A new study reveals how playing
video games not only changes how our brain functions, but also the structure of
the brain. Scientists have collected and summarized studies looking at how
video games can shape our brains and behavior. Research to date suggests that
playing video games can change the brain regions responsible for attention and
visuospatial skills and make them more efficient. The researchers also looked
at studies exploring brain regions associated with the reward system, and how
these are related to video game addiction.
The studies show that playing
video games can change how our brains perform, and even their structure. For
example, playing video games affects our attention, and some studies found that
gamers show improvements in several types of attention, such as sustained
attention or selective attention. The brain regions involved in attention are
also more efficient in gamers and require less activation to sustain attention
on demanding tasks. There is also evidence that video games can increase the
size and efficiency of brain regions related to visuospatial skills.
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