Some parents worry about the negative impact video games could have on their children, but gaming may be associated with improved cognitive abilities, a new study found.
Kids who play video games for three or more hours per day performed better on impulse control and memory tests than children who don’t play games, according to research published Monday in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers analyzed brain scans from more than 2,000 school-age participants in the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the country.
The study has been the largest investigation into the association between video gaming, cognition and brain function, according to Bader Chaarani, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and lead author on the study.