Videogames have positive effects upon brain, say US researchers

If you are someone who spends hours on end sat in front of the PS3 or xbox 360 and always felt it was slowly frying your brain, fear not.

Scientists in the US say that computer games actually have the opposite effect, with research suggesting that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. Computer games can in fact improve a number of skills ranging from hand-eye coordination to night-time driving ability.

Statistics from the research show that people who play action-based videogames are able to make accurate decisions 25% faster than others. It also found that female gamers were more able to mentally manipulate 3D objects.

Obviously, computer games are dangerous if played in excess: sitting around in front of the screen all day will gradually contribute to obesity, laziness, and sqaure eyes. Perhaps one of the biggest criticisms of computer games in recent years has been the view that violent games are a bad influence, especially to children, as it makes us all far more aggressive and bloodthirsty. However, the researchers do not share that view. “There has been a lot of attention wasted in figuring out whether these things turn us into killing machines. Not enough attention has been paid to the unique and interesting features that videogames have outside of the violence,” said computational analyst Joshua Lewis at the University of California in San Diego, who studied 2,000 computer game players.

Full story: Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203458604577263273943183932.html