Latest news with #TorkelKlingberg
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Playing Video Games Has an Unexpected Effect on Kids' IQ, Study Discovers
Researchers have linked spending more time playing video games with a boost in intelligence in children, which goes some way to contradicting the narrative that gaming is bad for young minds. While the difference in cognitive abilities was a small one and isn't enough to show a causal relationship, it is enough to be notable – and the 2022 study was careful to factor in variables including differences in genetics and the child's socio-economic background. Meanwhile, watching TV and using social media didn't seem to have a positive or negative effect on intelligence. The research should prove useful in the debate over how much screen time is suitable for young minds. Related: Video Games Can Boost Your Mental Health – But There's a Catch "Digital media defines modern childhood, but its cognitive effects are unclear and hotly debated," the team from the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden writes in their published paper. "We believe that studies with genetic data could clarify causal claims and correct for the typically unaccounted role of genetic predispositions." The researchers looked at screen time records for 9,855 kids in the ABCD Study, all in the US and aged 9 or 10. On average, the youngsters reported spending 2.5 hours a day watching TV or online videos, 1 hour playing video games, and half an hour socializing over the internet. They then accessed data for more than 5,000 of those children two years later. Over the intervening period, those in the study who reported spending more time than the norm on video games saw an increase of 2.5 IQ points above the average rise. The IQ point increase was based on the kids' performance on tasks that included reading comprehension, visual-spatial processing, and a task focused on memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. It's important to note that while the study only looked at children in the US and did not differentiate between video game types (mobile versus console games), it's still a valuable insight into gaming and IQ – and backs up the idea that intelligence isn't a fixed constant that we're born with. "Our results support the claim that screen time generally doesn't impair children's cognitive abilities, and that playing video games can actually help boost intelligence," neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden said in 2022 when the study was published. As the researchers note, this is not the first study to suggest that there could be a link between the time that kids spend gaming and the development of their cognitive abilities – and there seem to be other associated benefits from video games, too. The team behind the current research says that small sample sizes, the different designs of studies, and the lack of consideration for genetic and socio-economic influences have all led to the conflicting reports of the effects of screen time that we've seen to date. Those are limitations that this study aimed to minimize. All of this is to say that there are a lot of factors at play, both in terms of how intelligence might be developed and formed and in the different ways in which screen time might affect our bodies and our habits – so much more research is needed. "We didn't examine the effects of screen behavior on physical activity, sleep, wellbeing, or school performance, so we can't say anything about that," said Klingberg. "We'll now be studying the effects of other environmental factors and how the cognitive effects relate to childhood brain development." The research has been published in Scientific Reports. An earlier version of this article was published in May 2022. Related News This 17th-Century Aristocrat Had a Clever Secret For Keeping Her Teeth Stunning Tattoos Discovered on Siberian Mummy From 2,000 Years Ago Reading Hits Differently to Listening For Your Brain, Science Says Solve the daily Crossword
DW
15-07-2025
- Health
- DW
Brain training for school kids: A boost for learning? – DW – 07/14/2025
Apps that train cognitive skills claim to help children learn, and some research backs that up. But there are concerns cognitive training hinders reading development. The years of educational disruption during the COVID pandemic have had profound effects on children's learning outcomes, worldwide. Children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds have been particularly affected. Research suggests that children's cognitive skills are declining — reflected in kids having weaker memories, attention spans, and diminished flexible thinking skills. So, some experts are suggesting that specialized 'brain training' programs be used in schools to improve those skills. Cognitive scientists are interested in testing whether these will help train children's working memory, with brain training programs that present kids with puzzles and other challenges. The working memory is the mind's staging area, where information is processed in the short term. It's the bit that you use when you're struggling through a math or logic problem — the part of our mind that can feel blocked when you can't find a solution. "The challenge is that some children's working memories are limited, and it's a huge bottleneck for learning," said Thomas Perry, a social scientist and education researcher at the University of Warwick, UK. Brain training programs claim to boost these brain skills. One recent study claimed to show that a 12-hour working memory training program had improved children's focus, IQ and long-term academic outcomes. The study followed 572 German schoolchildren aged 6–7 years over three years. One group of children completed a 12-hour-long working memory training over a period of 5 weeks. The kids who did the training missed out on an equivalent time of mathematics or German classes. Meanwhile, a control group of children had regular classes. They found that children who completed the training had increases in working memory capacity up to a year after the training. Three years after the program, researchers found that the trained children had 16% higher chances of entering an academic track at secondary school — 46% instead of the average 30%. "I was surprised by the breadth of benefits, not just for working memory and closely related academic subjects. Even broader capacities such as IQ and self-control improved," said Torkel Klingberg, a neuroscientist at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, who designed the intervention but was not involved in the study. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The children in the study trained working memory through a series of different cognitive tasks, including visuospatial tests to see whether they would remember where things were on a screen. They used a publicly available app called Nuroe, which the study authors claim can help strengthen children's core learning system in the brain. Perry, who was not involved in the research, said the study correctly measured how working memory training mediated academic performance. However, he said, "We can't make grand claims based on one study. We need to verify the results with large scale efficacy trials in different schools and with different teachers." Already, however, he said there were indications that teachers who thought boosting IQ and critical thinking were important were teaching less substantive information related to the curriculum. "This is damaging for some kids. For example, disadvantaged kids often aren't immersed in reading at home, so they really need dedicated time at school for learning to read. Replacing reading time with working memory training might be harmful in the long term." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Perry was involved in a large-scale review of over 400 studies testing different cognitive training programs in schools. The review, conducted by the UK's Education Endowment Foundation, found that studies testing cognitive training in research settings (not in classrooms) tend to show impressive effects on kids' learning. But when they are tested in classrooms, they tend to show limited results. "There's a picture emerging from the research is that some studies show working memory training is potentially effective in certain settings, but other studies show no effect at all," Perry said. "We don't have this critical body of studies to say that working memory training is a good thing to teach students, or how to do it," Perry said. Large-scale brain training programs in US schools, for example, showed no or very small effects on kids' educational outcomes. Meta-analyses have found that working memory training programs do not improve overall cognitive performance or measures of intelligence in the long term. Some experts have said that working memory training programs do not generalize to "real-world" cognitive skills. "Critical thinking skills, for example, are based on knowledge that's built up over time. If you have critical thinking, say, about science, it doesn't necessarily translate to other subjects," said Perry. "So, I doubt we can double kids' working memory and make them suddenly superintelligent."
DW
14-07-2025
- Health
- DW
Classroom brain training: How it helps and hinders learning – DW – 07/14/2025
Apps that train cognitive skills claim to help children learn, and some research backs that up. But there are concerns cognitive training hinders reading development. The years of educational disruption during the COVID pandemic led to profound effects on children's learning outcomes, worldwide. Children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds have been particularly affected. Research suggests that children's cognitive skills are declining — reflected in kids having weaker memories, attention spans, and diminished flexible thinking skills. So, some experts are suggesting that specialized 'brain training' programs be used in schools to improve those skills. Cognitive scientists are interested in testing whether it will help train children's working memory, with brain training programs that present kids with puzzles and other challenges. The working memory is the mind's staging area, where information is processed in the short term. It's the bit that you use when you're struggling through a math or logic problem — the part of our mind that can feel blocked when you can't find a solution. "The challenge is that some children's working memories are limited, and it's a huge bottleneck for learning," said Thomas Perry, a social scientist and education researcher at the University of Warwick, UK. Brain training programs claim to boost these brain skills. One recent study claimed to show that a 12-hour working memory training program had improved children's focus, IQ and long-term academic outcomes. The study followed 572 German schoolchildren aged 6–7 years over three years. One group of children completed a 12-hour-long working memory training over a period of 5 weeks. The kids who did the training missed out on an equivalent time of mathematics or German classes. Meanwhile, a control group of children had regular classes. They found that children who completed the training had increases in working memory capacity up to a year after the training. Three years after the program, researchers found that the trained children had 16% higher chances of entering an academic track at secondary school — 46% instead of the average 30%. "I was surprised by the breadth of benefits, not just for working memory and closely related academic subjects. Even broader capacities such as IQ and self-control improved," said Torkel Klingberg, a neuroscientist at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, who designed the intervention but was not involved in the study. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The children in the study trained working memory through a series of different cognitive tasks, including visuospatial tests to see whether they would remember where things were on a screen. They used a publicly available app called Nuroe, which the study authors claim can help strengthen children's core learning system in the brain. Perry, who was not involved in the research, said the study correctly measured how working memory training mediated academic performance. However, he said, "We can't make grand claims based on one study. We need to verify the results with large scale efficacy trials in different schools and with different teachers." Already, however, he said there were indications that teachers who thought boosting IQ and critical thinking were important were teaching less substantive information related to the curriculum. "This is damaging for some kids. For example, disadvantaged kids often aren't immersed in reading at home, so they really need dedicated time at school for learning to read. Replacing reading time with working memory training might be harmful in the long term." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Perry was involved in a large-scale review of over 400 studies testing different cognitive training programs in schools. The review, conducted by the UK's Education Endowment Foundation, found that studies testing cognitive training in research settings (not in classrooms) tend to show impressive effects on kids' learning. But when they are tested in classrooms, they tend to show limited results. "There's a picture emerging from the research is that some studies show working memory training is potentially effective in certain settings, but other studies show no effect at all," Perry said. "We don't have this critical body of studies to say that working memory training is a good thing to teach students, or how to do it," Perry said. Large-scale brain training programs in US schools, for example, showed no or very small effects on kids' educational outcomes. Meta-analyses have found that working memory training programs do not improve overall cognitive performance or measures of intelligence in the long term. Some experts have said that working memory training programs do not generalize to "real-world" cognitive skills. "Critical thinking skills, for example, are based on knowledge that's built up over time. If you have critical thinking, say, about science, it doesn't necessarily translate to other subjects," said Perry. "So, I doubt we can double kids' working memory and make them suddenly superintelligent."
