Do computer games wreck your brains?
Alarming news for gamers: According to recently published research results, playing computer games might result in a permanent decline of your brain activity. Even worse, it may be possible that your brain has not even fully developed due to occupation with computer games in your childhood.
In his recently published book "Game-nou-no-kyofu" ("Terror of Game Brain"), Akio Mori, a professor of neurosurgery at the Nihon University's College of Humanities and Sciences, reports about a neurophysiological study conducted under his supervision. The alarming result: Playing computer games regularly may lead to a permanent decline of brain activity. The consequences are lack of concentration, increased aggression and serious problems in the interaction with other people.
Mori watched 250 young people aged 6 to 29 during a period of several months. Using electro-encephalography (EEG), he measured their brain activities in the frontal lobe both while they were playing and on other occasions. He compared the number of alpha and beta waves of three groups of people: first, these who rarely ever played computer games, second, those who spent 1 to 3 hours on 3 to 4 days a week with computer games and third, "hardcore gamers" who were playing 7 hours a day.
He noticed that among non-gamers, a certain type of brain activity called beta-waves always prevailed. This means that they were always paying attention. Among people who occasionally played the beta-wave activity declined at the very moment when they turned on a computer game; but when they stopped playing, the beta-waves re-emerged. In contrast to that, the EEG regular gamers never showed beta-waves, not even when they were occupied with other activities. However, the alpha-waves, which signalize rest, prevailed. This was identical to the EEG of a person suffering from heavy dementia.
Brain activity especially decreased in the pre-frontal cortex, a region that is responsible for the control of emotion and creativity. Among regular gamers, activity in this region did not even increase when they were not playing games.
According to Mori, playing computer games puts a strain on the visual nervous system, which is injurious to rationality, moral and self-control. Many computer games deal with escaping from dangerous situations and struggling for life. These contents are stored in the central regions of the brain responsible for the organization of memories. As a consequence, regular gamers will respond to dangerous situations in an inadequate way in real life, as well. This he regards as a real danger for the moral integrity of society.
As children's nervous systems are still developing, they risk becoming addicted of computer games. While one is able to stop playing if one has started to do so at adult age, people who have been playing games since their childhood cannot. Therefore Mori suggests an age-limit for computer games.
Of course there are also scientists who doubt the results of Mori's research. For instance, Dennis Schutter, a neuro-scientist at the Universiy of Utrecht, Netherlands, says that the absence of beta-waves is just a result of fatigue. On the other hand, previous research is backing up Mori's findings.
Reading Out Loud is Better Than Gaming
In 2001, Prof. Ryuta Kawashima, an expert for brain imaging at Tohuko University, Japan, compared the brain activity of children who were occupied with Nintendo games with others that were dealing with simple arithmetical tasks (the so-called Kraeplin test: adding 1-digit numbers during a period of 30 minutes). Using an intravenously injected radio-active substance and magnetic-resonance imaging he made visible what brain regions were active.
Kawashima noticed that computer games were only stimulating regions of the brain associated with movement and perception. In contrast to that, the Kraeplin test stimulated activity in both hemispheres of the frontal lobe, a region of great importance to learning, memory and emotion. He also showed that dealing with arithmetics caused greater brain activity than listening to music or reading. But what stimulated the frontal lobe most was reading out loud.
This gives cause for concern especially because the frontal lobe produces a chemical substance called serotonine, which is also important for the self-control of one's way of acting. Since the development of the frontal lobe ends at the age of 20, playing computer games in one's early childhood might cause great damage.
In Kawashima's opinion the loss of self-control is not caused by the aggressive contents of the games but by the damage done to the developing mind. Regular stimulation of the frontal lobe in one's childhood is necessary in order to enable the adolescent to control his behaviour well as potely as possible.
Computer games do not encourage brain development because they mainly require highly repetitive action. They rather support the development of quick reflexes than the execution of intellectually more demanding activities such as planning and analyzing.
Kawashima suggests encouraging children to play outside and communicate with other children as much as possible so that they eventually become "good" and creative people.
Therapeutical use
Computer games also have a therapeutical use, as NASA scientists at Langley Research Centre in Virginia show. They use computer games combined with so-called bio-feedback mechanisms in order to treat children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
ADHD is a mix of attention deficit and impulsive behaviour that often appears along with a deficit in social interaction; 3% to 5% of all pupils, most of all boys, are inflicted with this disease. According to the current state of research, ADHD is rooted in a disruption of brain activity: In children suffering from ADHD, the slow theta waves prevail, while the beta-wave activity is declined.
Up until now, ADHD used to be treated by means of behaviour therapy and pharmakological psycho-stimulation in order to increase attention. The aim of the new NASA therapy is to get the child to control his/her brain activity. While the child is playing games, his/her EEG is recorded. The EEG, on the other hand, influences the reactivity of the joystick: When the child produces the right type of brain waves, the game can be controlled more easily. In this way the child's brain is conditioned to regulate its activity itself. On an average 40 sessions with a duration of 45 minutes each are needed.
This technique is also planned to be used in order to help adults cope with situations of stress and teach bomber pilots keep calm during fight.
According to NASA scientist Alan Pope, the attention span extension and the calming effect prevail even a long time after the end of a session. Concentration span, IQ, reading abilities, memory, comprehension and behaviour are constantly improved.
Conclusion
Facing such alarming evidence, one is inclined to conclude that computer games should be banned totally, except for therapeutical use.
If you are a gamer, stop now. Be disciplined enough not to harm your intellect any further, or else the consequences might be terrible.