A new study reports that playing videogames — specifically Tetris — improves the brain’s efficiency, increases its size, and helps it resist late-life deterioration.
The Mind Reaseach Network’s study, funded by the makers of Tetris, observed the brains of adolescent girls with MRI scans before and after a three-month test period. During this time, the girls participated in "challenging visuospatial tasks," operationally defined as a number of Tetris gameplay sessions.
The results show that certain areas of the cortex (shown in red above) increase in thickness after prolonged focus on these sorts of tasks, thereby making the individual more resistant to mental decline that may occur later in life. Other areas (shown in blue) function with greater efficiency after Tetris.
So the next time someone tells you that vieogames rot your brain, point them to this study, and perfectly contradictory scientific evidence.
