The impact of video games continues to be a hotly debated topic, with numerous studies analyzing the correlation between gaming and cognitive abilities. Experts have proven that playing games moderately can raise a person’s IQ by up to 2.5 points on average.
With over 3 billion gamers worldwide, it’s reassuring to see research demonstrating the intellectual benefits of gaming. This article examines how video games enhance intelligence and their effects across these cognitive functions:
● Memory
● Attention
● Motor coordination
● Visuospatial skills
● Overall cognitive performance
Let’s explore exactly how playing video games can improve each area.
How Gaming Makes You Smarter
Studies illustrate how different brain functions have heightened activity thanks to gaming. Video games don’t turn players into geniuses, but the mental stimulation appears to significantly boost intelligence.
Games help gamers think more critically, process information faster, and solve problems more easily.
Enhances Memory
A research team analyzed data from nearly 2,000 children ages 9 and 10 years old. They evaluated the kids’ ability to memorize information and control impulsive behavior.
Analysis of MRI brain scans revealed that children who played video games for 3+ hours daily had greater activation in brain regions linked to attention and memory compared to those who never played. This shows their brains were working harder during testing.
The researchers believe these activity patterns stem from regularly practicing impulse control and memory tasks while gaming. Since games can be mentally demanding, these changes may translate into better performance on related cognitive tests.
Improves Motor Coordination
Movement-based games demand quick reflexes, which enhances overall coordination.
For example, a game requiring the player to execute a "super jump" makes them double tap the jump button while holding "up" on the directional pad. Mastering actions like these develops precise hand-eye coordination, regardless of whether using a controller, keyboard, or touchscreen device.
These exercises utilize the cerebellum, the part of the brain involved in information processing speed and motor control. Repeated coordination-based activities can make you sharper and improve self-regulation.
Boosts Cognitive Performance
Studies discovered kids who played video games daily for three or more hours scored higher in speed and accuracy on cognitive tasks than those who didn’t play at all.
Researchers also spotted differences in brain activity patterns accompanying the cognitive performance gaps between the two test groups.
It’s worth noting that playing video games for 3+ hours a day isn’t recommended for children. The extreme duration monitored here was purely for research purposes.
Enhances Visuospatial Skills and Attention
Gaming positively influences attention span. Scientists have aggregated 116 studies demonstrating how video game players perform under various types of attention tests, including sustained and selective attention.
Sustained Attention
Sustained attention refers to maintaining focus and responding appropriately over a prolonged period, like when studying or driving a vehicle.
Daphne Bavelier’s research discovered that gamers who regularly play fast-paced, "twitchy" action video games excel in tests of sustained attention and concentration compared to non-gamers.
Selective Attention
Selective attention involves focusing on a particular input for additional processing while filtering out irrelevant or distracting information.
For example, holding a conversation with someone in a noisy public place requires concentrating on what they’re saying while suppressing background chatter and other noises.
One study highlighted how gamers possess a "statistically significant" advantage over non-gamers regarding visual selective attention.
The research emphasized enhancements in sustained and selective attention for gamers. They also require less brain activation to remain focused on demanding cognitive tasks.
Visuospatial Skills
Scientists discovered significantly increased gray matter volume in gamers’ brains, mainly in regions governing visuospatial abilities. These skills refer to identifying visual and spatial relationships between objects.
Additionally, long-term gamers and volunteers who followed a video game training regimen expanded their right hippocampus, the area handling spatial memory.
Increases Gray Matter Volume
A collaborative study between Chinese and Australian scientists found action video game play boosts the quantity of gray matter in players’ brains.
Gray matter comprises the parts of the brain responsible for:
● Motor control
● Sensory perception – sight, sound, etc,
● Memory function
● Emotions
● Speech
● Decision making
The research showed AVG players had increased cortical thickness, surface area, and tissue volume in gray matter regions.
Heightens Problem-Solving Abilities
As Julia M. Chamberlain explains in a study, "Gaming stimulates brain function by altering dopamine levels and promoting problem-solving and strategizing."
The American Psychological Association revealed playing strategy-based video games helps kids improve problem-solving skills. Their 2013 study found adolescents who continued playing strategy games increased problem-solving competence and school grades the next year.
This extensive analysis of gaming’s impact on cognition might leave you wondering – what are the IQ scores of top gamers?
What is the IQ of Elite Gamers?
Here are the average IQ scores of top-tier gamers according to their preferred gaming platform:
● PC gamers: 112.3 IQ
● PlayStation gamers: 110.7 IQ
● Xbox gamers: 103.8 IQ
● Nintendo Switch gamers: 101.3 IQ
● Mobile gamers: 99.4 IQ
Games With the Highest IQ Gamers
Gamers who play Rainbow Six Siege and Among Us possess the peak IQ levels among popular games.
Psychologists administering online IQ assessments have proposed intelligent gamers tend to prefer strategic first-person shooter games.
The 3 titles with the highest tested IQ averages are:
● Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: 120.3 IQ
● Among Us: 118.9 IQ
● Minecraft: 116.3 IQ
Comparatively, League of Legends players average around 115-120 IQ – placing them in the top 15% of intelligence scores.
Additional popular games and their players’ average IQ include:
● Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: 111.2 IQ
● EA Sports FIFA: 106.6 IQ
● Fortnite: 103.6 IQ
Conclusion
Given the overwhelmingly positive impact of gaming on cognition, playing video games can undoubtedly raise IQ. However, as with any enjoyable activity, moderation remains key – especially for parents monitoring young gamers.
While gaming isn’t the only brain-building activity, the mounting research continues to rebuke outdated stereotypes about video games rotting our brains. The vast majority of evidence demonstrates an overall improvement in memory, attention, coordination, visuospatial skills, gray matter, and problem-solving abilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are video games the only way to boost brain development?
No, video games aren’t the sole activity that can expand cognitive abilities. Other repetitive, skill-centered tasks like sports, driving, and painting likely confer similar mental benefits.
Do video games improve the brain?
Absolutely. The escalating pool of research makes it difficult to deny gaming’s positive effects on the brain and correlated motor functions.
Which video games increase intelligence the most?
Brain-training games like puzzles, chess, Sudoku, and Lumosity can better mental functioning and slow age-related decline. But any game requiring strategy, quick thinking, and problem-solving will stimulate cognition.
Cited Research
The following sources were referenced in compiling this article:
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Kühn, S., Gleich, T., Lorenz, R. C., Lindenberger, U., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game. Molecular psychiatry, 19(2), 265-271.
Bisoglio, J., Michaels, T. I., Mervis, J. E., & Ashinoff, B. K. (2014). Cognitive enhancement through action video game training: great expectations require greater evidence. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 136.
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Li, R., Polat, U., Makous, W., & Bavelier, D. (2009). Enhancing the contrast sensitivity function through action video game training. Nature neuroscience, 12(5), 549-551.
Chamberlain, J. M. (2018). Do video games lead to violence?. Journal of adolescent health, 63(3), 313.
Adachi, P. J., & Willoughby, T. (2013). More than just fun and games: The longitudinal relationships between strategic video games, self-reported problem solving skills, and academic grades. Journal of youth and adolescence, 42(7), 1041-1052.
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