Video Games and Surgery

Playing video games apparently helps laparoscopic surgeons improve their skills, according to a study reported in this article. Surprised? So was Iowa State University psychology professor Douglas Gentile, one of the study's authors. He thought it was surprising that video games skills, more than length of training or prior experience in laparoscopy, detemined how well the surgeons performed in surgical skills tests. "Surprised" isn't the word I'd use to describe my own reaction, but I digress.

According to the study, this supports previous research which showed that video games can improve "fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual attention, depth perception and computer competency". Impressive. It makes me wonder who sponsored the initial research.