HOW DO VIDEO GAMES AFFECT THE BRAIN DO MEN ENJOY GAMES MORE AND HOW DO VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AFFECT THE BRAIN

---

Do men's brains react differently to video games? Do they enjoy playing video games more than women because of brain differences? Little is known about the underlying neural processes of playing computer and video games, despite the high prevalence of video gaming especially in males. A new study about video games and the brain finds that when men play the games, a part of the brain involved in feelings of reward and addiction becomes much more activated than it does in women. Males showed greater brain activation and functional connectivity compared to females in the mesocorticolimbic system. (the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system has previously been implicated with reward) This may explain why men are more likely to report feeling addicted to video games than women are, the researchers say in an online article in The Journal of Psychiatric Research.






Video games may not be all fun. There is an ongoing discussion about how video games affect the brain. Especially if violent video games are bad for your brain and mental health. At the 2006 annual convention of radiologists( doctors who specialize in x rays, ct scans,mri,etc.), Indiana University physicians presented findings about the possible negative effect of violent video games.



Doctors wanted to see if they could detect a difference in the brains of youth who were playing violent video games. They randomly chose kids to play either a violent or "exciting" non violent game. Right after, they scanned their brains with something called functional mri. "Functional mri is a technique for determining which parts of the brain are activated by different types of physical sensation or activity, such as sight, sound or the movement of a subject’s fingers. This “brain mapping” is achieved by setting up an advanced MRI scanner in a special way so that the increased blood flow to the activated areas of the brain shows up on functional MRI scans". The scan measures the tiny metabolic changes that occur when a part of the brain is active. These changes will appear as a brightly colored area on the MR image, indicating the part of the brain that is being used to process the task.

Sure enough,they say that those who played the violent video game "demonstrated less activation in the prefrontal portions of the brain, which are involved in inhibition, concentration and self-control, and more activation in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal".









Back in 2005, a similar study came out of Michigan State University. In that study the researchers said "“Violent video games frequently have been criticized for enhancing aggressive reactions such as aggressive cognitions, aggressive affects or aggressive behavior. On a neurobiological level we have shown the link exists.”




"Two studies examined violent video game effects on aggression-related variables. Study 1 found that real-life violent video game play was positively related to aggressive behavior and delinquency. The relation was stronger for individuals who are characteristically aggressive and for men. Academic achievement was negatively related to overall amount of time spent playing video games. In Study 2, laboratory exposure to a graphically violent video game increased aggressive thoughts and behavior. In both studies, men had a more hostile view of the world than did women".

Gender differences in the mesocorticolimbic system during computer game-play

Violent Video Games Lead to Brain Activity Characteristic of Aggression, MSU Researcher Shows

Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in
the Laboratory and in Life (a pdf)