Everything in moderation; though video gaming has some downsides and can be addicting, there are some good aspects too, and said good aspects are measurable with a brain scan.
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that video gaming can promote fine motor skills, memory formation, spatial navigation, and strategic planning. Researchers at the Max Plank Institute had a group of twenty four young adults play half an hour of Super Mario 64 for thirty minutes every day for two months. A control group did not game. Then, using and MRI, researchers measured differences in the two group’s brains. The gamers showed more growth of grey matter in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and the cerebellum. Changes were more pronounced in men who wanted to game more.
Of course, what is true of Super Mario 64, which can be a pretty diverse problem-solving game, may not be true of all games. With that said, half an hour of gaming a day is way below the threshold of addiction. In fact, we’d say it’s approximately a thousand per cent less than what we’ve been doing since the advent of GTA V.
