Study claims shooter games can harm the brain
Contact [email protected] to license this or any News Direct video For story suggestions please contact [email protected] RESTRICTIONS: NONE A new study by the University of Montreal has found that different types of games can impact the human brain both positively and negatively. The research looked at the effect of gameplay on the hippocampus and the caudate [b]nucleus. It was published this month in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The first is responsible for emotions, learning and memory formation, the latter helps us form habits and routines. Routines such as when to eat, exercise or get home from work and how to reward yourself for your behavior are stored in the caudate nucleus. Participants in the videogame study played games for between 2 and 4 hours, 3 times a week, for up to 12 hours per week, resulting in 90 hours of gameplay time. The study found the hippocampus shrank after 90 hours of action and shooter gaming because players used their caudate nucleus more to play and navigate. However, the reverse was true for those playing 3-D platform games. After 90 hours, researchers saw an increase in the gray matter in their hippocampi. But University of Oxford Professor Andrew Przybylski[c], points out the study lacks statistical power and the framing of harm may mislead readers. "The interpretation of harm, although attention-grabbing, was not peer-reviewed and appears to have been introduced afterwards," Przybylski told the Mirror. RUNDOWN SHOWS: 1. Person playing videogames and x-ray of their brain 2. X-ray shot of brain, showing hippocampus and caudate nucleus 3. Person playing videogames and x-ray shot of brain 4. Depiction of impact of gaming on brain VOICEOVER (in English): "Participants in the videogame study played games for between 2 and 4 hours, 3 times a week, for up to 12 hours per week, resulting in 90 hours of gameplay time." "The research looked at the effect of gameplay on the hippocampus and the caudate nucleus. The first is responsible for emotions, learning and memory formation, the latter helps us form habits and routines." "The study found the hippocampus shrank after 90 hours of action and shooter gaming because players used their caudate nucleus more to play and navigate." "However, the reverse was true for those playing 3-D platform games. After 90 hours, researchers saw an increase in the gray matter in their hippocampi." SOURCES: Molecular Psychiatry, University of Montreal, McGill University, The Mirror, NPR http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop... http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/arti... https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channe... http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/... http://www.npr.org/sections/health-sh... *** For story suggestions please contact [email protected] For technical and editorial support, please contact: Asia: +61 2 93 73 1841 Europe: +44 20 7542 7599 Americas and Latam: +1 800 738 8377 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D news animations that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health. Sign up for a free trial of News Direct's news animations at http://newsdirect.nextanimationstudio... To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit: http://newsdirect.nextanimationstudio...
