Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Video Games Boost Brain Power, Multitasking Skills

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Daphne Bavelier is professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester. She studies young people playing action video games. Having now conducted more than 20 studies on the topic, Bavelier says, "It turns out that action video games are far from mindless."

Her studies show that video gamers show improved skills in vision, attention and certain aspects of cognition. And these skills are not just gaming skills, but real-world skills. They perform better than non-gamers on certain tests of attention, speed, accuracy, vision and multitasking, says Bavelier.

Brain researcher Jay Pratt, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, has studied the differences between men and women in their ability to mentally manipulate 3-D figures. This skill is called spatial cognition, and it's an essential mental skill for math and engineering. Typically, Pratt says, women test significantly worse than men on tests of spatial cognition.

But Pratt found in his studies that when women who'd had little gaming experience were trained on action video games, the gender difference nearly disappeared.

"Video game players are able to pick up very subtle, statistical irregularities in environments and use them to their advantage," Pratt says. "And these same irregularities in environments are the things that help us guide our behaviors on a daily basis."

yeah

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I remember when I learned how to type in computer class. I thought of the keyboard like it was one big game controller. I mastered and conquered it. I can type 120-175 wpm. I'd smash the silly typing games they put in front of me! X'D

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I can see how this could be true.

[Myk JL 1,730]

I remember when I learned how to type in computer class. I thought of the keyboard like it was one big game controller. I mastered and conquered it. I can type 120-175 wpm. I'd smash the silly typing games they put in front of me! X'D

Ever played Typing Of The Dead?