Video Games Might Be Beneficial for Children’s Mind according To Study

Video games might be beneficial for children’s mind according to study as researchers looked at memory processing and many other cognitive performances.

Video Games Might Be Beneficial for Children’s Mind according To Study

Video Games Might Be Beneficial for Children’s Mind According To Study

It just might be a good idea as a parent to let your kids the next time they want to play one more level of a video game. According to a study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, kids who play video games every single day showed improved cognitive skills in contrast to kids who do not play video games at all.

“Video gaming may be associated with improved cognitive abilities involving response inhibition and working memory and with alterations in underlying cortical pathways,” the study reveals.

Researchers with the University Of Vermont in Burlington Carried Out the Survey

Researchers situated with the University of Vermont in Burlington took a look at brain activity data of about 2,000 kids between the ages of 9 and 10 beginning in 2019. They claimed they believe the study to be “the largest study to assess the association among video gaming, cognition, and brain function.”

The children were split into two separate groups: Those who never play video games and those who play three or more hours per day, exceeding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of fewer than two hours of screen time each day.

How the Survey Was Carried Out

The two groups were then given two tasks. The first task asked the kids to press the left and right arrow keys as fast and quickly as they appeared on a screen. A “stop” sign also was shown, and kids were told not to press any buttons for this, in order to test inhibition control.

The second task on the other hand was a memory game where the children were shown images of the faces of people. And after a time, the children were shown a similar image and were then asked if the picture was of the same person or not, thus testing working memory.

And while the children performed these tasks, their brains were monitored making of functional magnetic resonance imaging. The kids who played video games showed more brain activity while they were performing these tasks.

Factors Taken Into Account during the Study

While the study controlled for variables such as sex, age, and socioeconomic status, other factors, like the amount of exercise and sleep, were however not taken into account.

It is also unknown in regards to what genres of video games the children were playing, or if the games in question were single-player or multiplayer. The study however notes that these factors could have different effects on developing minds, and also that this information would be good to include in future studies.

Limitations of the Study and How It Affects It

Despite all of these limitations, researchers wrote that their findings are “consistent with video gaming being associated with better performance on cognitive tests.”

The researchers also believe that more data could help to determine whether video games affect other cognitive functions.

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