Video games are a seemingly popular source of entertainment in America today.  Throughout the United States, many people of every age play video games. Several different types of video games exist; all of which offer a different aspect of entertainment.  However, would there be any way in which one could use a video game to enhance his/her cognitive abilities?  Research on different types of video games (action, adventure, strategy, etc.) has been conducted to determine whether these games have the capability of enhancing brain function.  

Arguably one of the most played types of video games is action.  Action video games are great for exercising a vast majority of the different abilities of the nervous system, in particular, the brain.  Action video games are often very fast paced requiring players to be able to make “split second” decisions that will affect their gameplay semi-permanently.  These games also require the player to memorize a vast array of different information, and remember that information throughout their gameplay.  Games with this complexity may have enhancing characteristics that would allow the brain to become a more efficient processor of stimuli.   

Our brains serve as a mediator for solving problems that we face at every moment in our lives (Banich 4).  The brain uses the stimuli gleaned from the rest of the nervous system to create actions and reactions both mentally and physically (Banich 5).  The two different types of neural cells that allow this phenomenon to be accomplished are neurons and glia cells (Banich 5).  Neurons transmit data from the different stimuli of the body to the brain to be processed into actions while glia cells are solely support cells for the nervous system (Banich 5).  These actions can be categorized into different cognitive abilities of the brain.  The different cognitive abilities of the brain are as follows: motor control, object recognition, spatial processing, attention, language, memory, executive functions, and emotion (Banich).  These different cognitive abilities of the brain develop and mature over time; some more or less than others (Banich 434).  Adversely, as we age, those same cognitive abilities tend to degenerate and lessen (Banich 471).  Studies have shown that these cognitive abilities of the brain can be enhanced and repaired through the use of video games.  

Results on this study can be found as far back as the 1990s.  Daphne Bavelier and her assistant C. Shawn Green were wanting to test the theory of neuroplasticity by conducting a simple psychological test in the form of a simple video game (Bavelier 1).  When Green took the test, he continued to maintain a perfect score.  Bothered by the idea that a bug was possibly in the system, he acquired more test subjects to take the same test he did; they as well scored perfectly (Bavelier 1).  Finally, Bavelier took the test and did not score nearly as well as Green and his other subjects did (Bavelier 1).  Upon closer evaluation, the team discovered that Green and his test subjects all extensively played a new challenging video game (Bavelier 1).  Bavelier did not play that video game or any other type of video game (Bavelier 2).  The team then changed their research to a theory that video games may actually enhance different aspects of brain function (Bavelier 2)  The final consensus was that those who had played video games tended to have better spatial recognition and reaction time than those who did not play video games (Bavelier 2).  Since then, extensive research on the affects that video games had on the brain has been conducted.  Bavelier and Green had found that action video games tend to enhance certain cognitive functions of the brain more than other types of games (Bavelier 3).  Their research has shown that individuals who play regularly are able to recognize visual cues an react decisively much quicker than those who did not play on a regular basis (Bavelier 3).  Their research also concluded that those who play action video games do not get distracted from their task as easily as others do (Bavelier 4).  Bavelier and Green state that the possibility to use video games to help with patients who have certain mental disorders is possible if tailored to that individuals need (Bavelier 4).  

Another experiment on the same subject was recorded by Lorenza Colzato.  This experiment went into detail on how action video games affect different controls in the brain.  This experiment again harped on the action video games’ description as being fast-paced and multi-faceted which requires the user to use multiple functions of his/her brain (Colzato 1).  This experiment used both video game players and non-video game players to determine whether there was a noticeable difference between the two parties.  The experiment used 48 male and 4 female participants who were split into 26 video and non-video game players (Colzato 4).  The video game players were then assigned to play action video games for 5 hours a week for one year while the non-video game players could not play video games during that allotted time (Colzato 4).  The players were required to play on a multitude of different game servers (Colzato 5).  Action video games such as Battlefield, Grand theft Auto, and other mature games were used to be given to the video game playing participants (Colzato 5).  After the year period was over, the test participants were all tested on how they reacted.  The test consisted aspects of research on reaction time, fluid intelligence, hits and misses, etc. (Colzato 5) The test results were of a miniscule difference between the two groups (Colzato 6).  The Video game players did score better with reaction time and information handling and deciphering while the non-video game players struggled to do so (Colzato 6).  Also, video game players tended to have a higher capacity for receiving information and dumping the unneeded or excess data (Colzato 7).   This is another example of the way that action video games can affect the cognitive function of the brain for the better. 

An auxiliary example to the previous experiment was conducted by Alan D. Castel.  This experiment was a simple letter recognition test in which the participants were again divided into two groups, video game players and non-video game players (Castel 2).  The participants had two tests.  The first test was a very simple letter recognition test.  Each participant had to identify one particular letter that was in an array of other letters.  The letter “D” was hidden in a field of K’s.  The second test was much more difficult. Each participant had to again identify one particular letter.  This time the letter “D” was in a field of multiple different letters.  Once the test was completed, the results again showed that video game players were again better at the test.

Video games have been proven over and over again that they can enhance certain cognitive functions of the brain.  However, video games may also be used to rebuild damaged or aged cognitive functions of the brain.  As we age we start to lose certain cognitive functions that, at one time, we used every day.  Because of this, day-to-day functions become more challenging.  Reversing this degradation may aid in accomplishing those day-to-day functions again or possibly help save lives due to mental training. 

An experiment that put this theory to the test was conducted by professor Boot.  He created a test for elderly people that would both test and retrain their brains on simple, day-to-day tasks such as changing the radio in the car to remembering a grocery list.  Boot created a series of tests that would test different functions of the brain.  The categories are as follows: Simple and complex reaction time, number comparison, visual search, corsi block tapping, everyday recognition, meaningful memory, MSEQ, flanker task, task switching, raven’s matrices, everyday reasoning, letter sets, and MIDUS (Boot 27).  Sixty-two participants were hand-picked for the experiment with an average age of seventy-two(Boot 27).  These participants were Caucasian individuals who had scored a certain percentile on the entrance exam (Boot 27).

The subjects were separated into three groups (Boot 27).  The first group was given an action video game while the second group was given a “brain-training” video game (Boot 27).  The third and final group served as a control group for the experiment (Boot 27).  After a twelve-week period of playing video games, the groups came back together and took a test (Boot 27).  The first test was the simple and complex reaction time test (Boot 27).  The participants were instructed to simply push a button when a square appeared on a screen or push a button on the side of the screen that the square appeared (Boot 27).  The second test was the number comparison test (Boot 27).  This test required the participant to decide whether a list of numbers were the same or different in the shortest amount of time possible (Boot 27).  The next test was the visual search test (Boot 27).  In this test, the participant had to pay attention to a specific location where a designated shape appeared briefly then disappeared (Boot 27).  While the object appeared, distractor shapes also appeared to try to throw the concentration of the participant (Boot 27).   

This next category of tests tested the participant’s memory (Boot 27).  The first test in the memory section was the Corsi block tapping test (Boot 27).   This test required the participant to remember the order that squares changed colors (Boot 27).  The second test categorized under memory was the everyday recognition test (Boot 27).  This test required the participant to memorize certain “stimuli” such as prescription labels and bank statements in which they had to memorize in a short time (Boot 27).  The third test in the memory section was the meaningful memory test (Boot 28).  In this test, the participant received a list of words in which he/she had to memorize at right over a minute’s time (Boot 28).  The next test was the memory self-efficacy test (Boot 28).  In this test, the participant took a test that determined their confidence in memorizing a list of items (Boot 28).  

The next category is the selective attention and executive control category (Boot 28).  The first test in this category is the flanker test (Boot 28).  In this test, the participant had to determine which of the arrows on the screen flanked the position of the other arrows (Boot 28).  The next test is the task switching test (Boot 28).  The participant for this test had to decide whether the list of numbers were even or odd or higher or lower (Boot 28).  

The next category is reasoning ability (Boot 28).  The first task in this category was the raven’s matrices (Boot 28).  In this test, the participants had to fill in a patterned picture with a missing piece in the shortest amount of time (Boot 28).  The second test in this category is everyday reasoning (Boot 28).  This test required the participant to answer questions about everyday functions and paperwork (Boot 28).  The last test in this category was letter sets (Boot 28).  In this test, the participant had to mark the set that was not like the others (Boot 28).  

The last category was the well-being category (Boot 28). There was only one test in this category, the midlife in the united states scale (Boot 28).  In this test, the participant had to describe in detail how their well-being in the United States (Boot 28).  

Once these tests were completed and the results finalized, only 54 of the original 62 completed the tests (Boot 29).  Most of the participants who dropped out were in the action video game category (Boot 29).  One can see that action video games take the lead once again in improving certain cognitive functions (Boot 29).  

This experiment shows the power that action video games have on the brain and its cognition.  Not only can action video games help to enhance the cognitive functions of the brain it can also help to retrain the brain into doing the simple cognitive tasks once again. However, not all believe that action video games can be helpful due to their stereotypical violent intentions.  Many fear that viewing these games for hours on end may change the way you act or think in regards to other human beings. The common claim is that action video games de-sensitize you to the horrors of catastrophes such as death, murder, destruction, and ruin.

One social media source that I found to be very degrading to video games and was possibly written in reaction to a terrible event was a blog post by the psychology professor Jean M. Twenge.  Twenge does have a Ph.D and is a professor in Psychology.  In this text, she does not give any citations of any of the works in which she discussed.  Twenge also writes immediately after an aggressive event which claimed to have had origins from violent video games.  This article does not come across as credible or trustworthy information.  She was writing in reaction to the Sandy Hook shootings and was speaking out of fear and ignorance of the situation. She insinuated that the shooting was as of a result of the shooter “training” himself with very violent action video games such as Call of Duty or Battlefield. This source is written soon after a traumatic event which may skew information due to a lack of research and investigation of origin.  The author also does not leave any citations in her article for easy reference for other readers.

 This article was written soon after a traumatic event.  The intent of the author may not be easily trusted due to the possibility of the author having trauma from the incident.  She redirects the blame onto objects such as guns and video games instead of facing the truth that the shooter is to be at fault and the shooter alone.  Her ignorance inspires many of her readers to be ignorant of the situation and merely taking “word of mouth” due to her “title” in the work place instead of researching for herself.  People should research for themselves using multitude of resources instead of reading or listening to one post, trusting it as truth, and believing it.  Video games are merely a tool of entertainment and now of cognitive tuning or enhancement.  

Video games will soon become the prominent mode of entertainment and relaxation. Video games will soon also be an important tool in the psychological world in training and enhancement.  Video game types such as action, adventure, fantasy, rpg, automotive, anime, and many others are always advancing and expanding to account for the new tastes of the gamers.  Video games have become popular amongst not only adolescents, but adults, too. Action video games, in particular, are becoming excessively popular and are now reaching out to both younger and older generations which will allow video games to become a comfort while training.  The future of video games looks very promising and decisive as technology advances.  This new video game technology will serve as even that much more of a useful tool that can and will be used by many psychologists to determine what problems lie within the cognitive abilities of the brain.  
