virtual reality gives real power

According to a study,playing action video games enhances visual power.In tests of visual acuity that assess the ability to see objects accurately in a cluttered space,players scored better than their non-playing counterparts.Action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information.After 30 hours of training ,people who normally don't play video games showed a substantial increase in the spatial resolution of their vision,meaning they could see small,closely packed letters more clearly.

Most of the factors that affect a normal person's ability to read an eye chart are optical(size of the eye,the shape/thickness of the cornea/lens) and video games will not change those factors.However,there are some types of visual deficits that are not optical in nature but are instead neural.Only video game training can help thse people.Shooting games, such as Unreal Tournament,improved vision.More sedate games ,such as puzzle game Tetris,showed no effect.When people play action games,they are changing the brain's pathway responsibly for visual processing.These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adaprts to it.That learning carries over into activities and possibly everyday life.

This could mean that video games will find a future role in the medical world.Patients with visual impairment from conditions such as amblyopia(lazy-eye),or even normal aging of the brain,could use video games as rehabilitation therapy.