Video games have received a negative rapport for decades, but it is obvious the industry is a convenient scapegoat. You hear many arguments, often disproved, that video games make you violent and/or stupid. That’s actually not the case because video games require you to think and there are current game titles serving as an alternative to daily athletic activities.
Dezhong Yao and his team of researchers have discovered new information that further puts video games in a positive light. This new information, according to Yao, revealed that action video gamers have more gray matter in different parts of the brain.
The group examined the brains of professional and amateur gamers.
Yao and his researchers found that the expert gamers have greater connectivity in the brain’s left hemisphere.
In layman speak, Yao and his group found that playing video games will give you better hand-eye coordination, better attention skills, and greater cognitive abilities. That means video games do not make you stupid as many would initially believe.
There is further evidence to support Yao’s research claim on the positive effects of video games.
Dr. James “Butch” Rosser from Florida Hospital Celebration Health conducted an experiment with 300 surgeons. Half the surgeons played video games and the other half didn’t. This was before the surgeons would perform virtual surgeries.
Rosser had the gamer half play either Super Monkey Ball or Super Monkey Ball 2 for a few minutes before they would perform surgeries. He found that group performed better than the non-gaming group.
The video game group made 37 percent fewer errors, acted 27 percent faster, and scored 26 percent better.
Rosser’s findings resulted in the medical center having a gaming lounge for surgeons.
Rosser also conducted a similar study when he was employed at the Beth Israel Medical Center, where he used 33 surgeons. Rosser ran them through his “Rosser Top Gun Laporoscopic Skills and Suturing Program,” which scores surgeons on time and errors during surgery drills.
Results were similar where gamers made 37-percent fewer errors. They also scored 42-percent better than the non-gamers.
Perhaps Yao and Rosser need to talk and exchange information in the future, which highlights the growing positives of video games. It unfortunately will not stop people from attacking video games.
