Practicing League of Legends changes brain waves and improves memory for more than two months

A scientific investigation led by Universidade of Ciência and Tecnologia Eletrônica of China has identified that regular sessions of League of Legends generate measurable improvements in the attention, memory and executive function of the human brain. The survey monitored the neurological development of dozens of volunteers over months of controlled tests. The researchers used brain monitoring equipment to record physical and cognitive changes in participants during the period of exposure to the virtual environment.

The data collected demonstrated that the positive effects remained detectable in the body up to ten weeks after the experiment had completely ended. The prolonged retention of these skills differentiates the strategic action title from other traditional cognitive interventions. Scientists compared the performance of players in the virtual battle environment with a control group focused on a card game, drawing parallels about how different visual and motor stimuli affect brain plasticity.

Dinâmica of the experiment and division of control groups

The research team selected 68 young adults to form the basis of analysis for the study. The volunteers had little or no previous experience with complex electronic games. The scientists divided the participants into two distinct blocks for continuous follow-up that lasted 30 weeks. The first group was tasked with playing League of Legends for one hour a day, five days a week. Regularity sought to simulate a pattern of moderate and constant consumption of digital entertainment.

The second group acted as a comparison basis to validate the results obtained. Esses participants dedicated the same time and weekly frequency to Legends of the Three Kingdoms. The title chosen for control works like a turn-based strategic card game. The choice allowed the researchers to isolate the variables of real-time action and motor demand, keeping only the logical reasoning component present in both activities.

League of Legends operates in an online multiplayer battle arena format, requiring coordination between five members of a team. The virtual environment demands the simultaneous monitoring of multiple elements on the screen. Users need to manage resources, observe the positioning of allies and opponents on the map, and execute precise commands in fractions of a second. Essa controlled information overload forms the basis of the hypothesis tested by Chinese academics.

Alterações neurological and brain wave mapping

Those responsible for the study subjected the volunteers to periodic assessments to measure the evolution of specific mental abilities. The tests focused on spatial attention, spatial working memory, and general executive function. Both groups recorded improvements in several cognitive tasks over the 30 weeks of follow-up. Initial progress has indicated that engaging in structured play activities offers basic benefits for reasoning.

The divergence in the results occurred in the magnitude of the improvements recorded. The group focused on League of Legends achieved substantially greater gains in indices of spatial attention and working memory. Scientists used electroencephalogram exams to map each individual’s resting brain activity. The records showed pronounced changes in the brain wave patterns of participants exposed to the action game.

The changes captured by medical equipment signal an increase in the efficiency of information processing through neural pathways. The human brain has the ability to reorganize its connections in response to repetitive stimuli. Daily exposure to unpredictable virtual scenarios forced the volunteers’ nervous systems to optimize communication between different areas of the cerebral cortex. Biological adaptation resulted in faster responses to complex visual stimuli.

Leia Também

TV technologies divide consumers when it comes to watching the 2026 World Cup

Rockstar accelerates marketing for GTA 6 and opens vacancies for creating billboards and packaging

Rockstar Games expands structure for visual launch of GTA 6 in global campaign

Principais cognitive gains recorded by scientists

• Spatial Atenção: Action gamers demonstrated superior ability to track multiple moving objects simultaneously.
• Working Memória: The main group recorded greater ease in retaining and manipulating temporary information to solve immediate problems.
• Executive Função: Logical planning and inhibition of impulsive responses improved in both groups, with an advantage for the arena title.
• Padrões neural: Scans detected electrical signatures associated with an optimized state of alertness in the brain at rest.
• Skills Retenção: Assessments confirmed maintenance of cognitive benefits more than two months after the last gaming session.

Enhanced spatial attention allows an individual to process peripheral information without losing focus on the central goal. Working memory acts as a temporary storage space essential for everyday decision making. Strengthening these two specific areas suggests that training in high-intensity virtual environments can facilitate the execution of complex tasks in the physical world. Researchers associate these gains with the constant need for tactical adaptation required by matches.

Persistência of the results after the end of the sessions

The durability of neurological changes represents the central point of the Chinese university’s findings. Scientists called participants for a new battery of tests exactly ten weeks after the end of the 30-week game period. Attention and memory metrics remained elevated in the main group. Maintaining indices contrasts with conventional cognitive therapies, which often show a rapid drop in effectiveness when training is stopped.

The survey authors attribute this persistence to the combination of strategic challenges with continuous motor demand. The need to synchronize tactical reasoning with precise hand movements creates more robust synaptic connections. Decision-making under pressure forces the brain to consolidate new neural pathways in profound ways. The biological process is similar to learning a musical instrument or a new language.

Limitações methodologies and next research steps

The document published by the researchers details the structural limitations of the experiment carried out. The group analyzed consisted only of young, healthy university students. Essa demographic restriction prevents automatic generalization of results to children, the elderly, or people with pre-existing neurological conditions. The team also faced difficulties completely isolating external factors during the months of testing. Variáveis, as well as the students’ study load, sleep quality and individual motivation, may have influenced the final numbers.

The data obtained does not establish a universal cause and effect relationship for the consumption of electronic games. Research indicates that specific stimuli generate measurable adaptations in a controlled group. The exact biological mechanism that translates virtual experience into physical cognitive improvement still demands further investigation. The individual genetics and psychological profile of each user represent factors that alter the magnitude of brain responses to the same stimuli.

Riot Games, the company responsible for developing League of Legends, did not participate in the financing or structuring of the Chinese study. The financial independence of the research reinforces the validity of the data presented to the scientific community. Futuros surveys will need to assess whether the benefits recorded in the laboratory effectively transfer to individuals’ professional or academic performance. Monitoring veteran gamers will also help determine whether there is a limit to the cognitive development generated by this category of digital entertainment.