We've all heard the cry: "videogames are bad", and no amount of blue-in-the-face rebuttal tends to change standard, uneducated opinion (try telling people it's your job). But thankfully, every once in a while, proper testing is done and positive results come in.

The University of Rochester in the US has been conducting studies using videogames for cognitive science. The ABC has an interesting article up pointing out the positives researchers are beginning to find.

Today, a growing area of brain research suggests modern fast-paced action video games — in particular first-person shooter games — may sharpen your vision, improve your attention and working memory, and develop your fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

It's suggested in the article the positive affects of this sort of thing translate to every day activities such as driving, and may even help reverse brain degradation in the ageing process.

The full article can be found right here.