NEW YORK: Teenagers engaged in playing violent video games are prone to showing increased activity in certain brain areas, specifically related controlling emotions, and decreased activity in areas that are related to self-control, according to a new research.
The study covered 44 teens who were asked to play both violent and nonviolent games for about 30 minutes and their brain activities were recorded using magnetic resonance imaging technique looking out for metabolic changes in brain activity.
Half of the children played a military combat game that involved shooting and violence, and the other group was given a motoring game, car racing, which does not involve violence.
The imaging showed that those who played the first game indicated more activation of the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal, and less activation in the prefrontal portions of the brain, associated with control, focus and concentration than the teens who played the second game.
Dr Vincent Mathews, professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and author of the study, said the observations indicate 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.
He said, "What we showed is there is an increase in emotional arousal. The fight or flight response is activated after playing a violent video game."
The team presented its findings at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America recently.
Mathews plan to have more studies on this aspect.
