Video games have long been linked with improvements in hand-eye coordination and reaction time, but now another benefit has been discovered by neurobiologists from the University of California, Irvine (UCI): memory.

The scientists have found that playing three-dimensional games can boost the formation of memories, suggesting that they could be a powerful tool for maintaining memory as we age.

However, this memory improvement is only found in complex 3D games, typically played on consoles and PCs, while 2D games, which are more commonly found on smartphones, do not produce the same benefits. Why exactly this is remains unclear: it could be the sheer level of information a 3D environment provides, or it could specifically relate to how our brain is stimulated by the additional spatial information.

“First, the 3D games have a few things the 2D ones do not,” said study co-author Dane Clemenson, from UCI’s Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory. “They’ve got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they’re much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus.”

“It’s quite possible that by explicitly avoiding a narrow focus on a single … cognitive domain and by more closely paralleling natural experience, immersive video games may be better suited to provide enriching experiences that translate into functional gains,” added study co-author Craig Stark, also of UCI’s Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory.

The findings were made using a group of non-gamer volunteers, who were instructed to play video games for 30 minutes a day for two weeks. Half were instructed to play a game with a passive 2D environment, in this case Angry Birds, while the other half played a complex 3D game, Super Mario 3D World.

Both before and after the two weeks, the volunteers were given memory tests specifically designed to assess the brain’s hippocampus, the area responsible for memory and complex learning. The same tests, which involve categorising images depicting objects of varying similarity, have previously been used to demonstrate age-related memory decline.

In the study, the group playing the 2D game demonstrated no change in memory over the two weeks, but the 3D gamers saw a dramatic improvement. Overall memory performance improved by a whopping 12% – around the amount memory normally decreases by between the ages of 45 and 70.

As a result, the researchers believe playing 3D video games regularly could be a simple way to maintain memory function.

“Can we use this video game approach to help improve hippocampus functioning?” asked Stark.

“It’s often suggested that an active, engaged lifestyle can be a real factor in stemming cognitive aging. While we can’t all travel the world on vacation, we can do many other things to keep us cognitively engaged and active. Video games may be a nice, viable route.”

However, there is further research to be done to determine exactly how 3D games are improving memory, and the researchers are already following up on this.

In time, they plan to determine whether video games really can be used to reverse memory decline experienced by people as they age; research that could have patients gaming on doctors’ orders.

The research will be published on 9th December in The Journal of Neuroscience.