A study published in the scientific journal NATURE finds that the most violent games sharply improve visual attention skills. First-person shoot games, where one's virtual life is threatened, are the most effective in helping gamers identify objects in their peripheral vision, perceive numerous objects without having to count them, switch attention rapidly and track many items at once. Experienced players scored 30-50% better than nonplayers. Once more, the study found that the visual skills of non-gamers improved tremendously after just 10 hours of gameplay. While the number of subjects was small in the study, the effects were too large to be a result of chance, said Dr. Daphne Bavelier, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Rochester, who led the study.
The study may be used to help stroke victims or other visually impaired patients regain their visual skills. In one of the experiments, subjects performed well after playing MEDAL OF HONOR: ALLIED ASSAULT that simulates World War II. combat situations, but did not improve after playing the slower-moving puzzle game TETRIS. Check out the study at www.nature.com/nsu/030527/030527-5.
