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Study suggests that child gamers have better cognitive performance

During the tests, the children's brains were observed using specific imaging techniques. The players' showed more activity in areas of the brain associated with attention and memory



The negative consequences of video games are one of the common concerns parents have about their children, but a major study now released points out that this pastime may also have cognitive benefits.

Previous studies have focused on the negative effects of video games, such as the development of depression or increased aggression in young people. But the study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open analyzed data from a comprehensive study on adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) funded by the American Institutes of Health, explained lead author Bader Chaarani, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont.

The researchers reviewed participant responses, cognitive test results, and brain imaging of about 2,000 nine- and ten-year-old children, divided into two groups: those who never play video games and those who play every day for three or more hours. This was the duration chosen because it exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of one to two hours of video games per day for older children.


Two tasks

Both groups had to perform two tasks. In the first, arrows pointing left or right were shown to the children, who had to click the corresponding button as quickly as possible. They also did not have to press any buttons if a "Stop" sign appeared, a way to measure their ability to control themselves.

For the second task, the youngsters saw the first face and then a second, then had to tell whether they belonged to the same person, this time to test their working memory, a short-term memory. After correcting for certain statistical trends related to parental income, intelligence quotient, and mental health symptoms, the researchers found that the children who played video games performed systematically better on their tasks.


The brain response

During the tests, the children's brains were observed using specific imaging techniques. Those gamers showed more activity in areas of the brain associated with attention and memory.

"The findings raise the interesting possibility that video games provide a cognitive learning experience with measurable neuro-cognitive effects," the study authors conclude. However, it is not yet possible to know whether better cognitive performance leads to more playing, or whether it is playing more that improves that performance, specifies Bader Chaarani. His team hopes to get a clearer answer by continuing the study when the children are older.

Continuing the work will also exclude other variables, such as children's home environment, physical activity and sleep quality. "Too much time in front of the screen is obviously bad for mental health and physical activity," Bader Chaarani recalled. But the results of the study, she added, show that playing video games may be a better use of that time in front of the screen than watching videos on YouTube, for example, which has no detectable cognitive effects.

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