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What Are the Effects of Games on the Brain?

People in the United States are accustomed to reading conflicting reports over whether playing games, and video games in particular, is good for the brain or bad. One of the main reasons for these debates is that scientists do not always agree on whether the effects of gaming on the brain are positive or negative. One thing they can agree on, however, is that playing games affects brain chemistry. Some games increase activity in parts of your brain, whereas other games change your brain's basic chemistry.

Tetris Can Exercise Your Brain
- Dr. Richard Haier's 1992 study at the University of California at Irvine is one of the most well-known studies on the effects video games have on the brain, and has been repeated by scientists regularly as new neuroscanning technology becomes available. These studies have investigated the effects that prolonged and regular sessions of the popular game Tetris have on the brain. Tetris requires players to fit colorful blocks together into a puzzle as they fall from the top of the screen. Neuroscans of Tetris players demonstrate that the game helps players' brains become more efficient in areas linked to critical thinking, reasoning, language and information processing. It also strengthens and thickens players' cerebral cortexes, increasing brain tissue.
Violent Video Games May Cause Aggression
- Whether violent video games can potentiate violent behavior is hotly debated in the United States. While scientists are not able to prove that violent video games actually provoke violent behavior, they are able to prove that these games affect players' brain chemistry. A study published in "Media Psychology" found that levels of dopamine, a chemical the brain releases that results in a pleasurable sensation, increased when experienced male gamers committed violent acts in video games. This level increased even more if the men were playing in groups. The same study showed that during and shortly after the firing of a weapon in a game, players' brains showed reduced activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala, two parts of the brain associated with emotional conflict. This could mean that violent video games train players to not feel empathy.
Games and Alzheimer's Disease
- The relationship between gaming and Alzheimer's disease has become a frequent area of study for neurologists interested in the effects of games on the human brain. One Dutch study showed that playing increasingly difficult video games on a daily basis, and repeating the games until challenges could be met within a specified time frame, increased the memory retention of Alzheimer's patients. The study did not specify what type or types of games the patients played, but did demonstrate that patients prescribed medical marijuana were up to 43% more successful with memory retention than unmedicated patients.

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