- Ryuta Kawashima is a professor at Tohoku University in
Japan who specializes in brain imaging. A story by Tracy McVeigh appeared
in The Observer reporting that his recent research found that "Computer
games stunt teen brains." According to McVeigh, Kawashima was in
need of funding for his brain imaging research, so he decided to investigate
the levels of brain activity in children playing video games hoping that
his research would benefit game manufacturers. Kawashima presented the
findings at the annual conference of the private learning program Kumon
Educational UK. His findings are unlikely to win him any friends in the
video game industry.
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- Kawashima made use of new techniques in computer imaging
that can tell us which areas of the brain are being used in real time.
Kawashima compared brain activity in children playing Nintendo games with
brain activity in children doing an exercise called the Kraepelin test,
which involves adding single-digit numbers continuously for 30 minutes.
The Nintendo group was found to only be using parts of the brain associated
with vision and movement, while the arithmetic group had activity throughout
the left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe - areas of the brain
associated with learning, memory, emotion, and impulse control.
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- Is a task such as the Kraepelin test a fair comparison?
I believe that it is more than fair. Adding single digit numbers is a
very mundane task that does not sound like it would require much of the
brain. If video games use even less of the brain than the simple task
of adding single digit numbers, then imagine how much less of the brain
that they use than more complex activities such as socially interacting
with peers. Frontal lobe development is necessary for learning to control
behavior, as well as for developing memory, emotion and learning.
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- Professor Kawashima is quoted by The Observer as saying
"There is a problem we will have with a new generation of children
- who play computer games - that we have never seen before. The implications
are very serious for an increasingly violent society and these students
will be doing more and more bad things if they are playing games and not
doing other things like reading aloud or learning arithmetic." He
appears convinced that children who play computer and video games excessively
will not develop their frontal lobes and may be more prone to act more
violently as they grow up. His research findings bolster earlier findings
that violent video games contribute to violent behavior.
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- The software industry disagrees with Dr. Kawashima's
interpretation of his findings. The European Leisure Software Publishers
Association criticized the study as having a "very limited focus."
They cite research finding that playing computer games can be as beneficial
as taking part in physical sports. "For too long now, our industry
has been the target of ill-informed criticism and scare-mongering,"
reported Roger Bennett. "We want to help those who weren't brought
up on computer games to understand this exciting new medium and the part
that it can play in a healthy balance of learning and leisure activities
for all age groups."
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- Perhaps balance really is the key. Kawashima and his
colleagues didn't study children watching television, for example. It
may well be that even less of the brain is used during such a passive activity.
Parents have been warned for years to set some limits on children's television
viewing. The children most at risk for problems appear to be those who
spend excessive time playing video games - especially violent video games.
If parents keep violent games out of the hands of children, and if they
set some limits on their children's daily video game play - encouraging
other academic and social activities - then the worst of the documented
problems associated with video games will be avoided.
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- http://mentalhealth.about.com/
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