from Indiana University and RSNA
Whether or not violent video games are potentially harmful to users has been debated for years, but without a lot of scientific evidence. Until now. Indiana University researchers reported to the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting that randomly assigned young adult men showed less activity in certain frontal parts of the brain following a week of playing violent video games at home compared to a similar study group that did not play violent video games. Dr. Yang Wang says these brain regions are important for controlling emotion and aggressive behavior. Further, even after another week in which no video games were played, Dr. Wang said the participants continued to show diminished activity in those parts of the brain, suggesting playing violent video games has a long-term effect on brain function.