Pokemon game ‘wrinkles’ brain

PARENTS worry that video games rot children’s brains, but a study shows they just ‘wrinkle’ them.

Psychologists found those who played Pokemon in childhood developed a dedicated region in their brains that helped them recognise hundreds of its characters such as Pikachu, pictured, well into adulthood.

Researchers at Stanford University, California, found the changes in the part of the brain that helps us recognise animals. The study, in the journal Nature Human Behavior, saw them scan the brains of 11 adults who played the game as children while being shown images of its characters. Their brains responded more than those of non-players.

Dr Jesse Gomez said the early development of this brain region could explain why they respond better to some visual stimuli than others.