Gamers Showed More Advanced Working Memory and Response Inhibition
A new case-controlled study from the Univesity of Vermont discovered that children who played video games (gamers) demonstrated better cognitive performance than those who did not. This research included 2217 children ages 9 and 10. Children were considered gamers if they played video games for at least 21 hours a week. Children were considered non-gamers if they did not play video games at all. This study’s design involved comparing cognitive performance and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals between gamers and non-gamers during response inhibition and working memory using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). After analyzing all data relevant to the study, the authors discovered that gamers performed better on response inhibition tasks and working memory than non-gamers. Additionally, gamers had considerably faster stop signal reaction time than non-gamers. Beyond cognition, the research found that gamers scored consistently higher on the Child Behavior Checklist on each of the 12 behavioral and psychiatric measures. These include social problems, thought problems, attention, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and stress. These results suggest that video gaming could provide a cognitive training opportunity with measurable neurocognitive effects.
