Study finds changes in brain activity of teens who play violent video games
December 3, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS- A study found some teens who watched violent video games showed different brain activity from others, but researchers said the results did not necessarily prove a link between games and behavior.
However, the study presented Monday disproves the position that video games have no effect on the brain, said a scientist at the Indiana University School of Medicine, which did the research.
"That alone is an important finding. What it does tell us is there is something there to investigate," said William Kronenberger, associate professor of clinical psychology in the school's department of psychiatry.
The study was presented in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
The research was funded by the Carmel-based Center for Successful Parenting, a group that works to make people aware of the effects of violent media on children. The IU researchers also intend to study the effects of violence in other media, including movies and television.
Half of the 38 participants in the two-year study had been diagnosed with conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder, and had experienced violent episodes in the six months before the study. The other teens had no violent history.
The teenagers watched two video games _ a nonviolent racing game and a moderately violent James Bond game _ inside a magnetic resonance imaging machine. Though they could not play the game inside the MRI, they did push a button when they thought the game called for a response.
The MRI measured the amount of activity in areas of the brain where functions such as behavior control and responses to situations take place.
The teens with behavioral disorders had different brain activity than those without, the study found. Researchers also found some indications that healthy teenagers who had previously been exposed to violent media showed brain activity different from those with less exposure.
Dr. Vincent P. Mathews, professor of radiology and chief of neuroradiology at IU, said more research was needed on the basic question: "Is exposure to violent media causing some changes in the brains of adolescents? We don't know, and ultimately that's where we want to get to," he said.