Video Games and Cognitive Skills: Beyond Teenage Years

A recent study looked into how playing video games, especially those with action-based mechanics, can boost cognitive performance. Researchers wondered if these benefits were due to inherent differences in cognitive skills from earlier in life. They used data from a study called CATSLife, involving 1241 adults. The participants were split into gamers (40. 6%) and non-gamers (59. 4%) and further divided based on the type of games they played. Most gamers stuck to puzzle, strategy, or life simulation games (53. 0%), while some preferred action games (33. 1%), and a few played both (10. 3%). Across various cognitive tasks, like processing speed, spatial reasoning, and working memory, gamers generally performed better than non-gamers. However, the specific type of game played didn't seem to make a huge difference. Once the researchers accounted for cognitive skills from adolescence, most gaming benefits were reduced by over 35%. But, gamers still had an edge in spatial tasks. Interestingly, adolescent IQ predicted who would end up liking puzzle/strategy games, but not action games. This suggests that some people choose certain games based on their inherent skills. The study shows that while early cognitive skills play a role, gamers may still gain cognitive benefits even as adults. This means video games could be a fun way to keep our minds sharp, no matter our preferences.