Do you remember those days, when you hated to leave your video game and didn't want to listen to your mother's logical advice on playing games for hours? She might have told you that your eyes will get affected or you should concentrate on your studies. Well, you can now turn a deaf ear as there is a new scientific study which states that video games are actually good for adults.
Researchers have claimed that if you play 'Super Mario' video game, then your brain function would improve. The study entitled "Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adults" was published in a journal 'PLOS ONE'.
"3D video games engage the hippocampus into creating a cognitive map, or a mental representation, of the virtual environment that the brain is exploring," Gregory West, study author and the assistant professor at Department of Psychology in the University of Montreal told EurekAlert.
West and his colleagues had proceeded an experiment on 33 adults for over six months. These participants were asked to play 'Super Mario 64' or take piano lessons. There are some individuals who did not take part in any activity. Later the researchers did MRI scans to understand the impact of the game on the participants' brain.
According to the reports, scientists noticed that the grey matter, which is the major component of the central nervous system that reduces with age, has increased in two regions of the brain for those individuals who played the game. However, the results are not same for other piano players.
"The good news is that we can reverse those effects and increase volume by learning something new, and games like Super Mario 64, which activate the hippocampus, seem to hold some potential in that respect," West said.
On the other hand, there are reports, which claim that children who suffer from autism might get help from video games especially, action games and graphics with ninja poses. These are expected to improve their postural stability and impaired daily activities. The study was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
