On the heels of an unbelievable E3 convention, video games are back on top with breakthrough future releases from the top names in gaming. Re-releases of classic gore games, Parkor zombie sequels with choose your own adventure capabilities and more open-world options for the interactive gamer. And with these high tech, well written story lines and advanced graphics, users are rewarded with stimulation to the brain in ways similar to drug and alcohol addiction.
A studies conducted by California State University showed the impulsive part of the brain, known as the amygdala-striatal system, was not only more sensitive but also smaller in excessive users so that it processed the stimuli of social media or games faster.
Professor Ofir Turel, one of the study leads from CSU says the impact on the young’s brains is marked in a familiar way: “Say someone sees a video game or cellphone, this reward system in the brain lights up. It’s a very strong activation compared to other people.
“It is associated with structural change in that this brain area is smaller in people who are excessive users. The smaller system can process associations much faster. But like a car, you need to put more gas into it to generate more power.”
Last week a 9 year old girl from Britain was reportedly admitted into rehab after wetting herself rather than leave her TV screen while she was playing the current hottest multiplayer game Fortnite, an online brawl involving 100 players who battle each other until there is only one left standing.
But in good news that differed from drug and alcohol addiction, the part of the brain responsible for “self-control” over impulses was unaffected in the same way in social media users vs. Drug or alcohol addicts.
While the two habits are vastly different, the problem lies within the stimulation occurring so soon in a child’s development. These stimulations so early on can train the brain’s pleasure center to seek out greater reward driven activities, which can lead to risky behaviors. Children should be monitored while playing video games and limited to less than two hours a day to avoid eyestrain, headaches, backaches and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Source : The Recover Newsroom
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