Playing League of Legends can improve brain function, study finds
If you have ever found yourself having to defend the countless you spend gaming online then you may now have a ready-made excuse — researchers have just revealed that video games can improve brain function.
A team from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China conducted a study comparing League of Legends with Legends of the Three Kingdoms. The study found both improved brain function, with League of Legends producing stronger results.
There has long been a debate about whether the quick thinking required by certain games can be beneficial for brain development. This was the objective of a recent study that pitted two games against each other and recorded how they affected brain function. The games were played for one hour a day, five days per week, for a 30-week period, and produced fascinating results. While both games improved brain function, LoL showed significantly more improvement.
Researchers suggest League of Legends can boost brain cognition
The study was performed on 68 university students with little gaming experience. One group played League of Legends, while the other played Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Researchers conducted performance tests paired with brain scans to gain a clear idea of how the games were affecting cognition. The results indicated that the fast-paced and real-time elements of the games played a key role in participants developing more efficient brain networks, which was backed up with EEG data.
Interestingly, the improvement also appeared to not just be temporary, and have persisting effects, as researchers observed the cognitive improvements remained even 10 weeks after the participants stopped playing. The difference between League of Legends and Legends of the Three Kingdoms was also evident, as the former improved multitasking and attention performance noticeably.
Legends of the Three Kingdoms is turn-based, which puts less pressure on players compared to LoL, which requires quick thinking and real-time multitasking. The study’s results indicate that League of Legends’ gameplay style likely contributed to the greater cognitive improvements. However, League being deemed a mentally demanding game is debated in the gaming community.
xQc says League of Legends is “a joke” compared to Dota 2
Streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel recently made comments comparing the difficulty of two popular MOBAs, League and Dota 2. The content creator said that League of Legends is a joke because of how easy it is, and you can become great at the game by putting in 100 hours. He compared that to Dota 2, claiming that putting in 100 hours will take you backwards because of how confusing the game can get. This game being challenging could be one of the reasons why many gamers claim it’s dying.
xQc’s comments ignited a debate among fans of both games, with some supporting him, claiming Dota 2 is a strategy game, which explains its complexity. They also said League is more straightforward and doesn’t rely as heavily on strategy. While this is a never-ending debate, it would be interesting to see what the result would have been if the study had compared League of Legends and Dota 2.
Feature image credit: Riot Games
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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