working memory<\/a> (holding and manipulating information over a short period).<\/p>\nThe researchers behind the new study wanted to find out whether combining video game training and TMS could enhance cognitive function more than either element alone.<\/p>\n
They asked 27 healthy volunteers, with an average age of 29 years, to take part in 10 video game training sessions, during each of which they played \u201cSuper Mario 64\u201d for an hour and a half.<\/p>\n
At the end of each session, the researchers applied TMS to part of the prefrontal cortex, which is at the front of the brain and is important for complex cognitive functions, such as working memory and reasoning. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/h2>\n
The researchers assessed the cognitive function of the participants before the study started, at the end of the 10 sessions, and 15 days after this.<\/p>\n
They assessed a range of cognitive functions, including reaction time, working memory, attention span, visuospatial skills, and problem-solving.<\/p>\n
Although the results overall showed very limited changes in cognitive ability, which seemed to result only from the video game training and not the TMS, the researchers did find that participants with early experience of video gaming had improved working memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who were avid gamers before adolescence, despite no longer playing, performed better with the working memory tasks, which require mentally holding and manipulating information to get a result,\u201d explains lead author of the study Dr. Marc Palaus, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/h2>\n
People with prior experience of playing video games (but not the actual game in the study) also showed improvements in processing and were better able to focus on relevant stimuli during the tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who played regularly as children performed better from the outset in processing 3D objects, although these differences were mitigated after the period of training in video gaming, when both groups showed similar levels,\u201d adds Dr. Palaus.<\/p>\n
The results suggest that video games may induce cognitive changes that last for years after people have stopped playing.<\/strong><\/p>\nDr. Palaus says that video games that provide motivation \u2014 making the player want to keep on playing \u2014 and also get more difficult to stay challenging require intensive use of brain resources, which makes them ideal for boosting cognitive ability.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cVideo games are a perfect recipe for strengthening our cognitive skills, almost without our noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dr. Marc Palaus, Ph.D. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It is important to note that this study included a small number of participants who were all healthy, young, and highly educated, meaning that the findings might not be more widely applicable.<\/p>\n
Talking about the findings of their study, Dr. Palaus stressed that these improvements only have a limited effect on the performance of other activities not linked to video gaming, as is the case with most cognitive training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/article>\n<\/div>\nRead More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study exploring the link between video games and cognition finds that playing video games as a child can improve a person\u2019s working memory years later on specific tasks.Video games can be a contentious topic, particularly among parents or caregivers who may be concerned about the effects of spending hours in front of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[8697,689],"class_list":{"0":"post-69973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medical","8":"tag-gaming","9":"tag-video"},"yoast_head":"\n
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