Gaming Is Good for Your Brain, Study Says

Has your mother ever told you that video games are bad for you? She's lying.

The results of a study released Monday says otherwise. Standford University researchers discovered that a video game used in the study triggered circuits in the brain that involved positive motivation, a news release said.

The key to achieving this involves "active participation," but seeing and hearing the same information, however, did not impact circuits connected to positive motivation, the study says.

Steve Cole, one of the researchers and a professor of medicine at the UCLA, said active involvement in video games sends positive motivation through the brain.

"This study helps refine our 'recipe for success' in harnessing the power of play in the service of health," Cole said.

The study compared brain scans in 57 people who were randomly assigned to play the game or to watch the same recorded game play.

Results:

The participants played Re-Mission, a game originally designed for young adults with cancer. In the game, users control a robot that fights bacterial infections and destroys cancer cells.

The results of this study will be used to help develop a new Re-Mission game for young cancer patients.