efficiency in divergent thinking [ 70 ]. 3D video gaming also preserved reward systems by protecting the activity of the ventral striatum [ 71 ].

Two studies of puzzle gaming showed effects on the structure of the visual–spatial processing area, activity of the frontal area, and functional connectivity change. The increased grey matter of the visual–spatial area and decreased activity of the frontal area are similar to training-associated grey matter increase [ 20 , 64 ] and activity decrease [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. In this case, visual–spatial processing and frontal area are used constantly for spatial prediction and problem-solving of Tetris. Functional connectivity of the multimodal integration and the higher-order executive system in the puzzle solving-based gaming of Professor Layton game corresponds to studies which demonstrated training-associated functional connectivity change [ 72 , 73 ]. Good functional connectivity implies better performance [ 73 ].

Strategy gaming affects the DLPFC activity, whereas rhythm gaming affects the activity of visuospatial working memory, emotional, and attention area. FPS gaming affects the structure of the hippocampus and amygdala. Decreased DLPFC activity is similar to training-associated activity decrease [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. A study by Roush demonstrated increased activity of visuospatial working memory, emotion, and attention area, which might occur because of exercise and gaming in the Dance Revolution game. Results suggest that positive activations indicate altered functional areas by complex exercise [ 48 ]. The increased grey matter of the hippocampus and amygdala are similar to the training-associated grey matter increase [ 20 , 64 ]. The hippocampus is used for 3D navigation purposes in the FPS world [ 61 ], whereas the amygdala is used to stay alert during gaming [ 74 ].

4.3. Duration

Change of the brain structure and function was observed after 16 h of video gaming. The total durations of video gaming were 16–90 h. However, the gaming intensity must be noted because the gaming intensity varied: 1.5–10.68 h per week. The different intensities might affect the change of cognitive function. Cognitive intervention studies demonstrated intensity effects on the cortical thickness of the brain [ 75 , 76 ]. A similar effect might be observed in video gaming studies. More studies must be conducted to resolve how the intensity can be expected to affect cognitive function.

4.4. Criteria

Almost all studies used inclusion criteria “little/no experience with video games.” The criterion was used to reduce the factor of gaming-related experience on the effects of video gaming. Some of the studies also used specific handedness and specific sex of participants to reduce the variation of brain effects. Expertise and sex are shown to affect brain activity and structure [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. The exclusion criterion of “MRI contraindication” is used for participant safety for the MRI protocol, whereas exclusion criteria of “psychiatric/mental illness”, “neurological illness”, and “medical illness” are used to standardize the participants.

4.5. Limitations and Recommendations

Some concern might be raised about the quality of methodology, assessed using Delphi criteria [ 45 ]. The quality was 3–9 (mean = 6.10; S.D. = 1.69). Low quality in most papers resulted from unspecified information corresponding to the criteria. Quality improvements for the studies must be performed related to the low quality of methodology. Allocation concealment, assessor blinding, care provider blinding, participant blinding, intention-to-treat analysis, and allocation method details must be improved in future studies.

Another concern is blinding and control. This type of study differs from medical studies in which patients can be blinded easily. In studies of these types, the participants were tasked to do either training as an active control group or to do nothing as a passive control group. The participants can expect something from the task. The expectation might affect the outcomes of the studies [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. Additionally, the waiting-list control group might overestimate the outcome of training [ 84 ].

Considering the sample size, which was 20–75 (mean = 43.67; S.D. = 15.63), the studies must be upscaled to emphasize video gaming effects. There are four phases of clinical trials that start from the early stage and small-scale phase 1 to late stage and large-scale phase 3 and end in post-marketing observation phase 4. These four phases are used for drug clinical trials, according to the food and drug administration (FDA) [ 85 ]. Phase 1 has the purpose of revealing the safety of treatment with around 20–100 participants. Phase 2 has the purpose of elucidating the efficacy of the treatment with up to several hundred participants. Phase 3 has the purpose of revealing both efficacy and safety among 300–3000 participants. The final phase 4 has the purpose of finding unprecedented adverse effects of treatment after marketing. However, because medical studies and video gaming intervention studies differ in terms of experimental methods, slight modifications can be done for adaptation to video gaming studies.

Several unresolved issues persist in relation to video gaming intervention. First, no studies assessed chronic/long-term video gaming. The participants might lose their motivation to play the same game over a long time, which might affect the study outcomes [ 86 ]. Second, meta-analyses could not be done because the game genres are heterogeneous. To ensure homogeneity of the study, stricter criteria must be set. However, this step would engender a third limitation. Third, randomized controlled trial video gaming studies that use MRI analysis are few. More studies must be conducted to assess the effects of video gaming. Fourth, the eligible studies lacked cognitive tests to validate the cognitive change effects for training. Studies of video gaming intervention should also include a cognitive test to ascertain the relation between cognitive function and brain change.

5. Conclusions

The systematic review has several conclusions related to beneficial effects of noncognitive-based video games. First, noncognitive-based video gaming can be used in all age categories as a means to improve the brain. However, effects on children remain unclear. Second, noncognitive-based video gaming affects both structural and functional aspects of the brain. Third, video gaming effects were observed after a minimum of 16 h of training. Fourth, some methodology criteria must be improved for better methodological quality. In conclusion, acute video gaming of a minimum of 16 h is beneficial for brain function and structure. However, video gaming effects on the brain area vary depending on the video game type.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all our other colleagues in IDAC, Tohoku University for their support.

PRISMA Checklist of the literature review.

For more information, visit: www.prisma-statement.org .

Author Contributions

D.B.T., R.N., and R.K. designed the systematic review. D.B.T. and R.N. searched and selected the papers. D.B.T. and R.N. wrote the manuscript with R.K. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. D.B.T. and R.N. contributed equally to this work.

Study is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17H06046 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas) and 16KT0002 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)).

Conflicts of Interest

None of the other authors has any conflict of interest to declare. Funding sources are not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of the study report.

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News Release

Monday, October 24, 2022

Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

Additional research necessary to parse potential benefits and harms of video games on the developing brain.

On Monday, April 10, 2023, a Notice of Retraction and Replacement published for the article featured below . The key findings remain the same. The press release has been updated, in line with the retracted and replacement article, to clarify that attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scores were significantly higher among children who played three hours per day or more compared to children who had never played video games.

A study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Published today in JAMA Network Open , this study analyzed data from the ongoing  Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study , which is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other entities of the National Institutes of Health.

“This study adds to our growing understanding of the associations between playing video games and brain development,” said NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D. “Numerous studies have linked video gaming to behavior and mental health problems. This study suggests that there may also be cognitive benefits associated with this popular pastime, which are worthy of further investigation.”

Although a number of studies have investigated the relationship between video gaming and cognitive behavior, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the associations are not well understood. Only a handful of neuroimaging studies have addressed this topic, and the sample sizes for those studies have been small, with fewer than 80 participants.

To address this research gap, scientists at the University of Vermont, Burlington, analyzed data obtained when children entered the ABCD Study at ages 9 and 10 years old. The research team examined survey, cognitive, and brain imaging data from nearly 2,000 participants from within the bigger study cohort. They separated these children into two groups, those who reported playing no video games at all and those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more. This threshold was selected as it exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines , which recommend that videogaming time be limited to one to two hours per day for older children. For each group, the investigators evaluated the children’s performance on two tasks that reflected their ability to control impulsive behavior and to memorize information, as well as the children’s brain activity while performing the tasks.

The researchers found that the children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day were faster and more accurate on both cognitive tasks than those who never played. They also observed that the differences in cognitive function observed between the two groups was accompanied by differences in brain activity. Functional MRI brain imaging analyses found that children who played video games for three or more hours per day showed higher brain activity in regions of the brain associated with attention and memory than did those who never played. At the same time, those children who played at least three hours of videogames per day showed more brain activity in frontal brain regions that are associated with more cognitively demanding tasks and less brain activity in brain regions related to vision.  

The researchers think these patterns may stem from practicing tasks related to impulse control and memory while playing videogames, which can be cognitively demanding, and that these changes may lead to improved performance on related tasks. Furthermore, the comparatively low activity in visual areas among children who reported playing video games may reflect that this area of the brain may become more efficient at visual processing as a result of repeated practice through video games.

While prior studies have reported associations between video gaming and increases in violence and aggressive behavior, this study did not find that to be the case. Though children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day scored higher on measures of attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to children who played no video games, the researchers found that these mental health and behavioral scores did not reach clinical significance in either group, meaning, they did not meet the thresholds for risk of problem behaviors or clinical symptoms. The authors note that these will be important measures to continue to track and understand as the children mature.

Further, the researchers stress that this cross-sectional study does not allow for cause-and-effect analyses, and that it could be that children who are good at these types of cognitive tasks may choose to play video games. The authors also emphasize that their findings do not mean that children should spend unlimited time on their computers, mobile phones, or TVs, and that the outcomes likely depend largely on the specific activities children engage in. For instance, they hypothesize that the specific genre of video games, such as action-adventure, puzzle solving, sports, or shooting games, may have different effects for neurocognitive development, and this level of specificity on the type of video game played was not assessed by the study.

“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,” said Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and the lead author on the study. “Many parents today are concerned about the effects of video games on their children’s health and development, and as these games continue to proliferate among young people, it is crucial that we better understand both the positive and negative impact that such games may have.”

Through the ABCD Study, researchers will be able to conduct similar analyses for the same children over time into early adulthood, to see if changes in video gaming behavior are linked to changes in cognitive skills, brain activity, behavior, and mental health. The longitudinal study design and comprehensive data set will also enable them to better account for various other factors in the children’s families and environment that may influence their cognitive and behavioral development, such as exercise, sleep quality, and other influences.

The ABCD Study, the largest of its kind in the United States, is tracking nearly 12,000 youth as they grow into young adults. Investigators regularly measure participants’ brain structure and activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and collect psychological, environmental, and cognitive information, as well as biological samples. The goal of the study is to understand the factors that influence brain, cognitive, and social-emotional development, to inform the development of interventions to enhance a young person’s life trajectory.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study and ABCD Study are registered service marks and trademarks, respectively, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. For more information about NIDA and its programs, visit www.nida.nih.gov .

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov .

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  B Chaarani, et al.  Association of video gaming with cognitive performance among children .  JAMA Open Network.  DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.35721 (2022).

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Intelligence

Can popular video games improve intelligence and iq, 3 tips to boost intelligence and executive functions with video games..

Posted May 24, 2022 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• A recent study in "Scientific Reports" indicates that playing more video games was associated with gains in intelligence.
• Time spent on social media and passive screen time were not associated with any gains in intelligence.
• Practical, real world gains from video games require a more deliberate, intentional use of gaming that uses strategies to promote generalization.

Does your child spend hours playing Minecraft, Roblox, or Fortnite? Is it a complete waste of time? Probably not, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports . The authors of this important new research conclude that children who played more video games at the age of 10 showed the greatest gains in intelligence and other cognitive skills at the age of 12. This study measured intelligence by assessing reading comprehension, vocabulary, executive functioning , attention , visual-spatial processing, and the capacity to learn over repeated trials. Essentially, kids who played more video games improved their intelligence and IQ scores. Interestingly, watching videos and involvement with social media did not have any positive impact on intelligence in this study. The study essentially stated that video games can make you smarter.

This study should be viewed with the understanding that kids are spending a lot of time playing video games and on their screens. Teens are spending nearly nine hours per day using video games, apps, social media, and other technologies. While some of this time is for school or research, most kids are spending almost four hours per day engaged in recreational screen use. Some of this is time is spent passively watching YouTube videos or bingeing on Netflix. These activities, according to the Scientific Reports study, may actually be related to lower levels of intelligence and cognitive functioning. Most of the remainder of recreational screen time is not shoot 'em up gameplay. Instead, most gaming is cognitively challenging using skills such as planning, organization, flexibility, and self-control , and the reason that your kids may learn from popular video gameplay.

From my perspective as a psychologist, the unleveraged brainpower required to beat video games could serve another purpose. After all, the best games—the ones kids want to play—are not easy and require problem-solving, critical thinking, and executive functioning skills. You need to use your brain! Because the popular games are fun, players are motivated to challenge themselves to reach new and higher levels and to use a variety of neurocognitive skills to get there. Cognitive skills such as multiple object tracking and resistance to visual interference are used in response to game demands and are among the many cognitive skills that may improve with gameplay. Evidence that gameplay improves cognitive functioning derives primarily from studies of action-based games where these skills are challenged. These cognitive changes essentially result from the engaging and repetitive exercise of specific brain-based skills.

Using Metacognition

However, there is a more powerful way to translate game time into improved cognitive skills. It’s a bit more work and requires the deliberate intention to learn from gameplay. This approach requires the use of metacognition , or "thinking about thinking." Metacognition is widely accepted as the single most important component of applied learning. Video game players who think about their gameplay, deliberately consider their game actions, and respond to game feedback are using skills that they can apply in the real world. This approach may be better suited for strategy, puzzle, sandbox, simulation, and role-playing games (RPGs) since these games directly demand the use of critical thinking and problem-solving.

3 Tips to Boost Intelligence and Executive Functions With Video Games

Video games provide a powerful opportunity for learning because of the level of children's attention, persistence, and resistance to frustration. The addition of these three additional steps is crucial to making game-based learning into real-world skills. These steps sound simple, but they require that gamers either intentionally take these actions or are guided in how to do so. They are based upon well-regarded, evidence-based research on teaching children with learning differences.

These three simple steps (detect, reflect, and connect) make intuitive sense to students, can also be applied to non–screen-based learning, and are easy to remember. If you want to learn something, you have to pay attention or identify (detect) what you are trying to learn, recognize and think about (reflect) how it is helpful, and then learn to use or apply (connect) this knowledge to many situations.

At its core, detect, reflect, and connect are the basis for the transfer or generalization of learning. Children learn real-world skills by being able to identify the skills they are using and then practice and use these skills in another setting. These types of skills are not robotic, automatic, or a simple response to a stimulus but are the skills necessary for children growing up in the 21st century.

The "detect" component is about identifying the skill. Some students readily see when they are using a specific soft skill and how it helps them. For example, children who organize their backpacks before starting homework recognize that this will help them find and complete all their work. Many others would need instruction in order to identify skills that may have helped them in the past. Before they can know how to use a skill in a new area, they need to be able to identify, or “detect,” when they used it successfully in the past.

The "reflect" step helps with evaluating decision-making and actions. This is a cognitive process that requires youngsters to assess how a skill has helped them in previous settings and how it might help them in other situations. Reflection helps with looking at the components of the skill, determining when it was applied, and making the connection with how those skills were effective in solving a particular problem. The action of the "reflect" step also involves the capacity to be flexible and learn from mistakes. Individuals who “reflect” use a metacognitive or “thinking about one's thinking” approach. Metacognition has been identified across dozens of studies as one of the most significant tools for learning, performing well on tests, and retaining knowledge.

The "connect" step facilitates the use of the acquired skill in a variety of situations. One of the biggest shortcomings of many learning opportunities is the inability of learners to take what they have learned in one situation and apply it to another. This application requires practice. The "connect" step helps people to take something they learned in one situation and use it effectively in another. Parents and educators often forget that the "connect" step is most effective when they guide kids in applying it in new settings.

Berard, A. V., Cain, M. S., Watanabe, T., & Sasaki, Y. (2015, March 25). Frequent video game players resist Perceptual Interference. PLOS ONE. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.012…

Merrill, M. D. (2019, August 14). First principles of instruction. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from https://mdavidmerrill.wordpress.com/publications/first-principles-of-in…

Sauce, B., Liebherr, M., Judd, N., & Klingberg, T. (2022). The impact of digital media on Children’s intelligence while controlling for genetic differences in cognition and socioeconomic background. Sci Rep, 12. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/jtwk7

Veenman, M. V., Van Hout-Wolters, B. H., & Afflerbach, P. (2006). Metacognition and learning: Conceptual and methodological considerations. Metacognition and Learning, 1(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-006-6893-0

Randy Kulman, Ph.D. , is a child clinical psychologist, parent of 5, and founder of LearningWorks for Kids. He is the author of Train Your Brain for Success and Playing Smarter in a Digital World .

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Video Games Make You Smarter: Backed up by Research

Many people claim that video games make you smarter. However, intelligence is a broad concept, and we don’t know what effect video games have on it. Even then, lots of research has shown that video games can have a tangible impact on cognition. Let’s explore these in detail and answer the question, “Do video games make you smarter?”

Video games increase your attention span, improve decision making and problem-solving capabilities in competitive environments, and improve memory and learning. Video games improve the cognitive abilities that society values.

Take this quiz to understand your problematic relationship with video games:

Read further to learn how video games affect our cognitive capabilities.

Effect of Video Games on Attention

• A study by Green and Bavelier found that action video games enhance attentional control. According to this study, action games involve high-speed gameplay and contain objects that quickly pop in and out of the visual field. They seem to have the broadest benefits to perceptual and attentional abilities.

• Most action games require the player to keep their attention focused on specific objects or entities. These objects or entities can be presented in isolation or amongst other irrelevant distractions. As a result, action games notably boost selective attention, i.e., a person’s ability to focus on one particular stimulus.
• Gamers who play action games can track independently moving objects faster and better than non-video-game players. They demonstrate a higher degree of spatial awareness compared to their non-gamer counterparts.
• A test often used in the screening of ADD found that gamers had faster responses than those that did not play video games. Moreover, they did not sacrifice accuracy for speed. It is also important to note that the test recognized their responses as being anticipatory. That means that gamers relied on prediction rather than reaction. As a result, the study concluded that video game players are faster but not more impulsive than non-gamers.
• A study that compared 27 expert gamers with 30 amateur ones found that action games correlated with higher gray matter volume in the brain.

How Video Games Affect Memory and Learning

Memory is closely related to attention. Therefore, since games improve attention, they would have an impact on memory as well. Let’s take a look at some research.

• A study conducted by McDermott et al. compared the memory of action video game players with non-gamers. They found that action video game players excelled over non-gamers in tasks that involved retaining many memories. They also demonstrated higher precision with visual-spatial short term memory tasks.
• A study done by Ferguson, Cruz, and Rueda found that video game playing correlated positively with accuracy in visual memory. The study hypothesized that this was because video games primed the player to be sensitive to visual cues.
• According to researchers from the University of California , playing 3D video games can boost the formation of memories and improve hand-eye coordination and reaction times.
• A study conducted by Gnambs et al. found that while playing video games can result in a tiny hit to school performance, they don’t affect a child’s intelligence.
• According to some preliminary research, strategy games can increase older adults’ brain functions, and perhaps even protect against dementia and Alzheimer’s .
• A study by Lorenza et al. suggests that gaming trains the brain to be more flexible in updating and monitoring new information. Therefore, it enhances the memory capacity of gamers.

Video Games and Problem Solving

Most video games require a large amount of problem-solving. However, different games require different kinds of problem-solving.

• A l ongitudinal study conducted in 2013 found that playing strategy games correlated positively with problem-solving abilities and school grades in the following year. That means that adolescents that reported playing more strategy games tended to display better problem-solving ability.
• Scholars at Michigan State University did a study of about 500 12-year-olds. They found that the more kids played video games, the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories. However, the use of the internet, cellphones, and computers (aside from playing video games) was unrelated to creativity. Moreover, the increase in creativity was not related to whether the game was violent or non-violent.
• A University of Glasgow trial found that gaming improved communication skills, resourcefulness, and flexibility as video games increase critical thinking and reflective learning ability. These traits are central to graduates and are desirable to employers seeking to hire people out of university.

Video Games and Spatial Intelligence

Most video games, especially 3D ones, require gamers to develop excellent spatial skills to navigate complex environments. Let’s look at some studies that have looked at the relationship between video games and spatial intelligence.

• A 2007 study by Green and Bavalier found that video games significantly increased an inexperienced gamer’s ability to rotate complex shapes in their mind. It also found that subjects trained in action video games showed an increase in their ability to identify a single object, among other distracting ones.
• Another study confirmed that video game players showed a faster response time for easy and difficult visual search tasks than non-gamers.
• Avid action-video-game players were able to identify a peripheral target among many distracting objects more accurately than non-action-video-game players. The researchers showed them a sequence of objects, each of which they presented very briefly. They found that gamers were able to process this visual stream more efficiently than non-gamers. They were also able to track more objects than non-video-game-players.
• An fMRI study by Granek et al. found that extensive gaming alters the network in our brain that processes complex visual tasks. It makes the circuitry more efficient.

How Video Games Impact Decision Making

Video games, especially action games, require quick, on-the-fly decision-making capabilities. Avid gamers can make decisions under pressure. Here are some findings from relevant research.

• A study split participants aged 18 to 25 into two groups. One group played 50 hours of Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament , and the other group played 50 hours of Sims 2 . The action game players made decisions 25% faster in a task unrelated to playing video games without sacrificing accuracy.
• One study explored ways to improve traditional training methods that aim to reduce people’s bias and improve their decision-making capabilities. They found that interactive video games improved general decision-making abilities both in the short term and long term. Susceptibility to bias was reduced by 31% in immediate tests, and after three months, the reduction will still more than 23%

Video Games and IQ

What is iq how much does it matter.

IQ is short for intelligence quotient. Researchers developed it to measure how well someone can use information and reasoning to answer questions or make predictions. IQ tests measure short-term and long-term memory and how quickly one can solve puzzles and recall information. It helps researchers check whether they are testing for the same “kind” of intelligence. However, it does not encapsulate the complexity of the mind. Other factors, such as social and economic status, influence IQ. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is also a significant contributor to success.

IQ is a predictor of many things, but it does not define intelligence. It is generally a good predictor of a person’s success in life since the more intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to solve problems, learn new things, and get ahead in life. However, it can only predict how well people will do in particular situations, such as science, engineering, and art. Success in life requires more than just intelligence — it depends on persistence, ambition, opportunity, and luck.

Do Video Games Increase IQ?

Games select and filter for higher fluid IQs because games adequately, intellectually challenge us as kids when school was not enough. There are studies that children crave challenge and mastery, which games provide for them, and that creates a feedback loop.

What Does the Research Say?

A study conducted at the University of York found a correlation between young people’s skill at two popular video games (Dota 2 and League of Legends) and high intelligence levels.

The study set up two groups: the first group demonstrated their skill at League of Legends and then took a standard pen-and-paper intelligence test. They split the second group into Dota 2 players and gamers who played shooting games (Destiny and Battlefield 3).

The first group found that MOBA players tended to have higher IQs – a correlation seen in more traditional strategy games such as chess. In the second group, the researchers found that while MOBA players’ performance and IQ remained consistent as they got older, while the shooter game players’ performance declined after their teens.

While games can be good at indicators of a person’s IQ, that does not necessarily mean that they boost IQ.

Does Higher IQ Correlate with Risk of Addiction?

Smarter people are more likely to get addicted to video games because they may not be adequately challenged in school or at work, and video games fulfill this need for them. To recognize and overcome gaming addiction, you need to acknowledge who you are as a gamer. Gamers are, in fact, smarter than the average person. While we value intelligence in society, being smart is not enough to be successful.

Gamers use their high IQ to justify their lack of success, and it becomes an ego boost. Therefore, high intelligence becomes a justification for not needing to work hard and aim for success in life. That is how intelligence leads to avoidance.

Check out this video in which Dr. K talks about how intelligence leads to avoidance:

Issues with Video Game Studies

Some factors that influence video game training studies might bring the accuracy of these studies into question. A paper by Boot et al. discussed game training studies that tell the participants about the nature of the study. That can easily lead to bias, as the participants know whether they are in the experimental group or the control group.

For example, let’s assume that a study that aims to test the impact of action games on decision-making recruits gamers and non-gamers. It discloses the nature and aim of the study to the participants. It also tells them whether they will be in the experimental group or the control group.

The experimental group trains on an action game while the control group trains on a strategy game. After training, the researchers administer a test to both groups. It aims to measure the speed and accuracy of their decision-making. Since both groups know the aim of the study, the experimental group believes that they will do well on the test. Therefore, it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, and they try their hardest. Meanwhile, the control group does not put in as much effort because they think that they are expected to match up to the experimental group. As a result, they don’t try hard and don’t perform too well.

Such an experiment does not control well for placebo. Unfortunately, many video game training studies are structured this way.

Intelligence is complicated and not understood very well. Therefore, it is hard to measure if video games make you smarter. However, we can measure aspects of our cognition and how video games affect it. It is also unclear to what degree video games boost our cognition. That is because they select for people whose attentional, memory, learning, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities are already above average. Despite all that, it is safe to say that gamers tend to rank higher for these cognitive abilities than the rest of the population.

If you feel that your gaming habit is affecting your life, we can help. Sign up to work with a HealthyGamer Coach, trained by Dr. Alok Kanojia himself. HealthyGamer Coaches are gamers who have taken control of their life, and know exactly what you’re going through.

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Video games on the Brain

Technology has expanded the canvas upon an artist’s ability to express their stories. Videogames prove to be an art form that can solely exist in the digital space and demonstrates a collision of art and science. Our brain interprets these artists’ creations in many ways, both presenting itself as beneficial, yet also damaging to the brain. Video games have both positive and negative effects on the brain, as they can be used for education purposes or can have more drastic consequences. 

When overviewing the positive effects of videogames on the brain there are some main areas of the brain to focus upon: premotor and parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex, dopamine and grey matter. Cognitively, all video games are proven to improve one’s problem solving ability as well as reasoning capabilities. 

Different types of video games develop different skills as well as activate different parts of the brain. More broadly speaking, games that require team efforts help develop collaboration abilities. Other action focused video games have the ability to increase brain activity in the premotor and parietal cortex, where motor skills, quick thinking, and control of sensory movements are required. These same video games have the ability to physically improve one’s peripheral vision as well as hand-eye coordination. Examples of these types of games include Space Invaders and Halo. Games that require more logical thinking, such as Tetris, display an increased use of the prefrontal cortex, where decision-making is controlled. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released when learning and activates sensations of reward. In the context of playing video games, dopamine is released in the brain’s striatum, invoking senses of pleasure and addiction. 

For the sake of this post, I’ll be emphasising my focus on experiments regarding grey matter. Grey matter helps process information in the brain, by more specifically processing signals that are generated by other sensory organs in the body or other areas which contain grey matter. This grey matter serves to move motor sensory stimuli to nerve cells in the nervous system. There, synapses produce a response to the certain stimuli. Hippocampal grey matter, more specifically, is crucial for the maintenance of healthy cognition. One experiment demonstrated how playing video games has the potential to increase hippocampal grey matter in young adolescents. This experiment tested the influence of the video game Super Mario Kart on the grey matter in the hippocampal and cerebral region of adolescents. 

Figure 1: Demonstrates the increase of grey matter in the hippocampal region.

As seen in the brain scan it is apparent that there is a great increase of grey matter in the brain of the adults immediately after playing the video game. 

Though there are positive effects apparent when playing video games, some of the negative impacts outweigh those of the positive. More broadly speaking, some of the negative effects that videogames can have on the brain is that of the “video game brain.” This effect occurs when one has dedicated so much time to video games that the underside of the frontal lobe begins to shrink, leasing to other symptoms such as mood alterations. With more frequency of playing video games, a visible decrease in activity in the prefrontal lobe is apparent. This is known to lead to symptoms such as increased moodiness, anxiety, and aggressiveness, which may occur even after the conclusion of the game itself.

For the sake of this post, I will be focusing the spectrum of my research to the cingulate cortices. Studies have demonstrated that even one week of violent video gaming can lead to a decreased activation of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, during both numerical and emotional tasks. Both of which areas are utilized in solving and controlling emotional confliction. This frequent play of violent aggressive video games lead to symptoms such as players being relatively more anxious, spike in increases of violent-related and aggressive behaviors for the short and long term period. In the study, it was noted that when players shot and fired a weapon in violent video game play, there was a suppression of emotional response in these areas to cope with their actions afterwards. This is seen in the posterior cingulate cortex, which serves for motor control, cognition, and planning activated by emotions, or in this case weapon usage. Some video games that can demonstrate these effects on humans are Fornite and Call of Duty.

“Choosing to attack is associated with greater activity in the posterior anterior cingulate cortex, while choosing to defend was associated with activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex .” As demonstrated in the figure above, specific brain regions are active when choosing an attack or defend strategy. 

One of my favorite video games to play at the moment is Among Us. Among Us is a Social Deduction Game where one imposter tries to kill all the crewmates on board without exposing their identity. If seen killing, crewmates can report the killer and vote out the imposter. The crewmates are responsible for finishing as many simple tasks as they possibly can. Some of the brain functions involved in the game vary depending on the position you are assigned at the beginning of the game: crewmate or imposter. 

When playing the game Among Us strategies of how to operate are required, utilizing the frontal lobe to map out one’s judgement and impulse control. Controlling sensory movements in this action-filled game is crucial. Secondly, there is violence present in this game. So those in the positions of imposters will experience different activities in their brain than those who are crewmates. After the killing of a crewmate, the person playing the imposter will experience a suppression of emotional response after their killing, more specifically suppressed in the rostral angular cortex and the amygdala. Whereas the crewmate on the opposite hand, will feel emotions of reward and pleasure upon completion of their tasks and calling out those who may seem suspicious during the play of the game. This releases dopamine through the brian’s striatum. All in all, videogames all impact the players brain in different ways, having both positive and negative effects upon one’s cognition.

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www.itgsnews.com/how-gaming-affects-brain/. 

Izaak. (2020, September 22). How to play Among Us: Beginner’s guide, tutorial, and 

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Melissinos, Chris. Video Games Are One of the Most Important Art Forms in History . 22 Sept. 

2015, time.com/collection-post/4038820/chris-melissinos-are-video-games-art/. 

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www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5438999/. 

Robertson, Sally. What Is Grey Matter? 23 Aug. 2018, 

www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Grey-Matter.aspx. 

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medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-brain-cingular-strategy-defense.html. 

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Adults . journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0187779. 

6 Comments Add yours

I really enjoyed your post! Although I don’t play video games that often, I definitely liked learning about how and why they activate different parts of the brain. I knew that playing lots of video games can be unhealthy for our minds and physical bodies, however, I didn’t realize that they could entirely shrink our frontal lobes in severe situations. I also enjoyed reading about the Among Us portion in your post as I might have had a slight obsession with it last month. I never even realized all the intricate connections between doing small tasks in an online game and how they affect different parts of my brain. Great read!

Hi Lyla, I love your post so much! It was well written and also intriguing. The strucure of this post was so clear that I could see an introduction, a positive effect part, a negative effect part, and a conclusion. When trying to explain some professional and biological stuffs, you perfectly used great and clear pictures to illustrate the explanation. Just as what Rishika said, I knew that it was definitely unhealthy for one who plays lots of video games, I failed to realize that video games could cause such severe situation such as shrinking the frontal lobes. Thanks you so much for bringing such good work to me!

Wow! Though I have heard of many of the positive effects of playing video games that you touched on like increased problem-solving skills and increased ability to work in teams, I had not heard much about the possible negative effects of gaming. In my experience, many negative claims I have heard about video games are brushed to the side and seen as a misunderstanding from an older, less informed generation. It was interesting to see activation in the posterior cingulate cortex as shown in figure 2, highlighting how the attack portion is activated during in-game attacks. Still, it was very cool to see both positive and negative effects explored in this post!

Hi Lyla, this is such an interesting post about arts and brain! I am also a player of both Mario and Among Us, and I really agree with your argument about the effect of the video game. Before reading your post, I haven’t realized how my brain would be affected by those video games and simply thought games could increase my brain activity. Now I get to know the specific areas like grey matter and frontal lobe will be impacted by the stimulus from games. It reminds me the reason why teenagers should not play too many video games. Proper time management on playing games can reduce the shrink on our frontal lobe, thus help maintain a normal function of controlling emotions and decision making. Thank you for posting it!

I really enjoyed this post and found it super relevant considering how much time people spend playing video games today. It was really interesting to hear about the different kinds of effects, both positive and negative, that video games can have on our brains. It seems to be important to find a balance so that one does not spend too much playing them. It may even be beneficial for someone to mix up what type of games they are playing so that the negative effects are less harmful. Overall, this was super interesting to read!

I really enjoyed reading this post and found it super relevant considering how much time people spend playing video games today. It was really interesting to hear about the different kinds of effects, both positive and negative, that video games can have on our brains. It seems to be important to find a balance so that one does not spend too much playing them. It may even be beneficial for someone to mix up what type of games they are playing so that the negative effects are less harmful. Overall, this was super interesting to read!

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Can playing video games improve cognition and adaptability?

A recent study by ADL with Sheppard Air Force Base has shown that a video game having specific design features (i.e., implicit rules, implicit rule changes, dynamic shifting environments, open endedness, and implicit feedback) can enhance specific cognitive capabilities after playing for 12 consecutive hours as compared to games without those features. This was determined by having airmen play either Portal 2™ (a game that has the design features) or Windows 7 Microsoft™ games (Solitaire, Minesweeper, Mahjong, and Hearts, all games lacking the five design features) bookended by pre- and post-play cognitive testing. Those playing Portal 2™ scored significantly higher on focused attention – in both signal detection (correctly recognizing and interpreting the information) and response latency (the amount of time taken to respond to the information). Scoring higher on these tests means that one can more easily and quickly detect what’s important from what isn’t important when solving problems.

Another very interesting finding was that playing video games for 19 hours a week or more may significantly increase cognitive capabilities in the areas of spatial working memory, spatial sequencing, and cognitive planning. This was discovered by grouping test results by those who identified themselves as playing 19 hours of video games per week (high gamers) or those playing less than that (low gamers). The differences on the cognitive tests were all significant (p=.001, p=.003, p=.001) with increased scores in high gamers. In other words, this means that playing video games seems to enhance spatial abilities such as remembering and tracking objects in space – i.e., creating a cognitive map – as well as the processes involved in the formulation, evaluation, and selection of a sequence of thoughts and actions to achieve a desired goal.

Why do we care? Spatial abilities are important in navigating from one place to another in the virtual or the real world – driving in traffic, getting to the office, going home; or if you’re a lab rat, learning the location of food at the end of a maze. However, they are also frequently noted as important to language acquisition and mathematical comprehension, and are important components of higher order thinking skills such as problem solving and critical thinking (Osberg, 1997). Cognitive planning makes use of these abilities as an individual thinks through the steps and sequence of steps to solve problems. This is a critical skill to reason out problem solutions and evaluate results, and supports cognitive adaptability as one mentally “tries out” various solutions to a novel problem before acting. An increase in spatial abilities and cognitive planning in combination with an increase in quality and quickness of signal detection, suggests that frequency of video game playing generally, as well as specifically playing games with the above mentioned features, can increase cognitive capabilities in the players and specifically those capabilities important to being cognitively adaptable.

Osberg, K. (1997). Spatial cognition in the Virtual Environment. Seattle: University of Washington.

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How Video Games Can Help Children Develop Critical Thinking Skills

To relax and kill time, video games have become a popular pastime. The impact of video games on children’s cognitive development, especially in the area of critical thinking, has been debated for some time. In this article, we’ll look at the ways in which kids can benefit from playing video games that encourage them to think critically.

A Definition of Critical Thinking.

The ability to reason logically and make sound decisions based on evidence is known as critical thinking. It’s a key ability for solving problems and making choices in life. Children who learn to think critically will be better able to handle challenges and make wise decisions as adults.

Why and how video games can help you think critically

Playing video games can be a great way to exercise one’s critical thinking skills because of the environment they present. In order to advance through the game, players often have to use their critical thinking skills to solve puzzles, choose appropriate strategies, and evaluate data. Having these abilities is crucial for improving one’s critical thinking.

Some concrete examples of how video games can foster analytical thinking in kids are as follows:

First, the ability to think critically and creatively is fostered by the problem-solving nature of many video games. Players will need to utilize critical thinking abilities like analysis, evaluation, and synthesis to overcome challenges.

Second, the ability to make good decisions is essential in video games because players are frequently given multiple paths to take with varying outcomes. Players need to think analytically about the consequences of their actions in order to make the most informed decisions.

Third, strategy: to succeed in many games, you’ll need to come up with and put into action a plan. Planning, prioritizing, and analyzing the available resources are all examples of critical thinking skills that will be needed.

Fourth, the ability to analyze and make sense of complex situations is essential in the gaming industry. To be successful, players need to employ critical thinking skills and dissect these systems.

Gaining proficiency in critical thinking has many advantages.

There are many positive outcomes for a child’s academic and social development when they acquire critical thinking skills through gaming. Some examples are as follows:

Students who are able to think critically about their schoolwork and grasp difficult concepts at a younger age perform better in school.

Enhanced Personal Decision-Making: Children who practice critical thinking grow up to make better choices about their health, safety, and relationships.

Children who practice critical thinking grow up to be better problem solvers in all walks of life, from their personal relationships to their careers.

Children who learn to think critically are more likely to grow up to be creative problem solvers because they have the tools to think outside the box.

In conclusion, video games can be a great way for kids to exercise their brains and learn to think critically. Children can learn to handle difficult situations and make educated decisions by practicing problem solving, decision making, strategy, and analytical thinking. Video games can be a fun and effective way for children to develop critical thinking skills, so parents and teachers should think about incorporating them into their children’s learning experiences.

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How video games can help people worry less

The mind state of flow is reached when you're completely absorbed in an activity that's challenging, but not too hard. An easy way to achieve flow is by playing video games.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

There's a state of mind called flow, when you're completely absorbed in an activity that's challenging but not too hard.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Artists feel it when they paint or draw. Musicians feel it when they play an instrument. It's a sense of deep engagement with an activity where you might look up and suddenly notice a lot of time has passed.

ELLIOTT: And flow can help you feel less stressed, says Kate Sweeny, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside.

KATE SWEENY: Flow is really good for us. It gives us a lot of positive emotions, but it's also especially well-suited to times when we're really in our heads, when we're worried about the future, when we're ruminating about something and we just can't turn it off. Flow is a pretty good off switch for that kind of thinking.

FADEL: Sweeny says an easy way to achieve flow is by playing video games.

SWEENY: There's really two groups of people who know a lot about flow. That's psychologists and video game designers. And video games are really kind of, as a whole, built for exactly this purpose. They're getting harder as you get better. They're showing you when you're making progress.

ELLIOTT: Sweeny's studied how video games help people worry less. She recruited 300 college students and put them in a slightly stressful situation.

FADEL: They were unexpectedly photographed and made to believe that their peers would be rating their picture.

ELLIOTT: While the students waited, they played a game that was similar to Tetris.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FADEL: There were three versions of the classic game where players have to stack up falling blocks. There was a hard one where the blocks moved too quickly and frustrated the players.

ELLIOTT: And a slow one that was too boring.

FADEL: And a third version that was just right and allowed players to achieve flow.

SWEENY: And the folks who were in that state, that flow state that we created with the game, they had an easier time waiting for that news about their attractiveness than those who were in the other conditions.

ELLIOTT: Sweeny says flow can be a bit of a gateway to addiction, but anything can be addictive if you do it too much.

SWEENY: It's a great tool for flow, as long as you're not sort of overdoing it and checking out too much from your life.

FADEL: I need flow. I'm going to download that just right Tetris game.

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Most Anticipated 2021 Video Games to Boost Critical Thinking & Reflective Learning Skills

Soft skills are of huge importance in the modern world. If you want to be ambitious, learn fast, beat competitors, and generally succeed in this world, two crucial skills you are always going to need are critical thinking and reflective learning.

Why is that? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that more and more people are struggling with finding their passion, dream job, and similar choices in life. Critical thinking and learning from your past experiences efficiently can help improve this situation. There is much to explore in this field and there are tons of critical thinking topics to use as perfect examples to learn from. Checking out what professional essays on critical thinking have to say about the matter is the perfect way to learn and start on the right track.

Another amazing way to improve these skills is through video games. The ones listed here are some of the best upcoming games that you can expect in 2021. They are highly addictive, perfect for enhancing the mentioned skills, and a great way to have fun.

Humankind is one of the most anticipated games of 2021, at least for fans of the strategy genre. Taking a page out of Civilization’s book, this game focuses on building your own civilization, and controlling the way in which it develops. You can choose to improve the civilization’s education by building a school or try to live out your imperialistic dreams by investing in military research. You will have to make a lot of strategic decisions , and your critical thinking skills will be put to the test. But if you aren’t very good at first, don’t be discouraged, as with time, you will find that this game will be very beneficial for your critical thinking and reflective learning skills. I get excited just writing about it, and so should you, or your brain, at least.

Surviving the Aftermath

Surviving the Aftermath is not one of the most talked-about upcoming Xbox games, but it certainly looks like it has a lot of potential, so it’s fair that we write about it, especially since we’re talking about games that can boost your brain capabilities. Thinking about a tutor you hate, or sitting in class in college, can sometimes make you wish the world ended. Well, with Surviving the Aftermath, your wish is granted, and you are responsible to lead a group of colonists in an effort to save humankind. We could write an entire essay on all that this game has to offer, but for now, let’s just say that your brain will have to be focused at all times, as you will have to make split-second decisions that will not only challenge you but also improve your decision making, especially when you get to see the consequences of those decisions, which can sometimes be fatal for humanity.

Age of Empires 4

This is easily one of the most popular upcoming games for 2021 as the legendary Age of Empires series will finally be continued. Unlike Humankind, where you get to develop your entire civilization from scratch, from finding a settlement to becoming an academic superpower, in Age of Empires, your goal is to gather resources and build a powerful nation, with the added twist of having an enemy trying to do the same and destroy you. This kind of pressure will require you to use every last brain cell, as every small mistake can be devastating for your prosperous nation. But excitement is not the only thing that people get out of playing Age of Empires as many players have stated that playing the game has significantly improved their decision-making, problem-solving skills, and reflective learning skills.

With all of these brain-enhancing games coming out in 2021, you can feel better about yourself about missing that physics lesson that one time, as you can make it up by playing one of these games that we mentioned. Maybe if you’re still a student, you can even stop going to classes altogether, and play them the entire day. Just kidding, of course, stay in school!

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