London - We may feel like we are in our peak in our twenties – but scientists believe our brains start going downhill after the age of 24.
Researchers used computer games as a way of testing our ability to process information and react to it – known as ‘cognitive motor skills’.
The study involved more than 3,300 people aged 16 to 44 playing a space battle and trading game called StarCraft 2.
In the game, players can buy and sell spaceships, upgrade their weapons and trade with or wage war on fellow players.
The study revealed a link between age and being slower at the game. Researchers said that those over the age of 24 tended to perform less well. Lead author Joe Thompson, a PhD student from Simon Fraser University in Canada, said: ‘After around 24 years of age, players show slowing in a measure of cognitive speed that is known to be important for performance.
‘This cognitive performance decline is present even at higher levels of skill.’
Although older players are less able to react quickly, they do have some advantages on their younger competitors.
‘Our research tells a new story about human development,’ said Thompson.
‘Older players, though slower, seem to compensate by employing simpler strategies and using the game’s interface more efficiently than younger players, enabling them to retain their skill, despite cognitive motor-speed loss.’
He said older players, for example, are better at using keyboard shortcuts to help them make up for declining speed.
And there is some hope for those of us over the age of 24 as Thompson said that our cognitive motor capacities change throughout adulthood.
‘They are constantly in flux and our day-to-day performance is a result of the constant interplay between change and adaptation,’ he added.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. - Daily Mail
WHAT IS STARCRAFT?
StarCraft 2 is a ruthless competitive intergalactic computer war game that players often undertake to win serious money.
The game is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment, and is hugely popular, with players often meeting up to compete in vast weekend tournaments against each other.