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Study: Video Games Can Train Future Surgeons

By james_fudge

A recent study from Canadian researchers found that hand-eye skills developed by playing games helps train the brain for "sophisticated visuomotor tasks, tuning skills" required for complex surgical procedures involving images displayed on a video screen.

The study tested 13 20-year-old males that played video games for a minimum of four hours a week for up to three years. The study also employed 13 20-year-old-males who did not play video games at all. Both groups were asked to complete visuomotor tasks such as using a joystick to complete a task or look one way while reaching in the opposite direction.

Non-gamers used their parietal cortex, which integrates spatial sensory information, while gamers used their prefrontal cortex instead - according to the study's results.

"By using high resolution brain imaging, we were able to actually measure which brain areas were activated at a given time during the experiment," said Lauren Sergio, associate professor in the Faculty of Health at York University in Ontario. Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on September 27, 2010 (boomark / email).