The Effect of Video Games on the Brain
Submitted by SerendipUpdate on Mon, 01/07/2008 - 5:33pm.
Biology 202
2004 First Web Paper
On Serendip
The Effect of Video Games on the Brain
Eleni Kardaras
The effect of video games on the brain is a research area gaining popularity as the percentage of children and adults who play video games is on the rise. Some people believe violence in video games and in other media promotes violent behavior among viewers. While there is not sufficient data to validate this claim, there are a number of studies showing that video games can increase aggressive behavior and emotional outbursts, and decrease inhibitions. From a few of these studies, and from my own observations of children playing video games, it is quite obvious that the video games do have at least some effect on the behavior of the player. The extent and long range consequences of these behavior changes after one has turned off the video game are not so easily deduced. One source states that "While research on video games and aggressive behavior must be considered preliminary, it may be reasonably inferred from the more than 1,000 reports and studies on television violence that video game violence may also contribute to aggressive behavior and desensitization to violence" (1). Another study reports that "Hostility was increased both in subjects playing a highly aggressive video game and those playing a mildly aggressive video game. Subjects who had played the high-aggression game were significantly more anxious than other subjects" (2).
I had a chance to observe the effects of video games first hand on two boys, ages eight and ten, when I babysat them earlier in the semester. They were playing the video game "Mario Cart," which is really not a very violent game; the object is to win a car race by coming in first while maneuvering through different courses. When the younger brother won, the older brother got up and started kicking him and yelling insults! Later on that day, the younger brother was playing another video game by himself and when he could not beat the level, he threw down the controller and screamed at the t.v. screen, "Why are you doing this to me...?!" and burst into tears. I was very shocked by this reaction and was not quite sure how to handle the situation. This game had brought an eight year old boy to tears, right in front of me. "Certainly, video games can make some people go nuts. You just have to look at some enthusiasts playing video games on their cellular phones, mumbling to themselves heatedly even though others are around them. At game centers (penny arcades), frustrated people punch or kick game machines without regard to making a spectacle of themselves" (3). From the above descriptions, it seems that players get somewhat "sucked" into the video game and become oblivious to their surroundings and much less inhibited to share their emotions. What types of changes are occurring in the brain to activate this behavior which one exhibits when "sucked" into a video game?
Akio Mori, a professor at Tokyo's Nihon University, conducted a recent study observing the effects of video games on brain activity. He divided 260 people into three groups: those who rarely played video games, those who played between 1 and 3 hours three to four times a week, and those who played 2 to 7 hours each day. He then monitored "the beta waves that indicate liveliness and degree of tension in the prefrontal region of the brain, and alpha waves, which often appear when the brain is resting" (4). The results showed a higher decrease of beta waves the more one played video games. "Beta wave activity in people in the [highest amount of video game playing] was constantly near zero, even when they weren't playing, showing that they hardly used the prefrontal regions of their brains. Many of the people in this group told researchers that they got angry easily, couldn't concentrate, and had trouble associating with friends" (4). This suggests two important points. One, that the decrease of beta wave activity and usage of the prefrontal region of the brain may correlate with the aggressive behavior, and two, that the decrease of beta waves continued after the video game was turned off, implying a lasting effect. Another study found similar results and reported: "Youths who are heavy gamers can end up with 'video-game brain,' in which key parts of the frontal region of their brain become chronically underused, altering moods" (5). This study also asserts that a lack of use of the frontal brain, contributed by video games, can change moods and could account for aggressive and reclusive behavior. An important question arises: if the brain is so impacted by video games as to create behavioral changes, must that mean that the brain perceives the games as real?
Perhaps looking at what effects video games have on autonomic nerves can begin to answer that question. "'Many video games stir up tension and a feeling of fear, and there is a very real concern that this could have a long-term effect on the autonomic nerves,' Mori commented" (6). Autonomic nerves are those connected with involuntary internal organ processes, such as breathing and heart rate. "Heart rate can be altered by electrical signals from emotional centers in the brain or by signals from the chemical messengers called epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine. These hormones are released from the adrenal glands in response to danger..." (7). Multiple studies have reported that playing video games can significantly increase heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption. If studies show that heart rate is increased when playing video games, then it seems that the brain is responding to the video game as if the body is in real danger. Does repeated exposure to this "false" sense of danger have an effect on what the brain then perceives as real danger?
From the above studies and observations, video games do effect the players in some ways, since it appears that players get so wrapped up in the game that they forget their surroundings and begin to see the game as a real quest. Studies have shown that playing video games can increase heart rate and blood pressure, as well as decrease prefrontal lobe activity while the person is playing the game. This could account for changes in the player's mood and cause him or her to become more aggressive or emotional. However, the extent of these effects on the body once video game playing has ceased are preliminary and need to be confirmed.
References
1)Mediascope website, highlights data from various scientific studies concerning video games.
2)Mediascope website, violent video games causing aggression.
3)Japan Today News website, an interesting news site and discussion board.
4)Mega Games website, a hardcore gaming site, including cheats, demos, and facts.
5)Beliefnet website, centers around spiritual, religious, and moral issues.
6)Sunday Herald online, a news resource.
7) Freeman, Scott. Biological Systems. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 2002.
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01/19/2006, from a Reader on the Web If you have evidence of video games causing some form of harm to anyone, then who should be blamed. Or what action, in any, should be taken? personaly, i play video games 2-3 hours a day, and i am a nice kid. i do well in school and i don't let anyone push me around. i think it is the kids who base their life on video games and have low self-esteam are what people see in the news today. And it is not all video games, it is the one's that are rated "mature" that parents are getting for their kids. i think it is the parents fault in some way at least. thank you for your comments and i hope you thank mine. sincearly, "Ivan"
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Additional comments made prior to 2007
Hello, Id like to be living proof that video game addiction can be very
real, I have been a addicted video game since the age of 3 years old,
and also unfortunatly I had a neglectful Mother who didnt bother
teaching me moderation, and infact she told me as I was young "go play
your game!" because it was keeping me quite, little did she know I was
Video game obsessed, Now I'm the exact opposite of Ivan, I do let
people guide me, and that is because I simply do not have Control over
what I do, Iam sure my frontal lobe has been very stunted because I was
a very chronic abuser of these video games, for instance, I cannot do
forward planning, I am a very poor organizer, and basically I have no
will to live because I know That this damage is permanent. I find it
impossible to make conversations...I also have a lack of a
personality...this is the reason I dropped out of school...If my story
interestes you plz send me an email, PLEASE it feels like I have no
guidence, people can say its A.D.D but I find it to be much worse ...
Mathieu Perreault, 22 March 2006
I agree with Ivan, although I tend to play more than he does. While there are some problems with playing video games there are benefits of playing them as well, such as; better hand eye cordination, tend to think faster, quicker, and others i dont remeber at this time ... Jake, 18 April 2006
personally i feel the same way im 11 and i full heartedlly support your opionon ... Jelanie Hill, 21 September 2006
Change in attitude and reaction cannot be considered an effect on the brain from video-games. The attitude that one shows when he/she loses in a video-game, is a natural reaction that he/she personally has to change. This attitude is represented in almost everything you would consider a game. It's called poor-sportsmanship. Many people take losing pretty hard and find creative ways to express their frustration. Trash talking during a video-game, is no different than trash talking in any other game. You can't blame video-games for the physical reaction either. If a poor-sport played a game of basketball, he/she would get all of it's frustration out on their opponent, because basketball is a contact game. In a video-game, the physical activity is only limited to the hands, so they can't get it all out. This behavior is, again, result of poor sportsmanship.
Video-games are an easy thing to blame for people's personal problems. You can't base a judgement on an observation that could be the result of almost anything. Point Proven? ... Mrey, 2 November 2006
After playing videogames 2-3 hours I experience drastic mood swings. So I cut down. thanks for opening my eyes ... Aaron Smith, 10 January 2007
i think that video gaMES ARE blamed 2 much kid make there own choices , id know i am one . life gives you problumes some deal with it difrently ... Erik, 23 January 2007
thanks to serendip, i was able to find plenty of research to back up my science fair project!! ... Bob, 1 February 2007
Over 50 percent of the populations kids regularly play video games.
Every now and then one person does something stupid like kill somebody and the blame instantly goes to video games because "They cause violence."
No one thinks of the bad parenting or bullies and such at school but because they have played video games, that is what caused it.
Let me take for example Columbine, a tragic event to many a person but the blame was instantly pinned on the fact they played DOOM the video game.
No one thought about the parents that let all the planning and weapons go on in there own house.
People should stop assuming every violent act a kid does is based on a video game ... Jordan, 16 February 2007
Same here. Lol, and I think it can also stimulate your brian. My friend's did a science fair project about this and the results showed that they did better on a math test after playing a video game ... Zane, 20 February 2007
Hi my name is Pamela and what you said about how violent games affect people is like my brother he plays video games for 3 hours and then after that if someone talks to him he will hit you or something like that ... Pamela, 4 May 2007
I do know that there are specific incidents where people are sucked into a game, and are mad when they don't win. I strongly belive that kids can play video games such as "Halo" and "Shadowrun" and still be nice. I have spent this summer playing video games, somewhere between 3-5 hours each day. Yes, there were some times where I outbust in anger, but only when I was thinking about how much time I spent on this game, and lost. So I went and beat on a pillow. I started taking bike rides in the middle, which, in the end, took my mind off things, and so I could return and play calmly. I am going to enter the Denver Metro Science Fair this year with a project relating to this. I wish this website the best of success ... Jon Zulanas, 11 August 2007
i agree with the former person. video games don't really result in violent behavior. it is the parents fault sometimes. when they but their kid a game that has intense violence and gore and language the child might get messed up ... Japlowsky, 23 October 2007
8 year olds who scream and yell at a screen obviously has another problem than just video game rage which no one wants to point out that video games don't cause rage its that people get too involved ... David, 1 November 2007
Your report on video games is heavily flawed. I'm sorry. One thing, it's not the kids fault. It's the parents buying M Rated games for four year olds. It's true, my cousin has done it for his little boy. And the violence is just bad sportsmanship. That's heavily common. And for "Penny Arcades". Arcades have been dead since the late 90's. There are only a few places in a state that actually have arcades with GOOD arcade games. And can you really blame the kid for getting mad? Throwing down a week's allowance worth of quarters, almost getting to the end of a game to see the ending, and then dying? It sucks, it really does. No one can be blamed for that. And why do you act like gamers are mindless zombies, slaves to the game? Us respectable gamers don't just sit there drooling in front of the TV. Most gamers don't. And hell, anyone gets mad after dying in a level 50 times. But you know what we do? We get ticked, sware softly to ourselves, and realize the best course of action is to turn the game off, and walk away. You mention too much of studies too. Studies aren't always right, and most studies just waste money. Did you know the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house? Well, yeah. Electrical appliances, razors, scissors... Just because something has been studied, doesn't make it true. In short, you tried really hard, I can see that, but you have to take in the factors of parenting, and how behaved the child is. You focused more on the trivial ideas more then the basic ones ... Sam, 15 November 2007
Hi there. I'm essentially a lifetime gamer, and I used to play as much as I possibly could in my free time. What you're saying correlates fairly well with my experience, low self-esteem, anxiety, and latent aggression. However, I'm not really like that any more, and not because I've stopped playing games. The people I came into contact with while growing up changed me, and my behaviors. So now I still play games, but at a far less rate than I did (yay for jobs). The point I wish to bring up is that I don't think it's video games especially that are bad for people, but the way they are reacted to. Granted, they lower Beta waves and raise Alpha waves, but who says that can't be changed by interaction with people and actually using the brain for thinking/working? I also wonder if it's the change in video games from the past and the video games today. Video games have indeed been dumbed down, and are made to feel more life-like. I mean, I played Dig Dug, but I don't think that had much effect on my brain waves, unless of course in the regard that it required me to think and plan where to go next... But yes, I do agree that video games, like television and everything else, should be used with moderation and not wholesale commitment to them ... Scott, 24 November 2007
my view is that there are both positive and negative spins to this argument. I play vidoe games alot a few hours a day and it does not seem to have any negative effects on me. infact i feel it helps me vent anger not cuase it. say im mad i might pop on my Wii and play a few levels on a game, after that i feel alot better. another thing, the computer/console games i play have greatly helped me on my hand i caurdanation skills, i feel because of vidoe games i can type better, and actualy make contact with a golf ball. and one final thing i must stress what i notice is that when i get angy at a vidoe game once the game is off i imediditly feel better ... Mathew Giso, 6 December 2007
i know what you mean
Ya, I was looking this stuff up because my little bro is having some anger problems, and it seemed to start right when he started playing video games, on computer and tv. i also noticed that it used to happen to me when i was an addict, but for the past couple of years i havent really played video games now that im out more and have a job, and i have been much less angry since. there's gotta be a connection, even if we dont wanna admit it at the time.
Your subjects must have been
Your subjects must have been weak-willed.
I Disagree
I play a lot of violent computer games and my temperament has not been affected in any way. I played games like "Unreal Tournament". It is basically a game inside a game. The game features a tournament style game where the objective to win is always to kill as many people as you possibly can, as fast as you can. I played it for at least 5 hours a day, every day for about a year and a half. I am completely unaffected.
From as young as 13 or so, I was playing things like "Baldur's Gate" which is essentially an advanced form of Dungeons and Dragons. The violence in that game is much and often. There is blood, there is gore. I have never once thought that action has no effect. All these cases you hear about children who go out and mug people or steal cars; who blames it on the computer games? Parents. Parents are the ones who should be teaching their children morals.
I thank God my parents were good enough to bring me up as a well adjusted gentleman. I am currently a full-time student at Stirling University. I have no criminal record and I am generally just a very pleasant person, most would agree. If computer games influence our choices and our minds, why am I not a murderous lout? Because my parents brought me up properly. It is the same as it always has been. The American idea that it is anything else is frankly idiotic.
If a mother and father do not properly explain what is right and wrong from a very early age, then that is when problems start happening. A good example would be this. When I was young, I remember having stolen £1 from my brother's bank. My mother then came and told me that was wrong and I was duly punished by having £1 taken from me. I never got that back. I do not remember when it happened exactly, but that experience rooted the fact that stealing is wrong in my mind. If my mother had let me off with it, then I would not have had such a great sense of that.
Conditioning of the mind is more likely to influence our choices than is what computer games we play or what films we watch. Computer games are a being used (as have many things in the past) as an excuse for poor parenting. These studies may show different brain activity in some people while they are playing the games. People who do not realise the difference between computer games and real life have something seriously wrong with them. Fact. You can blame anything for anything and bring up studies which supposedly support your claim. That does not make it true.
Another thing which occurred to me while reading your report was the statement that "players get somewhat 'sucked' into the video game". Just like readers get "sucked" into a good book and often burst into tears when reading a particularly sad paragraph or even sentence. It depends upon the persons general demeanour how they react to anything. For example, I once knew a young woman who lost her temper and punched a table because she had burned the toast she was making. There were (and are) forms of media which evoked (and continue to evoke) strong emotions in people before computer games were even invented. What makes these games any different? Many a person has turned over a chess board when they were becoming very competitive and made a very stupid move. It is the competitive factor that makes emotions run high rather than the game itself.
As for decreasing inhibitions, there are many things which can have the same effect. If you have feelings for a woman or a man, you may often say or do things you usually wouldn't while in their presence. What is so important about a loss of inhibitions anyway? There are various studies showing that we as a race are far to inhibited about most actions. A loss of a certain amount of inhibition every now and again could lighten the pressure on your mind. The more inhibited one is and the more often the feel as such, the more stressed they are likely to be. If I could be bothered sifting through all the books behind me for that specific study, I would give a reference. And indeed I apologise for the lack of references in my response. I hope, however, that it does give you something to think about.
disagree
ive been playing videogames since i was 5 and i play every chance i get i have more friends then half the people i know i know people all the way across the world cause of videogames there hasnt been one time i got in a fight at school or showed any aggresion twards anybody the only thing i have every done is threw my controler on the ground i have straight A's and play atleast 5 hours a day and still go to work and havent had anybody tells me im rude or curses at me i just let it go i dont bother cause i KNOW i would get in more trouble if i BEAT him up and violence isnt the way to go. videogames actualy help me release anger thats why im not violent but i do appriciate that you wrote this article cause i used it for my senior project that is required to grad
Parents
The parents are partailly to blame for the exposure to violent video games. The ESRB rates the games based on the material which means the rating is there for a reason. If the parents cared a little more and actually learned how to raise there children, the kids wouldn't have to resort to playing video games on end for hours and hours. They could sit down with the parents and talk to them, maybe even have dinner with them. Parents nowadays completely ignore their kids. Since the kids desperately need the attention they go out and do something to get a desired response. It's not the video games fault, it's parents. They don't pay attention to the ratings and the kids. The media doesn't take this into consideration. They're really just looking for a scapegoat so they can get off and easy and sleep at night. It's annoying, but it goes on everywhere.
its the person not the game
alot of the statistics about the influence of video games are based on the NEGATIVELY affected people and ignore the people who havent been affected if someone does a survey on everyone (including thos who havent been affected) they will probably find that it its the person not the game.
my experience
during two years now that i have been playing video game. Some day i play video game for almost 8 hours. But nothing really happen. but then sometime i get mad easily, have emotional problem.. like being depress out of no where. I'll get mad if i lose and couldn't control myself that i just want to beat it! haha i know that some people are gifted? and never have this kind of problem after playing too much video game.. but sadly.. i'm not one of them >.>
I have been playing
I have been playing videogames my whole life and sometimes i have a surge of anger when i die or get beaten from another player but my friend when he loses he goes crazy, he yells curse words and is soo competitive, i mean if i win by some how making him lose will make him so mad he will throw done and break his controller, my friends and i had to let him win to not make him mad. he should take a freaking chill pill right.
Peace fellow gamers who dont have emotional problems
Disagree
Im one of the lucky people who dont lose in games often, and completely clock a game when I get my mind to it, be it fantasy, simulated killer or just another boring sims game... but I understand how people can get emotional over it: im constantly telling my older brother to stop throwing my controller around, and he's like 18. I dont think the info up at the top of the page is accurate, for example you havent given results for a multiplayer game, where you interact with people online. Wouldnt that affect beta-waves at all? In anycase, Im more of a quiet guy who does his schoolwork, talks to his friends and does other stuff as well as video games, which I play about 2-3 hours a day. I don't get frustrated with games, and if I do it's like I think to myself "FINE! YOU WANA KILL ME OVER AND OVER?! GO AHEAD! I HAVE FREE-THOUGHT AND YOU DO NOT! HAHAHAHA!". A bit arrogant and obsessive a response, but im not saying it out loud, and eventually watching how you lose repetitively gives you an idea what to do next time.
basically
basically you let video games take over you if you let it control you. really it's up to you to decide if you want to quit playing or not. I was once obsessed with video games but i found a cure. you just find something else to do like go outside or do your chores. and like ivan said your parents have to take charge and buy games that is on your level so they won't take over your mind and you do something stupid.
Just a thought
I'm not going to say that I agree or disagree with any of this, I'm simply going to put out what I have to say out there.
I've been playing video games essentially all my life, the games themselves actually kept violence to a minimum. When I was a child I was rather aggressive, and got into a couple of small fights. Now, I find myself to be mostly calm and sociable, although every once in a while, if I'm annoyed, I may make a bitter remark.
Not once have I thrown a controller in frustration, or completely freaked out about losing a game, but I've noticed many of my friends who have.
Now the reason I'm even posting all of this is to bring up a point.
Has anyone thought that it may not be the games that cause this, but it is because of the effects or abnormalties of the person, that they may play longer?
Personally, I have ADD (Much as I hate admitting it.) and maybe that is the reason for my past behavior and that I play games for long periods of time.
Disagree
I have been playing games most of my life. I am 16 years old and my parents allow me to play what ever games I want. I was playing rated 18 games when i was about 12 and yet i have never had a feeling where i want to kill someone or beat some one up. Yes i do get angry at times but its not from stupid thing because i die or cant get past something. I also get very angry when my parents think computers and games are destroying kids lives they keep telling me that they will visit me in jail every sunday, but its like i said i have never had a feeling of doing a life of crime, i dont want drugs, i dont drink, i have respectable friends that play aswell but yet aswell they do not get angry either we all no its just a game. You guys are getting angry and computer player also known as AI now think to yourself that sound really stuid. I strongly disagree with the info above. Maybe if the people who dont play can afford a computer or console and actually know how to play i wonder how they would see games most probably in a very differnt way. Get back to me on what you guys think.
my respect for all you gamers stop worring people dont know how it is they dont try they guess.
Disagree
I'm 19 years old. I have been Playing Video Games when I'm around 4 years old. Now I'm Studying in collage, and I get 3.79 out of 4.00 score. I play almost every kind of games. Action, FPS, RPG, Online. I think Games didn't make somenody stupid. Somebody just made the4mself stupid by playing games. It is Not the games, but the people who abuse games that make them more lazy and eventually more stupid. As long as you follow the rules, games is very beneficial. You can train your decision making, logic, and lot more. Sorry if my comment is a bit harsh, I just Don't like when someone said that gamer is stupid or not as smart as the other who doesn't play games.
I can't stand when people
I can't stand when people blame video games for aggressive behavior. These games aren't hypnotic. They do all these studies on video games and how they "cause" behavior, as if me playing a game like grand theft auto where I can go around killing people is going to hypnotize me into thinking hey I can kill my parents and steel their money. Where is the experiment background where they test each kid individually for aggressive behavior in general. I guarantee you there's the same if not more aggressive people playing sports, which can also bestow a very aggressive nature. Are we going to stop letting kids play sports now? Video games aren't the problem. The real problem are the nut job parents who spend all day reading blogs like these getting hypnotized themselves into thinking buying a violent video game will make their kid evil or murderous.
There's Video-Games and Video-Games
Video-Games is a huge category of games including: some are violent, some aren't, some are about killing and some are about building, some are about making the most of money, some are about creating and maintaining cities.
You can't label Video-Games as a big bag where all the wrong doing goes:
they are too different.
Focus your study on a variety of VG and don't make huge generalizations.
Thanks for objectivity and accuracy.
I do agree that it is more
I do agree that it is more of the player's character and not the game.
There are also good points of these video games.
The thing is,if you are
The thing is,if you are playing a 90s sonic game on a sega mega drive or something and you get a game over then you wouldn't get so angry as if you were playing a modern game.Thats because those games were simple and when I get a game over on those games then I just think "Oh well,I will just play the game again later and see if I can do better!",thats because nowadays all the games are just like "I have to beat the game!!!" and etc.At least thats how I percept it.
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