Correlation Found Between Brain Structure and Video Game Success 110
kghapa writes "Still want to argue that video games shrink your brain? While video games have been previously shown to stimulate brain activity and improve coordination skills, a recently published study has directly linked structures in the human brain with video game aptitude. And yes, apparently size does matter in this case. Quoting: '... each subject received 20 hours of training to play a video game specifically created for research purposes, called Space Fortress. It's basically an Asteroids-type arcade game, in which the object is to knock down and destroy an enemy fortress while dodging space mines. However, the game has lots of extra twists that require close attention. Some of the players were told to focus exclusively on running up a high score, while others were told to shift their priorities between several goals. The result? The subjects who had more volume in an area called the nucleus accumbens did significantly better in the early stages of training. Meanwhile, those who were well-endowed in different areas of the striatum, known as the caudate nucleus and putamen, handled the shifting strategies better.'"
I want to play! (Score:3, Informative)
I thought the game sounded like fun so I looked it up. You can find it here: http://cogworks.cogsci.rpi.edu/?view=modules.research.spec&id=74 [rpi.edu] The page is down, so you may need to check the Google Cache. It does not appear to be available to the general public.
Re:I want to play! (Score:3, Informative)
I was actually in a study using this game, and it didn't seem very asteroids like to me, other than having vector style graphics.
The controls involved both a joystick in one hand, a mouse in the other, and car-style pedals. One phase had you alternately pumping the foot switches at a specific tempo for long stretches of time(as a measure of concentration) and I had just done a long distance bike trip that morning. God, my legs hurt just thinking about it.
It was OK for a few days, but after I overflowed the score, it got a bit boring except for the challenge of using a joystick and mouse at the same time.
Re:I want to play! (Score:3, Informative)