The researchers, led by University of Vermont Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Bander Tsaarani, who published the relevant publication in the American medical journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data on nearly 2,000 nine- to 10-year-old children.
A survey turns what we thought about “misunderstood” video games upside down. The children who they play video games, for at least three hours per day, they perform better in tests of cognitive skills involving their memory and impulse control, compared to their peers who have never played such electronic games, as a new American scientific study shows.
The researchers, led by University of Vermont Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Bader Tsaarani, who published the relevant publication in the American medical journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data on nearly 2,000 children aged nine to ten. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other agencies of the US National Institutes of Health.
NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkoff said, “The new study improves our understanding of the relationships between video game use and brain development. Numerous studies have linked video games to behavioral and mental health problems such as violence-aggression, depression, etc. But the new research suggests that there may also be cognitive benefits associated with this form of entertainment that warrant further study.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children not play video games for more than one to two hours a day. The new research, in the context of the broader research on the cognitive development of the adolescent brain ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development), studied through questionnaires, tests and brain imaging tests two groups of children: One that did not play such games on a computer or mobile phone at all, and one that played for more than three hours, i.e. above the recommended limit.
The tests assessed the children’s ability to control their impulsive behavior and retain information in their memory. In both of these domains, children with a lot of video game “experience” scored better in both speed and accuracy. Also, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed that children who played a lot of video games had more intense activity in areas of the brain associated with memory and attention and more generally with demanding cognitive tasks.
The researchers clarified that their study found an association and not a proven relationship cause-and-effect relationship between video games and better cognitive skills. It is e.g. it is possible that children with a priori higher cognitive abilities choose to play video games more often.
Also, the scientists stressed that their findings do not mean that children have a “green light” to spend unlimited time on a computer, mobile or television screen playing games. They also reported that not all video games are the same and that different types of games (action-adventure, puzzle, sports, shooting, etc.) may have different effects on neurocognitive development, although the study did not go into detail on this. .
“Although we cannot say whether playing video games actually caused the superior neurocognitive performance, is an encouraging finding, which we must continue to study as children enter adolescence and then adulthood. As many parents are concerned about the effects of video games on their children’s health and development, and as these games continue to be popular among young people, it is vital to better understand both the positive and negative effects they have,” said Dr. Tsaarani.
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