Study finds that shooter games help sharpen vision |
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But the doctor TOLD me to play this game, Ma!
Here's a bright spot amidst all the negative press that games have been getting lately. Recent findings have revealed that instead of dulling your eyesight, fast-paced shooter games can actually help sharpen vision.
According to the findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, games like the Call of Duty series and Left 4 Dead provide excellent training for what eye doctors call contrast sensitivity, or the ability to notice tiny changes in shades of grey against a uniform background. It's very critical to everyday activities such as night driving and reading and often degrades with age.
"This is not a skill that people were supposed to get better at by training," said Daphne Bavelier, the study's lead researcher. "It was something that we corrected for at the level of the optics of the eye – to get better contrast detection you get glasses or laser surgery. What we found is that even without this correction you can help your brain make better use of whatever information is received from your retina."
In comparing the contrast sensitivity of hardcore action players with gamers who preferred less action-packed fare, the researchers found that the action buffs were 50 percent more efficient at detecting contrast. This didn't prove anything, though, as it was possible that the action gamers already had better than average contrast sensitivity before they started playing.
To further narrow things down, the researchers conducted another experiment where two groups of non-action video game players underwent 50 hours of training. One group got to play Call of Duty (it wasn't mentioned which particular CoD), and the other played a game that didn't have any action in it.
"We found that the people in the first group improved by 43 percent, and the other group not at all," Bavelier said. Even better, she noted that "The positive effect remained months, even years after training, indicating long-lasting gains."
Related articles:
- Professor clarifies on "video gamers are drunks and druggies" study
- Study: violence is not a plus for gamers, challenge is
- New study: video games are brain food for your grandparents
Via The Australian
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Comments [refresh]
I also notice ppl in windows or movement at the periphreal of my vision when my non-gamer friends do not....
how is that possible? either you have the worlds first peripheral screen, or you play games with you head turned sideways.
he means actual windows, not windows on a screen.
finally. this news has been a long time in coming and i'm glad that there has finally been positive news. and i'm really glad that fast paced action packed shooters help your vision. cause That's my favorite type of game. :) i read this to my mom, and she thought it was cool. i think i'm going to refer people who bash video games to this article.
well, he was being all arrogant and saying how it is impossible... but props on trying to get other people to support video games!
I need to dedicate more hours to playing CoD hahahaha. This study is awesome!
Might as well play some more horde in Gears