Using a mixture of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a research team in New Mexico has found evidence that consistent playing of the classic puzzle game Tetris can increase the thickness and efficiency of gray matter in certain areas of the brain.  According to the ScienceDaily article, the cortex thickness increased in areas that control complex movements and sensory integration such as hand-eye coordination. The fMRI showed increases in efficiency to areas that are associated with critical thinking, reasoning and language. While their study is rather small (and I would like to see further support studies to follow it up), it did produce some positive feedback. The scienctists themselves say that they are looking forward to increasing the study as well as seeing if and how much the areas degrade if the subjects stop playing.

This is certainly not the first study to suggest that video games can offer benefits, but it is nice to see the list of positives and support grow. Games such as Sudoku and Brain Age have increased in popularity in the last few years, at least in part due to reports that they may help people improve brain function or stave off age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. There are other reports that suggest that action games may improve visual acuity.

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