If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
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:
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
