Shoot-'em-ups are good for you, say researchers

[Peikko 1,575]

For many parents they are little more than the source of our children's tantrums, feet-stomping and long periods of hibernation in stuffy rooms behind locked doors.

Yet a new study into the effects of computer games has revealed that fast-paced action games turn us into faster and better decision-makers.

Scientists at the University of Rochester in New York conducted a series of tests to gauge whether regular bouts of high-speed gaming could help to improve our cognitive abilities.

The researchers tested dozens of 18- to 25-year-olds who were not ordinarily video-gamers, splitting them into two groups.

The first group were told to play adrenalin-packed action games such as Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament, in which participants dash around online arenas shooting each other.

The second group were given The Sims 2, a more sedate, strategy-based game that mimics the pace of everyday life.

After 50 hours of playing, both groups were given a series of tests to see whether they could make quicker decisions.

Scientists discovered that those who had trained on the action games made decisions 25 per cent faster than their counterparts. They also answered just as many questions correctly as their strategy game-playing peers.

"It's not the case that the action game players are trigger-happy and less accurate – they are just as accurate and also faster," said Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist at Rochester who has been testing how computer games affect the brain and eyes for much of the past 10 years. "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference."

The findings are significant because they suggest how some computer games – often vilified for turning people into couch potatoes – help players to develop a heightened sensitivity to what is going on around them.

This benefit, researchers suggest in a forthcoming edition of Current Biology, has repercussions in the real world, such as improving our ability to multitask, drive, read small print and keep track of friends in a crowd.

According to Ms Bavelier, people make decisions based on probabilities that they are constantly calculating and refining in their heads – a process scientists call probabilistic inference. Before we execute an action, the brain weighs up every piece of visual and auditory information around us, helping to come to an accurate decision.

"Decisions are never black and white," she said. "The brain is always computing probabilities. As you drive, for instance, you may see a movement on your right, estimate whether you are on a collision course, and based on that probability make a binary decision: brake or don't brake."

Action-filled computer games – which force the brain to make a whole series of fast-paced decisions in a split second – appear to improve our ability to make those decisions quickly.

It is not the first time that computer games have been shown to have physical and mental benefits, although, until recently, most scientific research concentrated on negative aspects such as addiction and whether gaming stunts a child's social skills.

Last year, however, the same team at the University of Rochester published a study showing how action games enhanced our ability to see in the dark by improving the eye's ability to detect contrast.

There is also a growing number of studies which show how computer games increase hand-eye co-ordination. A study of surgeons two years ago in the United States, for instance, found that those who played the Nintendo Wii before going into an operating theatre performed better than those who didn't play games.

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[Jenn! 918]

I wonder if the tests were computerized.

[alienlovechild 75]

"It's not the case that the action game players are trigger-happy and less accurate – they are just as accurate and also faster," said Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist at Rochester who has been testing how computer games affect the brain and eyes for much of the past 10 years. "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference."

"Decisions are never black and white," she said. "The brain is always computing probabilities. As you drive, for instance, you may see a movement on your right, estimate whether you are on a collision course, and based on that probability make a binary decision: brake or don't brake."

I've played more than few games and there's some truth there as I seem to notice more than most people when driving. Some video games rely on a twitch like reflex to enemies, other cars or just noticing thing out of place. I see a lot of animals moving on the side of the road whether I'm driving or not but other people don't notice their movement. I've heard that also indicates I've got a short-attention span so there's a downside as well.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

IMO, a child's going to learn the same skills playing basketball or another sport, but with the added benefits of exercise and teamwork.

[slim 1,514]

Your brain is a muscle. When it's warmed up and ready to go, of course it's going to perform better than when it's sitting there in a dumbed-down state.

Another waste of tax dollars.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Your brain is a muscle. When it's warmed up and ready to go, of course it's going to perform better than when it's sitting there in a dumbed-down state.

Another waste of tax dollars.

Actually, the brain is an organ, not muscle tissue. Also, the military does a lot of research into things like this as well, including video game simulations to be used as training devices.

[slim 1,514]

Actually, the brain is an organ, not muscle tissue. Also, the military does a lot of research into things like this as well, including video game simulations to be used as training devices.

Your brain is a muscle because you can strain it, stretch it out, warm it up, over work it, etc.

The military is also ditching ruck marches in favor of yoga. Chew on that one.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Your brain is a muscle because you can strain it, stretch it out, warm it up, over work it, etc.

The military is also ditching ruck marches in favor of yoga. Chew on that one.

Yoga is awesome and would be a great benefit. It would probably lower the costs of injuries.

[Atencio 43]

IMO, a child's going to learn the same skills playing basketball or another sport, but with the added benefits of exercise and teamwork.

]

Exercise. Maybe. However if you have ever played a game on-line with a team there is plenty of teamwork. Most fun i ever had was playing league games on-line

Edited September 15, 2010 by Atencio

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Getting shot at and missed is the most exciting thing in the world.

[slim 1,514]

Yoga is awesome and would be a great benefit. It would probably lower the costs of injuries.

Yoga is really gonna help our guys run up hills wearing 120lbs. of sh!t in 120F weather.

While I'm not against yoga, per se, I'm not for it replacing the "real" training our guys need.

Getting shot at and missed is the most exciting thing in the world.

I'll take your word for it.