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Subject: eNews: NEW STUDY: BRAINS CELLS AFFECTED BY VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES
eNews from the National Institute on Media and the Family
NEW STUDY: BRAINS CELLS AFFECTED BY VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES
A new study by the University of Indiana Medical School (Indianapolis) shows that playing violent video games can change the cellular workings of the brain, slowing brain activity in the part of the brain that controls emotions, impulses and attention span.
The study suggests that violent video games could desensitize children to the point of not understanding the effect of violence in real life. Changes in the brain were most obvious among teens with behavior disorders or who played for several hours each day. Essentially, the study indicates that as children play video games for lengthy periods, they stop registering the action as violent or inappropriate and begin accepting the violence as normal behavior.
"Kids who play a lot of video games see a lot of violence - they stop understanding what that violence means," said Dr. David Walsh, President of the National Institute on Media and the Family. "This study provides yet more evidence that parents must be involved, aware, and MediaWise about what their kids are watching."
To learn more visit:
The Indiana University School of Medicine
· Aggressive Youths, Violent Video Games Trigger Unusual Brain Activity at http://www.medicine.indiana.edu/news_releases/archive_02/violent_games02.html
The National Institute on Media and The Family
· MediaWise Video Game Report Card at http://www.mediafamily.org/
· Effects of Video Game Playing on Children at http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtml
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