Brain :: Violent video games alter brain activity in teens

Violent video games activate regions of the brain linked to emotional response, but limit activity in areas which govern self-control, a recent study in the United States has found. The study led by Vincent Mathews, professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, and was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

Adolescents who played a violent video game showed increased activity in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal.

They performed tasks requiring measured concentration and inhibition, showing a decreased function in pre-frontal areas associated with these capacities.

Brain activities were noted by functional MRI scans.