10 Simple Facts Most Gamers Don't Know

3. Video Games Can Train Your Brain To Make Correct Decisions Faster

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Treyarch

In years past, there was much hand-wringing about the potential for video games to "rot" players' brains and zombify the youth of tomorrow, though with the increasing mainstream acceptability of gaming, those concerns have slowly fallen by the wayside.

That's not to say there shouldn't be studies on the long-term implications of gaming - particularly the potential for addiction - though more recent research suggests that games can actually have a positive effect on a person's mental acuity.

An oft-cited University of Rochester study from 2010 concluded that those who played attention-demanding action video games - particularly FPS titles such as Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament - had a greater sensitivity to their surroundings compared to those who played slower-paced games like The Sims, and also made correct decisions faster in test conditions.

Furthermore, the study concluded that this had implications for everyday aspects of life, such as "multitasking, driving, reading small print, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town."

Though there is of course an unhealthy amount of time to spend playing any video game, there are also significant cognitive benefits to "twitchy", fast-paced games which force players to think quickly.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.