In addition to providing plenty of entertainment, there may be another reason why you want to pick up the controller and play three-dimensional video games — memory formation. A recent study conducted by University of California, Irvine researchers found that playing 3-D video games can boost the formation of memories, in addition to the numerous studies that have pointed to the benefits of hand-eye coordination and reaction time that come from playing these games.
The study took advantage of non-gamer college students and had them play either a passive two-dimensional video game or one with an intricate, 3-D setting for 30 minutes per day over a two-week period of time. The subjects took memory tests before and after the two-week period and these tests were designed to engage the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is associated with learning and memory.
The results were clear as subjects who played the 3-D video game showed improved scores on the memory test, whereas those that played the 2-D video game showed no improvement. In particular, memory performance in the 3-D group was 12 percent, which is also the same percentage amount that memory typically decreases between the ages of 45 and 70.
"Three-dimensional games have a few things the 2-D ones do not," said Craig Stark, co-author of the study, in a press release. "They've got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they're much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus."
Stark hopes to determine if environmental enrichment through 3-D games can reverse the hippocampal-dependent cognitive decline that typically occurs in older populations.
"Can we use this video game approach to help improve hippocampus functioning?" asked Stark. "It's often suggested that an active, engaged lifestyle can be a real factor in stemming cognitive aging. While we can't all travel the world on vacation, we can do many other things to keep us cognitively engaged and active. Video games may be a nice, viable route."
