Andre Yoskowitz
29 Mar 2009 21:58
According to a survey from the University of Rochester in New York, adults that play lots of action video games can possibly improve their eyesight.
Those who play see significant improvements in "their ability to notice subtle differences in shades of gray."
"Normally, improving contrast sensitivity means getting glasses or eye surgery -- somehow changing the optics of the eye," said Daphne Bavelier of the study."But we've found that action video games train the brain to process the existing visual information more efficiently, and the improvements last for months after game play stopped."
The study divided 22 adults into two groups, with one group playing "Call of Duty 2" and "Unreal Tournament 2004." The second group played "The Sims 2," a slower game that requires much less hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
Each group played exactly 50 hours of the games over nine weeks. By the end of the training, those in the first group showed a 43 percent improvement in "their ability to discern close shades of gray," whereas the second group had no improvement.
"When people play action games, they're changing the brain's pathway responsible for visual processing. These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it," Bavelier added.