How Do Video Games Affect The Brain

Do you remember the first time you played a video game? Was it Super Mario Brothers, Call of Duty, or Minesweeper? How about the time your parents told you that video games will rot your brain? Well forget all that, this paper is going to tell you the benefits of playing video games. My claim is that video games can help you with leadership skills, problem solving, education, and cognitive function.

Researchers found that 85% of gamers rely on their caudate nucleus more than their hippocampus increasing the amount of grey matter in their caudate nucleus and reducing it in their hippocampus. The people who played 3D Super Mario games for 90 hours resulted in increased grey matter in the hippocampus (Gajanan). Video games have positive impacts like attention, and visual and motor skills. They can also have negative impacts like risk of addiction (Nichols).

Understanding and action go together. We think more fluidly when an action is associated with a concept. Video games contain, joined together, both action and thought. This leads to a much better internalization and understanding of the game's subject matter. In a study done in Germany in 2008, participants were given a simple task to learn, such as Juggling. After about 12 weeks, these people showed a marked increase in the amount of grey matter in their brains. Further examination of these results revealed that it was, in fact, the act of learning coupled with the action that caused this increase, not simply the performance of the action itself. This suggests that games not only are excellent ways of teaching, they can have lasting beneficial effects on the health of the brain itself.

In the past years, critics have concluded stating that because of video games being released, homicide rates have dropped seventy-seven percent amongst juveniles and less than seven in ten million students have a chance of being killed at school (Sternheimer 214). In “Do Video Games Kill?” the author states, “the 2005 review found evidence that playing video games improves spatial skills and reaction times, but not that the games increase aggression” (Sternheimer 217). Many different video games have positive effects such as problem-solving skills, following directions, multitasking, quick thinking, and more. Video games increase problem-solving skills by placing obstacles in the game for the player to overcome. Virtual gaming can also teach the players how to follow directions to progress throughout the game. Players learn to multitask by taking on different objectives at the same time. According to the studies conducted by Daphne Bavelier of the University of Rochester found that players become more attuned to their surroundings due to the effects of gaming (Hughes “Benefits of Playing Video Games”). By the player becoming attuned to their surroundings, it allows the player to safely release their competitive urges. The American Psychological Association stated that an estimated of 70 percent of gamers play with friends worldwide (APA). While playing with others a player can enhance their communication skills by giving the players common ground to talk about how to complete certain objectives throughout the game. With video games helping with an individual’s cognitive state it can also help individuals who are recovering from physical harm such as a stroke. A stroke is when the brain loses blood flow,

Everyday both adults and children play video games. Some people argue that video games have many negative effects including poor eyesight and inattention. The TED talk by Daphne Bavelier (2012) discusses some of the current research regarding the effect video games have on your brain. Bavelier (2012) talks more specifically about the effects of action video games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and similarly formatted games on a person’s vision and attention span. This paper will explore both the TED talk by Bavelier (2012) and other relevant research on the subject.

North America has spiraled into an unhealthy obsession with video games. The value of the video game industry in 2015 was over seventy-one billion dollars in the United States alone, and its worth has only increased. Polls show that 63% of American households have persons who play video games for a minimum of three hours a day. But do exposure to those games affect the brain in a negative way? Video games are shown to be more influential to the brain than television and movies, and research shows that video games shrink essential parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus. This diminution influences cognitive functions, whose effects will carry on into later life.

People have long debated whether or not video or computer games have a beneficial effect on the brain, as it relates to behavior. Is there any evidence to substantiate and prove how these beneficial effects improve the cognitive function of the brain?

Playing video games is popular among children and adults alike. People play video games in almost every household all over the world. This paper explores the impact of video games on the brain. There are good and bad effects of video games. In a 2011 article Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw, Merzenich, & Gentile reported the content of game play may produce different effects. The players control images on television, telephones and computer screens. There are positive and negative effects of video games corrupting the brain, it can be addictive and cause behavioral changes.

The military sometimes uses video games as a way to train soldiers to be able to accomplish tasks faster and make critical decisions faster and more effectively in combat situations. Video games seem to provoke a positive effect on memory, motor skills and other behaviors. "The brain is constantly reconfiguring itself. Everything new that we learn means that some connections in the brain have been added or altered, even if temporarily,"(Mark Burgess). What Burgess is saying is that the brain continently changing and it could be seen and helps understand the effects of video games on the brain, especially on games with high intensive action when you are constantly having to watch and pay attention to different aspects of the game all at the same

Great news, video gamers! Video games not only provide entertainment but also, can stimulate the hippocampus, by promoting the formation of memories. When adapting to a new environment, our hippocampus depends on neuroplasticity. This is because our hippocampus recognizes when there is a slightly altered image, environment, etc. However, over time, our hippocampal memory starts to weaken. In this study by Clemenson & Stark (2015), they explored whether 3-D video games will stimulate the hippocampus and lead to an enhancement in memory formation and neuroplasticity as people age.

Based on Han’s study on university students, he found that there were some differences in brain activity between video game addition players and normal players. Excessive video game players’ brain activity in the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex was higher than normal players. It was meant that the different form of brain activation will distinguish the addicted player and the non-addicted player. In the study, researchers took fMRI scans of the brains of 78 teenage boys who were addicted to video games and the other 73 were in common condition. The results showed that video game addiction players had stronger connections between several different regions of the brain. It declared that excessive video gaming would lead the player response faster to some events.

Video games impact the brain in a wide variety of ways. Some people could, and have, made the argument that video games are destructive for children and that they become a distraction from actual educational work (Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). On the other hand, one could certainly argue that video games could be a valuable tool in the learning environment (Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). At any rate, there are several different, and accurate views on the subject.

The Impact of Video Games on the Brain is complicated. The Viewpoint article outlines theories from authors presenting both positive and negative impact findings. These findings leave the door open to further study and assessment. However, the impact of videos on the brain affects individuals differently.

Super Mario is like a booster to the brain, and to better understand how video games can boost the brain, German researchers led a study where they asked twenty-three middle-aged adults to play “Super Mario 64 for thirty minutes daily for over two months. A separate part of the group did not play video games in the least. Monitoring the brains of the two groups utilizing an MRI machine, they discovered that the gaming group had an increase in gray matter in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and the cerebellum. These are the areas of the brain in charge of complex thinking, memory development, spatial navigation, and excellent motor skills in the hands (Kühn et al., 2013). According to study leader Simone Kühn (2013), senior scientist

In today’s society, the concerns for the effects of video games have acquired quite a terrible reputation. Worried parents around the world assume video games make their children do poorly in school, and create violent, desensitized, antisocial children. The increase in violent games, usually get the blame for aggressive behavior, shootings and violence in schools and young individuals. Most beliefs about video games effect on the brain and emotions are very common misconceptions. I strongly believe that video games are an essential tool to learning and gaining much-needed skills. When people look at the studies that have been done on video games and the brain, it will be apparent that some myths about video games have been blown out of proportion. It has come to my attention that there are studies that prove the negative effects of video games may only last the duration of game play. Kids can improve in general knowledge with educational video games like Leap Frog. Video games can train specific areas of the brain as well as increase brain flexibility and memory. Gaming actually has more beneficial effects than negative effects. Video games are excellent educational implement used in elementary schools. It is extremely helpful in brain development and helping kids with trouble reading improve. Memory retention can be improved and increased with the use of strategic, thinking games. Video games, as funny as it might sound, even promote