Teenagers who play violent video games may display increased activity in areas of the brain associated with emotional arousal, according to research from the Indiana University School of Medicine, located in Indianapolis.
A summary of the study is available from the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity in 44 adolescents randomly assigned to play either a violent or a nonviolent video game. Immediately after playing the games, those who had played the violent video game exhibited more brain activity in a region thought to be important for emotional arousal, and less activity in a brain region that governs self-control, compared with those who had played the nonviolent game.
