Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Health & Medicine Mind & Brain

Playing computer games could help keep your brain in good shape, new study reports

Super Mario is better for your brain than taking piano lessons.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
December 8, 2017
in Mind & Brain, Technology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit
Mario does wonders for your brain, apparently.

When it comes to their neurological and psychological effects, computer games stir a heated debate. Some studies have indicated a connection between violent games and aggression, but studies are often inconsistent, and just as many studies point to the contrary. Even more interestingly, recent research has shown that gaming can lead to an improvement in cognition. Now, a new study by University of Montreal researchers found that participants who played 3D platforming games, like the iconic Super Mario 64, had more grey matter in their hippocampus after playing. The findings carried on for participants of all ages.

Previous studies have shown similar results, but only for young males in their 20s — the key demographic for computer games, but not truly representative for the entire population. Now, they carried out similar studies for seniors. The team recruited 33 people aged 55 to 75 and split them into three groups: one of them had to play Super Mario 64 regularly, take the second took piano lessons for the first time, and the third did nothing.

Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adults. Differences highlighted here. Image credits: Grey et al / PLoS ONE.

The piano lessons group and the control group had no increase in their grey matter — but the Super Mario 64 group did. Lead researcher Gregory West says that games like the Super Mario force participants to build a cognitive map of the virtual environment, which stimulates the hippocampus. This also helps reverse the atrophy of grey matter which tends to come with old age.

ADVERTISEMENT

“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 in a statement. “It remains to be seen whether it is specifically brain activity associated with spatial memory that affects plasticity, or whether it’s simply a matter of learning something new.”

Grey matter in the hippocampus is vital for the central nervous system, and in the hippocampus particularly, it contributes to the transformation of short-term memories into long-term memories and to spatial orientation. Grey matter in the hippocampus is also a significant biomarker for neurological and psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer’s.

It was also previously shown that London Taxi drivers displayed more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than a matched control group.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

While we should always this type of study with a grain of salt, results are encouraging. It shows that you’re never too old for gaming, and at least for the hippocampus — it’s better for you than taking piano lessons.

ADVERTISEMENT

Journal Reference: Greg L. West et al. Playing Super Mario 64 increases hippocampal grey matter in older adults. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187779

Tags: grey matterhippocampusMario
ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Andrei's background is in geophysics, and he's been fascinated by it ever since he was a child. Feeling that there is a gap between scientists and the general audience, he started ZME Science -- and the results are what you see today.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.