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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingViolent Video Games a Cause for Concern
For years, parents have wondered what effects violent video games may have on their kids. Now they have their answer.
Researchers used what's called a functional MRI to look at what went on in the brain not during, but after, a teenager played a violent video game.
Just in time for the holidays, next generation consoles equipped with wireless motion sensing controllers promise a more realistic experience when playing video games.
John Rodriquez, graduate student: "It's creepy to see like my five year old cousin playing a game where there is murdering."
Dr. Susan Smiga specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry at UCSF's Langley Porter. "What we're exposed to is clearly going to affect what we learn, how connections are made, what areas of our brain get more developed or less developed. My worry is that the games and the experiences tap into the thrill aspect."
Using MRI's, researchers studied the brains of thirty-four healthy teens who played an exciting video game.
The teens were then asked to perform simple tasks while their brains were scanned. Their MRI's were then compared.
In teens that played the violent video game, the part of their brain linked to primitive emotions-- such as fear, aggression and anxiety--fired up more than that region in the other group of teens. Also, the part of their brain linked to reason, self-control, and concentration was far less activated.
Dr. Smiga says while the MRI's showed fleeting changes in the brain, the impact may be greater than science can now measure.
Dr. Smiga went on to say that, "In my own clinical practice, we see children--usually boys--who are having significant aggression problems who are usually watching or playing a lot of these games who have a hard time differentiating violence in those games from reality."
Another expert we spoke with today said if the brains of those playing violent video games fire up in the same way they would fighting in a real war, these children may develop post traumatic stress.
Parents have to get involved and monitor their child's media use, and that's going to be tough. It's not just video games--its online content, TV and cable, and music.
Remember, children's brains continue to mature until their mid-twenties.
