This is the article. I know that the link was much too primitive for the likes of yous.
Quote:
Ask Dr. H: The positive effects of video games
By Mitchell Hecht
Medical Columnist
Question: Is there any benefit to my 9-year-old granddaughter playing video games?
Answer: Believe it or not, psychologists have found that carefully chosen, nonviolent games do have some surprising brain-enhancing benefits. For an article published in the December issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, researchers at the University of Minnesota looked at all the existing research on video games and found that avid players were fast and accurate information processors - not only during game play, but in real-life situations as well.
Regular video gamers got faster not only on their game of choice, but on a variety of unrelated lab tests of reaction time. Additionally, the researchers found that, contrary to the popular belief that fast decisions lead to more mistakes, avid gamers did not lose accuracy (in the game or in lab tests) as they boosted speed. The researchers attributed this to improved visual cognition from gaming.
They also found that playing the games enhanced performance on mental rotational skills, visual and spatial memory, and tasks requiring divided attention.
Carefully chosen video games also can encourage logical thinking, reading skills, vocabulary development, problem solving, strategy planning, and observational skills. That said, it's important to balance this activity with regular physical exercise and sunshine.
In taking cold medicine, be careful of dosage
Q: My mother insists on drinking cold medication right out of the bottle instead of measuring the dose. Don't you think that's dangerous?
A: Yes, it's very dangerous since it's a guarantee that she'll take either too little or too much. An overdose of dextromethorphan (cough suppressant), phenylephrine (decongestant), and/or diphenhydramine (a sedating antihistamine) is a likely scenario. [Note that the author fails to mention codeine.]
Since cold medications are packaged with measuring cups to ensure proper dosage, there's no need to use kitchen spoons or drink directly out of the bottle.
A study published in the Jan. 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at the dangers of using kitchen spoons to measure liquid cold medicine.
Nearly 200 former cold and flu sufferers were asked to pour one teaspoon of nighttime cold/flu medication into kitchen spoons of various sizes. When pouring medication into a medium-sized tablespoon, the study participants poured an average of 8.4 percent too little medicine; when using a larger spoon, study participants poured an average of 11.6 percent too much. While that might not sound like a lot, when you consider that such pouring errors are occurring several times a day over several days at dosages larger than one teaspoon, it really adds up. And that pales in comparison to the dosage error your mother has when she drinks medication right from the bottle.
Mitchell Hecht is a physician specializing in internal medicine. Send questions to him at: "Ask Dr. H.," Box 767787, Atlanta, Ga. 30076.
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