Gaming is a very popular hobby that millions of people indulge in. If you’re a gamer, then you know just how fun and exciting can gaming really be. But there are also studies that are being done on how gaming influences the brain of a person. You may be surprised to learn that the video games can influence your brain in many different ways. This article will share with you some information on this subject.
The first way in which video games influence the brain is by increasing our attention spans. It’s very easy to make a logical assumption on why this is the case. You will need to be fully focused on the gameplay if you are to succeed in your objective. And many video games offer hectic gameplay where you will need to keep track of multiple elements on the screen and beyond it. It takes a lot of focused attention for you to be successful in some of these games. So, it’s safe to assume that the brain regions that govern your attention will get a killer workout in the process of gaming.
Some studies also show that gaming also influences the parts of the brain related to visuospatial skills. Again – you will need to be aware of what you’re seeing and how it relates to your point of view while gaming. There are studies done on this and the gamers that played difficult games showed a big increase in these regions of the brain.
The down sides
But not everything is good when it comes to the influence of gaming on the brain. Chances are that you know of the phenomenon of video game addiction. Perhaps you’re suffering from it yourself. There are certain people that are predisposed to video game addiction. There are changes that happen in the neural pathways in the brain that govern pleasure. Gaming can put a strain on our dopamine receptors and cause havoc in how we behave.
Older people may have to work hard in order to prevent age-related decline of their brain skills. But did you know that a bit of gaming has been shown to have a big influence on this? If you play a few challenging video games now and then, then you will be able to stave off this decline. This is one of the main reasons as to why gaming is recommended to old people.
Video games & the Brain – In conclusion
So, it goes without saying that gaming can have a profound influence on your mind no matter who you are. The more you play – the bigger the effects will be. But it’s not really healthy to think of the brain benefits when gaming. If you to play video games – then you should play them for their own sake. Not for some purported brain benefits that may or may not have a firm basis in reality. That being said, video games are very fun to play and we hope that you will have a lot of fun while improving your brain. Just be careful not to get addicted to them.