Beating Lazy Eye with gaming

Every now and then, you hear about how video games can cause damage to a person, physical and mental. It has been that way for many years. However, there is some good that comes out of playing those games.  Researchers from the School of Optometry and the Neuroscience Institute, at UC Berkeley, have found that playing video games could help adults cure amblyopia, also known as lazy eye.

After about 40 hours of gameplay, 2 hours a day, participants showed a 30% increase in their visual acuity. Dr. Roger Li, lead researcher for this study, stated that “This study is the first to show that video game play is useful for improving vision in adults with amblyopic.” The participants were split into 2 groups. Half the group played a first-person shooter,    Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. And the other half played  SimCity Societies,  a non-violent game. The research group also showed an improvement in their 3-D depth perception.

Even though there were no improvements after the 40 hours, it is still on the early stages. Dr. Li wants people who suffer from amblyopia to realize that since this research is in its early stages, not to try and self-treat this disorder.

Study: Video games may improve eyesight for adult with lazy eye