Study: Violent Games Have Lingering Effect on Brain Activity

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 29, 2006 - 2:36pm.

Chicago - Teens who play violent video games exhibit increased activity in "emotional" areas of the brain and decreased activity in "self-control" areas, according to a study presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting, Reuters reported.

"Our study suggests that playing a certain type of violent video game may have different short-term effects on brain function than playing a nonviolent, but exciting, game," Dr. Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine and the study's author, told Reuters.

The study used magnetic resonance imaging to record brain activity while teens played violent or non-violent games, and continued to monitor them afterwards while they completed various tasks.

"What we showed is there is an increase in emotional arousal. The fight or flight response is activated after playing a violent video game," added Matthews, who hopes to conduct additional research on the effect of violent games on brain functioning.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/ye7ebp (Reuters)
http://rsna2006.rsna.org