Did you play video games as a child? They weren’t around until I was in college. But one thing is for sure – people all over the country are spending a lot of time playing these things both on smart phones and on computers. And it’s not just kids.
That’s a big change.
And with the arrival of ever better technology, these games are increasingly vivid, realistic – and addicting. What’s this change doing to our kids?
I’ve wondered for years whether these games influence brain development. I think it might make kids’ brains work faster, able to process more visual information. And my teenage son seems to be able to multitask in ways I can’t.
But I also wonder about a dark side to brain development induced by the shocking brutality of some of these games. There’s evidence that violent video games alter brain functioning.
Researchers at Indiana University, Indianapolis, used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to map out which parts of the brain are stimulated when kids play different types of video games.
One group played a violent game called “Medal of Honor,” while another group played an equally exciting, but non-violent game called “Need for Speed.”
After half an hour, doctors collected the MRI data. The teens playing the non-violent game showed activity in the frontal area of the brain. This is the area associated with concentration, inhibition and self-control.
The teens playing the violent video game showed no activity in their frontal area. Instead, they activated the amygdala. This is the “reptilian” brain. It’s associated with emotional arousal – especially anger.
In another study, slightly older men, ages 18 to 29 who had played very few violent video games, were randomly assigned to two groups. One group played a shooting video game for 10 hours at home for one week and didn’t play the following week. The second group did not play a video game at all during the two-week period.
Again, after one week of violent game play, the video game group members showed less activity in the frontal lobe compared to their pre-study results and the control group. 1
Now consider that millions of teenagers are over stimulating this portion of their brain – for hours every day.
Why is this cause for concern?
Because other research has shown that both repetitive actions and repetitive thoughts hardwire your brain. They reinforce whatever you’re practicing and make it more likely you’ll repeat that activity in the future.
The more you practice a certain activity, the stronger that neural pathway becomes.
On the other side of the coin, neural pathways that are not being used eventually get “pruned.” That means the frontal area, with the capacity for logic, reason or objective decision making … that helps you express tolerance, understanding or love … is being lost.
This study and what we know about conditioning and learning is not proof, but it is reason to suspect that children who spend a lot of time firing up their reptilian brain may be more prone to violence – and may be less likely to show self-control.
I’ve never bought my son video games. Yet they’re so popular among his friends, he’s still exposed. I suspect your children or grandkids are too. As much as you can, I think there’s reason to keep the violent ones away from kids.
Studies show that omega-3s have the power to reduce aggression and violence. For instance, British researchers gave violent prisoners a fish oil supplement along with their regular daily meals. In a matter of days, the prison guards started to notice a change among the prisoners taking fish oil. When the results were released, violent offenses were down 37 percent and overall offences were down 26 percent in the group taking the supplement.
Your brain is 60 percent fats. For your brain to function properly, omega-3s are essential. Children today suffer from a dramatic omega-3 deficiency. The violent video games might just be making a nutritional deficiency worse.
I give my son a daily teaspoon of cod liver oil for a natural source of omega-3 fats. They make it nowadays with a fresh lemony taste, not the bad taste of the kind your grandmother may have used.
1. Wang, Kronenburger, et. al. “Violent video games alter brain function in young men.” Indiana University School of Medicine. 2011.
2. Klasen M, Zvyagintsev M, Schwenzer M, Mathiak KA, Sarkheil P, Weber R, Mathiak K. “Quetiapine modulates functional connectivity in brain aggression networks.” Neuroimage. 2013 Mar 7;75C:20-26.