Research reveals video games are stimulating to the brain

PARENTS BUYING video games this Christmas will draw comfort from new research suggesting that, in contrast to conventional wisdom, they do not turn kids’ brains to mush.

Just as the physical activity-based Nintendo Wii console convinced parents that computer games and sloth do not have to go hand in hand, new research suggests that video games stimulate the brain.

A multidisciplinary team of neuroscientists at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, has discovered that video games increase brain activity.

The team, consisting of neuroscientist and engineer Dr Philip Zeman, behavioural neurologist Dr Ron Skelton and PhD student Sharon Lee, is set to publish findings indicating that playing video games utilises the area of the brain associated with spatial reasoning and navigation.

“We have created a [brain scanning] tool that dynamically creates models of brain function,” said Dr Zeman. “The concept behind the tool is that if a researcher is interested in researching brain activity associated with a certain activity, they can acquire the data and feed it into the tool.”

The team found that, when playing three-dimensional games, the brain’s right hemisphere was stimulated. As players navigated the virtual worlds, the areas of the brain associated with spatial cognition became particularly active.

“Playing a video game is complex behaviour,” said Dr Zeman. “It’s not like flashing a light at someone or showing them a picture. The tool has opened up a Pandora’s box about what we’re going to learn about the brain. We’re going to disprove things and prove new things.”

The results grew out of a project to increase understanding of the potential for recovery in patients with brain injuries.

“Originally we were seeking to provide a new measure for tracking recovery,” said Dr Skelton. “It turns out that skill doesn’t really return after brain injury. It’s a matter of finding what areas of the brain are damaged, which are still functioning, and how to compensate.”

The development has potential applications in diagnostics for pharmaceutical prescriptions and for brain injury patients.

Stuart Derbyshire, a psychologist at the University of Birmingham's school of life and environmental sciences, urged caution on the clinical aspects of such research. "The more techniques you use and the more that we learn, the more we can do, so it's great on that level. However, you see group effects in studies, but for diagnostics it will have to be at the individual level – you need to find how the group pattern translates into individual cases," he told The Irish Times.

Dr Skelton pulled back from suggesting video games had an explicit neurological pedagogic function. “We learn by activating our brain,” he said. “The process of recovery or staving off ageing is the process of using our brains. I do think video games are good for keeping your brain active, but everything in moderation: going out to the pub is an important part of your social life, but you’re not going to spend all your time there.”