• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Playing shooters causes damage to the brain

C

Chanser

Member
Playing ”shooter" video games weakens the brains of young people and puts them at greater risk of dementia in later life, new research suggests.

Researchers at the University of Montreal scanned the brains of habitual players of action video games and compared them to non-players, finding the gamers had less grey matter.

"If action video games lead to decreases in grey matter in the hippocampus, caution should be exerted when encouraging their use by children, young adults and older adults to promote cognitive skills such as visual short-term memory and visual attention," the scientists wrote.

Gaming has been shown to stimulate another part of the brain called the caudate nucleus, more than the hippocampus.

The region acts as a form of ”autopilot" and also regulates humans' understanding of reward.

The scientists said that the more the caudate nucleus is used, the less use is made of the hippocampus, causing it to lose cells.

They recruited 51 men and 46 women and asked them to play a variety of popular shooter games like Call of Duty, Killzone and Borderlands 2, as well as so-called 3D games such as Super Mario, for a total of 90 hours.

Ninety hours of playing shooter games tended to lead to hippocampus atrophy, however playing for the same duration on 3D challenges, which rely more on spatial orientation instinctive responses, increased grey matter within the hippocampal memory system.

British scientists have cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from the study, highlighting the small number of participants.
Click to expand...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...ter-video-games-damages-brain-study-suggests/

Remind me if old.
 
P

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Same school has done similar studies in the past.

All participants playing 3D platform games, such as Super Mario 64, showed growth in the hippocampus after the experiment, regardless of whether they were response learners or spatial learners.

This result, West said, suggests that 3D platform games could be used as a kind of antidote to the negative effect of action games on hippocampal grey matter in response learners.

"It's certainly possible that someone could pick up a 3D platform game and train their brain to grow that grey matter back," he said.
Click to expand...

Mario...is the cure....
 
eXistor

eXistor

Member
So, same with everything: variety is the spice of life. Oranges are good for you, but eating them exclusively can't be good for you.

If you have a brain, you should be fine.
 
A

Aztechnology

Member
One thing I feel very confident about and I'm sure has been shown by numerous studies is that dependence on quick answers and to a greater degree instant gratification has had a serious impact on people's short term memory. It's amazing to watch how quickly things seem to slip people's mind nowadays when they can't get that instantaneous feedback. Even myself. People don't really hold onto thoughts anymore. I know I don't and I'm trying to break myself of that habit. Force myself to hold onto short term questions/comments for longer than a might normally depending on context.

As for this study I think to a degree it parallel to a degree. Good thing I play lots of strategy games as well to counteract the effects ;)

please don't link study about how strategy games hurt some other form of learning or congnitive ability lol
 
-Plasma Reus-

-Plasma Reus-

Service guarantees member status
I never liked shooters.
They seem to take the fun and change it into an aggressive form of competition which I am not fond of.
 
Pegasus Actual

Pegasus Actual

Member
Of course playing COD makes you dumber. Use R6: Siege and see what happens. Actually please do. I play that game waaaayyy too much and need know if brain get made small.

Also test Rocket League. If that counterbalances FPS brain drain I should be good.
 
A

AppleSeason

Member
tumblr_low0ge9Kti1qknazho1_500.gif


Well, Willy Wonka already told us that these things would fry our brains. I have to wonder if any repetitive game can be the same. I was going to say I'm safe with rpg's, but I have been grinding in Bravely Default as if I was braindead lately.



I remember when my brother only used the PC for Battlefield (one of the old ones), Counter Strike, and stuff like that. I gifted him Portal and he was like "ugghhh, this is too hard, it wants to make me think..." And I am like "And you are the one who is in college right now?"
 
D

Disgraced

Member
What sort of shooters are they referring to? There are shooters that are just... running and shooting and then there are shooters that have a variety of intellectually stimulating scenarios... and also shooting.
ViviOggi said:
a questionable study said:
a variety of popular shooter games like Call of Duty, Killzone and Borderlands 2
Click to expand...
Don't play crappy shooters lads
Click to expand...
Well.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Meh
they should've let those participants play Metal Slug and Contra.
Then we'll see the kind of brain damage they get :v
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

[ScienceDirect] Study shows 'video game players have improved decision-making abilities and enhanced brain activities'
News
44
2K
Northeastmonk replied
  • Poll
Gamers 50-Plus Are a Growing Force in the Tech Market
2
75
4K
kyussman replied
  • Locked
FOX: Trans game developer launches first person shooter where players kill anti-trans villains, including priests. 'Terfenstein 3D'
2
70
6K
Faust replied
Immortals of Aveum | Review Thread
2
78
5K
winjer replied
Persona, Star Ocean, And Final Fantasy Developers Discuss The Trend Of Remaking Classic RPGs
Game Dev 2
77
4K
MagiusNecros replied
Top Bottom