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    Violent Video Games Change the Way Guys Think, Study Shows

    By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Healthy Living – Tue, Nov 29, 2011 6:12 PM EST

    A new study shows that violent video games change the way guys think.A new study shows that violent video games change the way guys think.Women have long complained that video games mess with their boyfriends' minds, and for years parents have worried about the long-term effects first-person shooter games and games with realistic and gratuitous violence can have on their children's brains. Now, a new study may confirm their fears: Violent video games change the way guys think and feel.

    The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America on Wednesday, shows that just one week of playing violent video games can have a measurable effect on the brains of young adult men.

    "For the first time, we have found that a sample of randomly assigned young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions following a week of playing violent video games at home," said Dr. Yang Wang, an assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. "These brain regions are important for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior."

    The researchers didn't specify which video games the study participants played, and did not say whether the games showed realistic or fantastical violence or focused on war, gang activity, or other types of violence. The small sample size -- just 22 guys -- makes it impossible to apply the data to a wide audience, but violent video games have long been linked to fighting at school and self-reported aggression.

    The study focused on young men ages 18 to 29. They were assigned by random into two groups, one of which was told to play violent video games at home for 10 hours during one week, and then spend a second week not playing them. The other group did not play a violent video game at all during those same two weeks.

    Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) tests were conducted on both groups before the gaming, at the end of the first week, and at the end of the second week. The results were alarming.

    "The results showed that after one week of violent game play, the video game group members showed less activation in the left inferior frontal lobe during the emotional task and less activation in the anterior cingulate cortex during the counting task, compared to their baseline results and the results of the control group after one week," according to the study. "After the second week without game play, the changes to the executive regions of the brain were diminished."

    What does that mean for girlfriends and parents? "These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain functioning," Dr. Wang said. And the areas affected have to do with emotional control and executive function.

    Do you have a gamer in your life? What have you noticed after he's been playing for a few hours?




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    68 comments

    • Private
      Private  •  5 months ago
      Everything you do and watch can have an effect on you. I read depressing script last week and it still has an effect on how I view the subject matter. If you read books, watch movies etc... it's going to effect you. Playing games is no different.

      Think about this watching all of the Violence and Fear mongering on the nightly news is also going to make you paranoid and fearful. That a fact you need to study to see neighbors in Canada have less violence because their media is different. Watching all of the medical commercials to that describe symptoms and tell you it's flu season, start out telling you that you have " a sore throat, stuff head and chills" is basically hypnotizing you into getting sick.

      So of course games have an effect. Yet millions play them and are not violent people. I have played violent video games for over 20 years, studied martial arts, own a gun, and I am a very non-violent person. It all based on the individual and their core beliefs and code of morality and sense of right and wrong. Not just playing a video game.
    • kissmyanime
      kissmyanime  •  5 months ago
      Wow, I love how they act as though there aren't any women gamers. I thought we had gotten past that stereotype.
      Anyway, they've also done studies on how great video games are for your hand-eye coordination and have proven that those who have played video games for years can adapt more quickly to many real life situations as opposed to those who have not.
      Also, consider that those who play violent video games may play them because they already had a tendency towards agression, and/or they use them as an outlet for pent up emotions.
      I personally enjoy a wide variety of games, to include the more violent ones and the not so violent ones. I have a well paying stable job, I am not in debt, I am not overweight, I do not have to go to therapy for any emotional issues, and I have a wonderful loving husband who is the same way.
      Maybe I am just the minority, or maybe people need to realize that the games aren't the problem; the condition of your environment and how you were raised have a lot more to do with emotional instability than an interactive fictional story.
      • Kenny Hall
        Kenny Hall 5 months ago
        Good observation well put and accurate.Strait to the point.
    • Ryan
      Ryan  •  5 months ago
      #$%$ I've been playing such games since DOOM came out all the way to today's Call of Duty and Halo games and never once have I been arrested, started a fight, etc! Its all #$%$
      • Robert
        Robert 5 months ago
        Maybe it does have something to do with your reaction, however. Such as your apparent inability to avoid profanity. Usually people can't see the problem in themselves, because they are too close. You need the perspective of a third party.
      • megan
        megan 5 months ago
        Ryan, I'm here for you if you want to discuss your #$%$ anger issues.
    • Mitch
      Mitch  •  5 months ago
      Ya this Dr. got his grant money. Now he should do a article on women shoppers on Black Friday shooting pepper spray at people to buy the Xbox unit...lol
    • SancTus_Ignis
      SancTus_Ignis  •  5 months ago
      so what is it supposed to mean if there is less "activation" in these areas of the brain? or is that what they are trying to find out? it doesn't seem they really know if there are any actual negative effects in real world situations
      • PAULA
        PAULA 5 months ago
        It generally means that the area does not react normally to given types of situations.That's why the pretesting. to get a baseline of the norm for the individual person's brain. Less activation in one area could mean impaired ability to feel compassion or show kindness or controll agression or to #$%$ danger or safety. Leading to danger to yourself or those around you. Depraved indifference, today's big IDC syndrome. In the executive area or processes mentioned in the write-up, poor decision making, lack of self control in the area of spending, saving, paying bills, general responsibility to work hard and honestly live within our means. We as a country are paying the price for this nationwide problem. It's not just the games. They're just not helping the situation any.
    • Troubleman
      Troubleman  •  5 months ago
      At 43 I'm an O.G. (original gamer) been at it since Atari pong. I've yet to kill anybody (can't say I haven't thought about it tho). You simply have to be able to seperate real from fiction. There's nothing like a good game of GTA to take the edge off after being stuck in rush hour, you just jack a car, set the radio, roll down the window and buck off at those in your way. IIIIIIIIIIIIII love it!
      • PAULA
        PAULA 5 months ago
        You've spent some time in the real world and are able to separate the two. Most of the people under 30 today readily believe what they see in the movies, games, etc. but will refuse to believe a fact demonstrated before their very eyes. Its a nightmare for science teachers. They generally assume that Science and Science Fiction are one and the same. go figure.
    • Don
      Don  •  5 months ago
      The fact that repeated exposure to violence and destruction can desensitize someone is not new information. It has been around as long as there has been war/conflict. The fact that the Military is actively taking part in war game design shows the specific intent to precondition potential future soldiers to readily accept that kind of behavior. I recall war video taken inside a military attack vehicle in Kuwait. The soldiers where excited and cheering as the killed and destroyed fleeing combatants. After a negative public reaction, the network news made nebulous apology and the video was never aired again to my knowledge. If the military can make it a game in the mind of the soldier, the more likely they will act without hesitation or doubt. The military doesn't want compassionate thinkers, they want blind doers.
    • Ironmonkey
      Ironmonkey  •  5 months ago
      In a similar study, doctors found playing WoW affected a part of the brain that is linked to enjoyment of Science fiction and an aversion to social functions. Amazing!!!
    • BigDog
      BigDog  •  5 months ago
      It all started with the Mortal Kombat game.
    • Troy
      Troy  •  5 months ago
      How do we learn? We learn through our senses and most of us use our brains to process this information. In short video games will teach according to their content. Their is not really a need for a "study"
      • PAULA
        PAULA 5 months ago
        Sorry to burst your bubble. once you know the rules and your "thumbs" know what to do. Conditioning kicks in. Pavlov's dogs really didn't have to think. Ding = salivate. That's all there is to most games.
    • Mistery Meatus
      Mistery Meatus  •  5 months ago
      Dr Wang?!?
    • Hal1988
      Hal1988  •  5 months ago
      I been a gamer since 13 years old, i played violent games like Mortal Kombat,Killer Instinct and other violent games and i still play them without killing anyone in rea life.Violent Behavior depends on the person. I'll play them until i die.
    • Anonymous
      Anonymous  •  5 months ago
      I'm a 17 year old male, and I don't know about you other people, but sometimes playing violent video games on my PS3 actually helps to relieve stress or anger in ways, especially during high school life. I've played many and I'm fine, but I think younger kids probably shouldn't be playing them.
    • Mark
      Mark  •  5 months ago
      Hey Doc...thanks for my laugh of the day...oh oh, is that gonna influence me to be happy for the rest of the day ??
    • Greg
      Greg  •  5 months ago
      what a bunch of CRAP!
    • Rich
      Rich  •  5 months ago
      Dr Yang Wang is just pulling your chang
    • eclecticeccentric
      eclecticeccentric  •  5 months ago
      i teach school and i notice a distinct difference in attention spans, ability to focus on "non game like" activities and fidgeting between gamers and non~gamers or infrequent gamers. additionally, if all you're used to are gaming types, your experience with 'normal' non gaming attention spans and brain functioning is skewered.
    • Kenny Hall
      Kenny Hall  •  5 months ago
      This is interesting for the reason that Im a gamer.Yet Im of my own free will reading this article and responding by saying that the benefits of gaming are unexplored by this article making this a bit bias in an approach to dealing with a serious problem.I think that left unchecked gaming has deadly potential.I also strongly suggest that gaming be cut to two or three hour settings.
    • Scott42
      Scott42  •  5 months ago
      Jocks are more violent than video game players and I'm both.
    • lilmissa
      lilmissa  •  5 months ago
      Don't get upset. This is a biased synopsis of an extremely small study. They split the group of 22 in half and used 11 as a control. The only video games they tested were violent. What happens when you play 10 hours of "Ghandi" the video game? You can get whatever results you want and then spin it however you feel. Sensasionalistic journalism is what runs this country.
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