Video Games Helps In Boosting Grey Matter Of The Brain

There is good news for all the folks who are addicted to video games and find it difficult to leave it. Researchers in a recent study found that playing video games could actually help in boosting the performance of the brain. They found that the person playing video games on an average of 30 minutes daily for 2 months have shown an increase in the grey matter of the brain areas involved in controlling the spatial consciousness, memory, and critical thinking. 

Simone Kuhn from Max Planck Institute conducted the study, who was keen to know how does the video games influenced the brain in changing its corporeal structure over the time. As playing video games require extensive activities, demanding numerous intellectual and motor appeal time and again, which can be viewed as similar to training of many skills.

The researchers made two groups. The first group was asked to play Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes every single day for the next 8 weeks, while the other group did not. The researchers compared the MRI scans taken before and after the study for both the groups. On comparison, they found an increase in the volume of the brain for the video playing group whereas the other group did not show any such increase in grey matter.

The increase in the grey matter where found in the areas of the brain known as right hippocampal, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the bilateral cerebellum. These areas of the brain are responsible for planning, cognitive thinking, navigation, memory and motor performance.

As per Simone the study explained that there is a direct co-relation between playing games and an increase in the grey matter. And these specific part of the brain can be trained by means of video games. There are other studies showing that playing video games can actually slow down the memory deterioration in older people and improves the decision-making intelligence.

Beside these, playing video games may even help in curing mental disorders like Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s and even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, resulting due to reduction in the brain volume in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex area.

Nevertheless, the researchers know that not all video games are same and so do not have the same effect on the brain as seen during the study. They are now involved in studying which games can be used to maximize results. One thing is clear that all will hail the treatments involving playing video games.

Source: Daily Mail