There are more
than 1.2 billion gamers across the planet, with sales projected soon to pass
$100bn (£65bn) per year. The games frequently stand accused of causing violence
and addiction. Yet three decades of research have failed to produce consensus
among scientists. In laboratory studies, some researchers have found an
increase of about 4% in gamers' levels of aggression after playing violent
games. But other research groups have concluded factors such as family
background, mental health or simply being male are more significant in
determining levels of aggression. What is certain is that science has failed to
find a causal link between video games and real-world acts of violence. But
away from the controversy, a growing body of work is beginning to show these
games in a different light. Psychologists are split over whether video games
can make you violent. Around the world, other researchers are investigating the
potential hidden benefits in video games. At the University of Geneva, researchers
compared the visual abilities of gamers and non-gamers. In one test, subjects
must try to keep track of the position of multiple moving objects. They found
that individuals who play action video games perform markedly better than those
who do not. Their theory is that fast action games require the player
constantly to switch their attention from one part of the screen to another
while also staying vigilant for other events in the environment. They found
action video gamers were better than other people at remembering which smiley faces
in an experiment were blue. This challenges the brain, making it process
incoming visual information more efficiently.
At the
Max-Planck Institute of Human Development scientists research the effects of
the video games on the brain. In one study, they used fMRI (functional MRI)
technology to study the brains of subjects as they played Super Mario 64 DS,
over a period of two months. They found that three areas of the brain had grown
- the prefrontal cortex, right hippocampus and cerebellum - all involved in
navigation and fine motor control. Volunteers had their brains scanned to study
how they were affected by playing Super Mario. The visual layout of this game
is distinctive: a 3D view on the top screen and a 2D map view on the bottom. Researchers
believe having to navigate simultaneously in different ways may be what
stimulates brain growth. Arguably the most exciting field of research is
exploring the potential of video games to tackle mental decline in old age.
While electronic brain training games have long had enormous popular appeal,
there is no hard evidence playing them has any effect beyond improving your
score. But at the University of California, San Francisco, researchers have
created a game with a difference: Neuroracer. They believe pensioners can
improve their ability to multitask if they play the right kind of video games. Aimed
at older players, it requires individuals to steer a car while at the same time
performing other tasks. After playing the game for 12 hours, they found
pensioners had improved their performance so much they were beating
20-year-olds playing it for the first time. They also measured improvements in
their working memory and attention span. Crucially, this showed that skills
improved through playing the game were transferable into the real world.
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