Video gaming may have some cognitive benefits for kids, study finds

The new study divided the children into two groups: those who gamed more than three hours a day and those who never gamed. Each group took two tests that measured impulse control and short-term memory while undergoing brain imaging.

Lead study author Bader Chaarani said the researchers controlled for factors like sex, age and socioeconomic status. They found that video gamers not only did better on the tests, they “have more brain activations in regions linked with attention and working memory,” he said.

“That was very nice to see, because it’s a way to explain why they performed better,” said Chaarani, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont.

The study didn’t distinguish between the types of video games played, but Chaarani noted that the majority of kids tended to play more fast-paced shooter and action adventure games rather than slower-paced logic games like puzzles.

One takeaway may be that parents should consider opting for video games over television, Chaarani said. “Maybe video gaming is not worse than watching TV.”

Radesky, who was not involved in the new research, also noted, “We can’t extrapolate these results to assume, however, that more video gaming will lead to better impulse control or working memory in non-screen contexts, such as classrooms or doing chores at home. Supportive teachers/caregivers and social-emotional skill-building approaches help with those skills in more naturalistic environments.”