Playing games is not always identified with lazy and time-wasting hobbies. There are studies that also show the positive side of the hobby of playing games. One of the positive effects of playing games is that it has the potential to increase certain activities in parts of the brain related to response, reasoning, and reactions. Not only that, research also proves another positive side of playing video games.Playing games is sometimes associated with laziness or a time-consuming hobby. Not to mention the effects of sitting too long and lack of socialization. Wait a minute! There are studies that show the positive side of this one hobby.
A study published in the journal Neuroimage, shows that playing games a few hours each week can increase brain activity, specifically cognitive abilities that require decision making. It has to do with reason and reaction.
Researchers in this study even suggest that games can be used for brain training that spurs the speed of the brain's decision-making process.
Video games are played by most of our teens for more than three hours each week, but the beneficial effects on decision-making abilities and the brain are not known for certain," says neurologist Mukesh Dhamala of Georgia State University. "Our work provides some answers to that.
Researchers took functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images to measure the brain activity of 47 student participants. As many as 28 of them regularly play games, and the rest do not. The genre of games played is dominated by active games and real-time strategy, such as shooting games (first person shooter) or battle royale.
Participants were asked to press a reaction button in response to the direction of movement of a series of dots on the screen in front of them. The group of video game players was shown to act faster and more accurately, and the fMRI imaging results showed that there was also increased activity in certain parts of their brains.
These areas include the right lingual gyrus, left thalamus, and right accessory motor area. These areas are involved in cognitive processing and produce motor responses to visual input.
These results suggest that playing video games has the potential to improve several subprocesses for sensation, perception and action mapping to improve decision-making skills.
Another study author, Tim Jordan of Georgia State University, had visual impairment in the right eye. He was involved in a study that required him to close his normal eye (left), and use only his weak eye (right eye) to play games. It aims to improve the ability of visual processing. As a result, his right eye improved and he was able to play lacrosse and paintball.
This kind of training can also strengthen decision-making and sensory-motor reflexes. It should be noted that the relationship of play to cognitive power is not new in the realm of neuroscience. However, what is clear, that does not mean playing games excessively is a good thing.
"Playing video games can be used effectively for training -- for example, decision-making efficiency training and therapeutic interventions -- once the relevant brain networks are identified," Dhamala said.
