Gaming and IQ: How Video Games Influence Brain Function and Intelligence

Gaming and IQ: How Video Games Shape the Brain and Intelligence

The human brain is capable of adapting to many situations. It shook, but developed when an ancient man chased a mammoth, learned art in all its diversity, found himself in the Renaissance, and in the 20th century flew from Earth into space, and also withstood this challenge. But how does the brain react to computer games?

IQ and Intelligence Measurement

IQ, or intelligence quotient, has long been used as a standard measure of cognitive ability. Traditionally, IQ tests assess logical thinking, problem-solving skills, memory, and processing speed. However, modern research suggests that intelligence is more fluid than previously thought, and cognitive ability can be shaped by a variety of stimuli, including video games. People measure their IQ using specific tests, such as the Cerebrum IQ review which is a popular method for tracking and monitoring their intelligence. Games can also help improve IQ. Strategy games improve pattern recognition and decision-making, while fast-paced action games improve reaction time and hand-eye coordination. These skills, often assessed in IQ tests, suggest that gaming can contribute to overall intellectual development.

How video games affect the brain

There are parents who intuitively treat the appearance of tablets, smartphones, computers, and most importantly, consoles, in the lives of their beloved children with caution. But many, if you look closely at families in restaurants, stores, transport, use gadgets as "technological pacifiers and rattles".

It is quite difficult to say for sure what happens to a person under the influence of computer games, since video games have different content and different organizational forms of implementation. It is necessary to distinguish between educational video games (often the developer initially understands what property he is developing), leisure ones, and find a separate place in this conversation for eSports.

Cybersport and the brain

Cybersport as a specially organized social environment based on video games brings a different psychological context and, accordingly, has a different effect on the brain. Gamers and cybersportsmen use different areas of the brain when playing computer games.

Communication in games promotes rapid exchange of information. Therefore, in the information society, human cognition is formed much more intensively. Modern children at 5-6 years old already correspond to the development of 7-9-year-old children who lived half a century ago.

Even if we compare modern children with those who grew up in the 1960s-70s without computers, significant differences in speech, brain function, and reactions are visible. The younger generation has developed an important new property: the ability to avoid unnecessary information. Previously, people experienced information hunger, a deficit - it was necessary to make a lot of effort to find the necessary data: sign up for a library, request the necessary books, magazines, and newspapers. Now, information lies in wait for a person at every corner. Therefore, an important skill is not to be able to obtain, but to manage to filter out, preserving the invaluable.

The researchers set out to evaluate the cognitive processes of cyberathletes' brains while they were competing. The "tactical three-dimensional battle" (a variant of The World of Tanks) and the "battle arena" (a variant of Dota 2) were chosen as the tested game areas. The researchers timed the player's reaction to a moving item as well as basic and sophisticated visual-motor reactions. The researchers came to the conclusion that there are variations in the indicators of individual cognitive functions as well as in the cognitive styles of the various athlete groups. At the same time, there are no differences in the sensorimotor sphere. All cyber athletes have a high speed of complex reactions and make fewer mistakes when implementing them than people who do not have sports experience.

Another study, where the brain of a computer game enthusiast was in the center of attention, was devoted to "the influence of the stimulating effects of computer gaming programs on the state of bioelectrical activity of the brain. Scientists have found that during competitive gaming activity, electrical activity increases, in particular the beta rhythm, which is most represented in the areas of the brain responsible for focusing attention.

What happens to the IQ of a computer gamer?

Recently, the Canadian company Royal Panda conducted a study that compared the average IQ of players on different platforms. The most intelligent were players on personal computers (PCs) with an IQ of 112.3. Sony PlayStation users had an IQ of 110.7. Xbox owners had 103.8, and Nintendo had 101.3. According to the study, mobile gamers have the lowest IQ, with only 99.4 points. This speaks not only of inclinations but also of the fact that complex games can increase IQ. Moreover, the cognitive abilities of cyber athletes and gamers developed thanks to video games allow them to master other high technologies, such as piloting drones, twice as fast.

Final thoughts

In an era where digital technology shapes cognition, video games emerge as both a challenge and a tool for intellectual development. While their impact on IQ and brain function continues to be explored, it is clear that gaming enhances cognitive abilities, shaping the way we think, learn, and interact with the world.