If You Want To Get Smarter Start Playing Strategy Video Games

A team of totally rad researchers in the Queen University in London have discovered that playing video games that involve strategy games such as Star Craft may actually boost the players’ cognitive abilities in multiple arenas. The study was conducted by gathering 72 participants to play such strategic video games for 40 hours over a period of 6 to 8 weeks.

Out of all the participants, half the people played Star Craft and the rest half were asked to play The Sims. The results showcased that those who played Star Craft performed better in psychological tests as well as their accuracy, speeds and cognitive flexibility tests showed their abilities to have improved significantly.

Such a groundbreaking revelation has proved to be highly beneficial for young video game lovers (this gave them some extra opportunity to snipe saying the most enjoyable “I told you so” ever) who had their moms always behind them, about video games having associations with violence.

Moreover, the research states that video does not only make you smarter in fact it makes you a better person all in all.

Here is some insight on what the research had to say: (caution avid video gamers this might lead to euphoric to brink of having video gaming overdose)

Mario can also be called as brain steroid in the language of science!

To get deeper into the matter how video games help to improve cognition of players, a team of German researchers conducted a study. They interviewed 23 adults within the median age range of 25 to play the game Super Mario 64 for a period of 30 minutes every day for 2 months straight. A separate control group was created who did not play any video games at all.

Then examining the brains of the people in each group using an MRI machine it was discovered those who belonged to the gaming group had an increase in the gray matter at their right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex and their cerebellum as well. These are the main areas of the brain that are responsible for spatial navigation, strategic planning and memory formation and motor skills of hands.

There have been previous studies which showcased the differences in the brain structure of video gamers but the latest study has demonstrated that there is a direct casual link between video gaming and volumetric increase in brain sizes. Thus, this proves that there are certain areas in our brains that can be trained using video games.

This gave the scientists another probable application for video games where they can be used as a therapy for patients with mental disorders that cause brain regions to be compressed or even altered. Diseases like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) can be treated.

How Star Craft makes you smarter?

A team of British researchers found in August that certain video games especially strategic games like Star Craft can make you smarter by increasing your brain’s flexibility; this phenomenon is called as “a cornerstone of human intelligence” by the scientists.

Video gaming is the antidote to slow down ageing process:

Another study revealed that playing special “brain teasing” video games for just two hours a week can help slow down the degree of mental decay that is associated with the natural ageing process. This was found by the University of Iowa.

The study included 681 healthy individuals between the ages of 50 and older that revealed that playing 10 hours of a specially designed video game can actually stall the natural process of cognitive decline in several skills by up to seven years or more.

So, as can be seen from the above studies, video games are not just great for recreational purposes, but are also helpful for cognitive developments along with improvement in motor skills for those suffering from stroke or other such disruptive conditions.

So, if you want to try your hands on some competitive gaming in your city of Kolkata, head on to the Gamers Den in Baisakhi Mall or at the Dugout to try your hands on FIFA’15 with your weapon of choice as a PS4 gaming console. The prizes up for grabs are worth in total of INR 10,000 with the first prize for the winner of tournament being INR 5,000 and other goodies up for grabs for the runner-ups.

Entry fee for the interested participants is of INR 100 until the 15th of September (this window is already closed), for those who are applying after 15th will need to pay INR 150 as entry fee. But for those with a YUP Card subscription, this entry is completely free. There are limited seats available only, of 256 people in total. For further details on the event or to register for a YUP Card which is the only operative student discount card in Kolkata, the interested candidates can head over to YUP Card’s official website. As for the gaming even they have a short online form that must be filled and submitted to book seats for the event.

When people plan their moves deliberately in a virtual environment with foresight to achieve a goal, it is understandable that such a practice will impact the neuroplasticity of the person in a positive manner, and since video games are engaging and enjoyable, people can fully commit to the rehabilitation for betterment of their medical problems.