How Video Games Can Affect the Brain

Video games are very popular among children of all the ages. And, due to our tech pace world, it is continuing to grow even more. Children and even the adults find video games as their mode of entertainment. They play these games whenever they are getting bored or want to take a short break from their work and studies.

These games try to change the mind and mood of individuals and they feel much relaxed than before. Due to its ever-growing demand, scientists have researched to find out the effects of video games on human brains.

Video games and changes in brain

It has been found out that gaming can cause changes in many regions of the brain. Studies show some structural changes in the brain due to video games and also several changes in brain functionality and behavior.

1. Increase attention

We need focus and attention while playing a game otherwise, we will lose it. Therefore, video games have resulted in improving several types of attention in human beings, including selective attention and sustained attention. Furthermore, attention seeking regions of the brain are more efficient in gamers when compared with non-gamers, and they need less activation to stay focused on various tasks.

2. Size of the brain

Playing video games has also shown to increase the size and competence of the parts of the brain that are responsible for visuospatial skills (ability to identify visual and spatial relationships among objects). With long-term gamers who have followed a game training plan, their right hippocampus has been enlarged.

3. Gaming addicts

When talking about gaming addicts, there are some structural and functional alterations in the neural reward system (a group of structures associated with feeling pleasure, motivation, and learning). When we expose these video game addicts to any game-related signals or signs, it causes cravings and also monitors their brain's responses.

4. Help boost your memory

Brain training games even help in boosting the formations of memories of an individual. Moreover, it also helps in improving the two other significant cognitive areas, working memory and sustained attention. These skills are maintained for 6 months after the completion of training.

5. Declining in brain-related diseases

When we talk about the diseases, each and every person wants a disease-free life. What if, it can be done with the help of a video game?

Yes, strategy-based games, have shown to promote an improvement in brain functioning among older adults and may provide some protection against Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Also, a little brain training can help to reverse some of the age-related brain decline.

Overall, these games prove out to be valuable as it is a stress buster, improves brain functioning, cures diseases, besides being a source of entertainment. But, there is always a second side of a coin. Here, spending too much time playing the video game can be harmful for children as well as adults. Talking about the children, it can hamper their studies while weakening their eyesight as these games are played on a screen. And, adults can hamper their work while playing the games at offices.

Hence, do play a little to rejuvenate yourselves, but too much of anything can be dangerous.