Video games may be surprisingly good way to get cognitive boost

Far from rotting our brains, video games may improve our cognition. But how we play them matters when it comes to the benefits they provide. By pla...

Far from rotting our brains, video games may improve our cognition. But how we play them matters when it comes to the benefits they provide.

By playing video games, "people are practicing complex skills in simulated environments,” said Aaron Seitz, a professor of psychology and the director of the Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being at Northeastern University, unlike traditional "brain games,” which tend to be as "simple as possible.”

Studies have shown that, in some circumstances, playing video games can help slow brain aging.

Other research has found that playing action video games in particular may prove beneficial for a wide range of skills, such as our attention for visual information and our ability to learn, said C. Shawn Green, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Most brain training games or tasks help improve only a narrower range of skills directly related to what was practiced.

But experts caution to not overdo it.