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Video Games Improve Your Eyesight, Mothers in State of Disbelief

by Chad Mumm on March 31, 2009 at 09:30 AM

It turns out that, contrary to what we heard from our mothers, video gaming can actually improve vision. A recent study at the University of Rochester found that test subjects who played video games had a markedly superior ability to perceive fine contrast differences, a large factor in how well we see.

Study leader Daphne Bavelier told LiveScience that, usually, the only way to improve contrast sensitivity was to get glasses or eye surgery. Apparently, though, test subjects who played 50 hours of video games over the eight-week test period gained a 58-percent increase in contrast sensitivity. What's more, players who played action-packed shooting games (like 'Unreal Tournament' and 'Call of Duty 2') saw a greater increase in acuity than those who played games requiring less hand-eye coordination (like 'The Sims 2').

Apparently, the action games train our brains to process visual information more efficiently -- as if we needed another excuse for "pwning noobs!" [From LiveScience, Via: Slashdot]

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Tags: eyesight, health, top, video games, VideoGames

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