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Games for Better Brains [Video]

Action video games in which a player is called on to shoot zombies may provide greater cognitive benefits than do explicit brain-training methods

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Playing Call of Duty or Gears of War is not necessarily associated in people’s minds with improved mental function—better focus or an ability to switch attention quickly. Scientific studies, however, now show that, in fact, these games may be better at enhancing cognition than so-called brain games. Read “The Brain Boosting Power of Video Games by Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green, and watch a video of Bavelier’s TED Talk:

Gary Stix is the former senior editor of mind and brain topics at Scientific American.

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Scientific American Magazine Vol 315 Issue 1This article was published with the title “Games for Better Brains [Video]” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 315 No. 1 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican072016-5LmkR2YfTigumEmXsBfsdh

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