The Link Between Gameplay and Short-Term Memory Retention

Games have evolved from simple pastimes and have become critical cultural forces shaping how entertainment is perceived. In fact, addressing the challenges to solve to win a game has been linked to improvements in cognitive capabilities such as decision-making, critical thinking and problem-solving.

How these aspects have addressed a person’s ability to retain information over a short period of time will be the subject of this blog.

Defining Short-Term Memory

Short-term memory is your brain’s capacity for retaining and accessing information for a brief period, lasting between 15 and 30 seconds.

Short-term memory significantly impacts your daily cognitive abilities. It is necessary for holding conversations, identifying your ability to maintain focus and concentration, as well as solving day-to-day problems.

Additionally, a key function of short-term memory is as a gateway to long-term memory. How you can hold onto information for a short period defines the long-term storage capacity in your brain for important information.

How Memory Works in the Brain

Now, how is short-term memory stored in your brain? Primarily, it is the job of your prefrontal cortex. This area within your brain, situated right behind your forehead, stores temporary memories.

The task performed by your hippocampus is the conversion of memory from short-term to long-term. The hippocampus connects your attention with your ability to form memories. By rehearsing on the information, your memories are sent by the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex, where the information is stored in the long-term.

Types of Gameplay That Stimulate Short Term Memory

Games often stimulate the important portions of your brain that control memory retention. It impacts the prefrontal cortex, which moulds your ability to hold onto short term memories. Different game genres, with varying gameplay types, can help strengthen your short-term memory retention.

Action games can impact your attention with increased brain activity, while strategy games can enhance your cognitive capabilities. Both aspects are valuable to the retention of short-term information.

Puzzle and Strategy Games

Some of the key examples of puzzle games that necessitate strategic and tactical awareness are Tetris, Sudoku and Chess. The common elements that all three of these games share are pattern recognition, logical deduction and strategic decision-making. How do these elements impact your brain? They enhance your cognitive functioning capacity.

Another example of a game that involves pattern recognition and strategic thinking is poker. Understanding the patterns of the drawn cards to create a winning sequence can effectively stimulate your attentiveness and strengthen your memory.

Action and FPS Games

Action and first-person shooter games, on the other hand, stimulate your brain by heightening your brain activity. Unlike puzzle games, these games generally do not give you the time to make pronounced decisions. Instead, you participate in a frantic gameplay environment, where quick decisions are the key to victory.

Split-second decision-making and on-your-feet thinking can leverage your attention and capacity for retention of information to enhance your cognitive prowess. In games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, or Battlefield, you challenge your ability to think on the go in a battle arena where things can change in a fraction of a second and who reacts faster wins.

Surprisingly, iGames such as poker share some of these aspects as well. Much like in Call of Duty, on your poker app, you are placed in a “battlefield” with other players. Here, quickly deducing your opponent’s tactics and reacting first often leads to victory.

Educational and Brain Training Games

There are certain games that exist solely to train your brain capacity. Some of these games are targeted towards children in educational capacities. Games such as Sumdog and ABCmouse help children stimulate their brain functions through gamifying education.

Through short-term memory retention, they learn important functions such as math, science or reading. Eventually, these games help upgrade the learned information from your short-term memory into long-term.

However, adult-focused brain training games, such as Lumosity and Elevate exist as well that help adults improve their cognition as well as target memory. These games elevate your short-term memory retention through practices such as rehearsal and active recall.

iGames are also capable of being played as brain training games. Have you ever participated in a free training game on your poker app? Here, without the pressure of competition, it can be an educational experience, where you can stimulate your brain on the strategic elements of poker, enhancing your cognitive and short-term memory retention capabilities.

Benefits of Gameplay on Short-Term Memory

Here is how the gameplay in Tetris or Call of Duty or Poker impacts your brain’s functions, leading to enhancing short-term memory:

• Attention and concentration are positively impacted, leading to improved information processing.
• Visual-spatial memory is enhanced, further improving information retention.
• Faster reaction times, quick thinking and fast decision-making aspects are improved.

All of these aspects lead to the overall development of the capacity to retain short-term memory. It can then become a learning experience, and be stored as long-term memory.

Real-Life Applications

The following tabular representation depicts how games’ ability to impact memory retention has translated to practical applications:

Conclusion

Games can significantly help develop your cognitive capabilities. Games require tactical thinking, attention and retaining knowledge. Therefore, through games, you are exercising your short-term information retention capacity and memory.