The effect of video games on the brain [is] very similar to the effect of wine on the health.

Bavelier’s comparison frames video games as a “dose-dependent” influence: like wine, their effects are not uniformly good or bad, but vary with amount, context, and the individual. The analogy implies that moderate, well-chosen play can be associated with measurable benefits (e.g., attentional control, visual processing, certain learning-related skills), while excessive or poorly matched use may carry risks (e.g., displacement of sleep, social activity, or vulnerability to compulsive use). The quote also pushes back against blanket moral panic by urging a more nuanced, evidence-based view—asking not “Are games harmful?” but “Which games, for whom, and under what conditions?”