Videogames and Cognitive Functioning

Apparently nursing homes should allow access to Rise of Nations. Fresh out of the laboratory at the University of Illinois is a study in which older adults were trained to play the strategy computer game Rise of Nations. Measures of executive functioning (this is a somewhat abstract and confusing term but you can think of it as one's ability to multitask) were given before, during, and after training. They found that, compared to a control group that did not play Rise of Nations, executing functioning was enhanced by the video game training. These sorts of effects are typically only found when older adults are entered into a cardiovascular exercise program. Thus, if you play Rise of Nations you can be a lazy ass and still be smart.

For those of you interested in the effects of first-person shooter games there has been some research done on younger adults. The typical finding is that the games improve visuospatial functioning but not executive functioning.

I have no idea whether cognitive research has been done on RPGs. My guess is they make you dumber.