A team down at Florida State University sat 77 lab rats undergraduates in front of the games for eight hours, with their problem solving, spatial skill and persistence tested before and afterward. The results showed that the Portal 2 players showed "significant increases" in their scores once they'd spent time with Wheatley and GLaDOS while the Lumosity gang, er, didn't. It's only one study with a limited sample set, for sure, but maybe the next time that fictional midwestern mom starts moaning about your rotting brain, you can hand her the report and tell her to shove it.

[Image Credit: Alphacoders / Medowar]