"Part of brain-activity gamers is equal to junks"

According to a new study by the Hamburg-Eppendorf clinic,is the brain-activity in some parts of the brain of gamers the same as the brain-activity of drug addicts.

The Ventral striatum,wich is the part of the brain that uses rewardmechanisms to control the actions of a person, is highly activated in both persons.

Scientist say "this can explain the Asian gaming culture where people sometimes literally game thereself to death(80+ hours)"



They did a research with cardgames to show this.

They say that gamers who get into trouble in games have a hard time creating dopamine,wich is necessary to experience a feeling of joy and hapiness.Some people require a higher dosage of dopamine that the brain can produce.

Scientist do they say that this study is not universal and that this kind of behaviour is also largely based on someone\'s social background.

P.S:Sorry if it\'s unclear,I translated it from a Dutch article.

Link: http://www.gamer.nl/nieuws/24904


Google it and see what you can find!

Interesting, i plan to quit gaming soon.

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

so, how many of these doods were talking drugs when they were gaming?

lol soully

if only u were there to say that, they would look at eachother like "SHIT!!!"

Hahah. Then I\'m a gaming junkie !

What the hell are they trying to prove anyway ?

Maybe succesfull company managers have equal
brain activity like oppressive dictators !? They reward succes
with loadsa money in our society, right ?

I\'m sure it\'s the same with chronic masturbators, which you KNOW those scientists are.

Videogames are bad, mmmkay?  

I think the negative effects of gaming are much more vast than even this study indicates. Think about it, you\'re sitting on your ass, you\'re doing the same repeditive motions with your hands for (sometimes) many hours straight, you\'re eyes are focused on a screen (refresh rates, pixels, various lighting issues, distance from the screen, etc.), while most people can tell the difference between reality and fantasy we are still just animals - what is the effect of the game mindset in the long term (problem solving through, usually, murdering things)? I can see lots of ways gaming can be (and common sense tells you, is) unhealthy, physically and mentally. I\'ve cut my gaming down a lot in recent years myself.

Just my 2 cents.

As for this study, I think it\'s neat they tried to link gaming with addiction, but the basis of the link seems so coincidental it doesn\'t mean anything to me.

It says people slow on the dopamine when they\'re not having fun in a game, but says that we make dopamine when we\'re having fun.

That\'s just common sense to me, and I don\'t see that that should have anything to do with drugs or anything else for that matter.

EThugg, you make an interesting point though. Particularly the problem solving thing. Studies have been inconclusive in showing gaming\'s bad or good effects.


Me, I say if it\'s so hard to find a bad side, what little one there might be isn\'t worth looking for. Game on. ;]

-Dan

I agree with EThuggV3 in some extend
Certain games should be kept away from children under 12 years old.Its proven that children before they reach certain age cant distinguish reality from fantasy.

So  certain images are adapted as examples of reality in the child\'s mind.They will sometimes attempt to mimic them without understanding that what they are doing is wrong or anti social.
Now on how games affect us its true that they do.But in not in such degree.

We understand whats real and fake.and sometimes we gain some kind of mental immunity.But some games that manage to create intense atmosphere for example like Silent Hill that affect a grown up gamer emotionally that person is indeed affected negatively in the subconcious level which has some impacts on the person\'s behaviour.Not to an extreme extend though.

But its something that will show in the long term if the person is continuously exposed to such images and experience.

I dont think though that games like for example Tekken, ZOE, Shenmue, Matrix etc affect negatively.In some extend probably yes since the brain continuously recieves fast images of light and is forced to focus on similar tasks

But games also have their good side.It coordinates reactions between body reactions with the information the brain recieves.Also some games require skills so you are training your mind to react fast with your body and think faster

I agree with you Ethugg, come to think of it, ive wasted major time of my life on gaming , i think its time i do something worthwhile like business startup or paintings.

Originally posted by EThuggV3
Videogames are bad, mmmkay?  

I think the negative effects of gaming are much more vast than even this study indicates. Think about it, you\'re sitting on your ass, you\'re doing the same repeditive motions with your hands for (sometimes) many hours straight, you\'re eyes are focused on a screen (refresh rates, pixels, various lighting issues, distance from the screen, etc.), while most people can tell the difference between reality and fantasy we are still just animals - what is the effect of the game mindset in the long term (problem solving through, usually, murdering things)? I can see lots of ways gaming can be (and common sense tells you, is) unhealthy, physically and mentally. I\'ve cut my gaming down a lot in recent years myself.

Just my 2 cents.

I totally DISAGREE with Ethugg.

Office jobs. Employees sitting in their cubicles in front of a pc monitor for many hours straight, contributing to the profits of companies who dump waste material into the environment, companies which make the REAL weapons and tools to kill & hunt reallife ppl & animals instead of polygons. Companies who don\'t give a cr@p about their employees\' life savings (Enron anyone ?)
Heck, I\'d like to see a health comparison study of workaholics compared to teenage/mid 20ers gamers.

Games are a form of media no less bad and no better than film, music or literature. Of course, for every bad movie there is a bad piece of music and a bad book..... and a bad game.  
As a form of media games are no less good or destructive than other media. What was that movie again where in some fictional future they ban n destroy all books ? "1984" ? Really, banning forms/ media of catharsis is only denying the root of the problem.
Shootings n killings are not becuz of games ; they are becuz of evil factors which are existant since the 1st day of human existance ; bad parental guidance, some insane weapon law etc.

Games like Ico, MGS1/2/3 the Silent Hill games tell stories which make me think, enjoy and relate to my real life self in more positive ways than you could ever imagine.  Games involve lotsa things like artwork, storytelling, animation etc which has up to this day inspired alot of youths to study any of those elements.
They\'re artists who contribute a whole lot more positive to the world than the weapons companies, the western pharmacies who charge insane prices for medicine to poor countries who are in need of it and all those companies who dump their trash or cheap outsource work where ever they want it.

No.... I \'d rather game on forever than to contribute to such sickness. Wanda & the Collossus here i come !

[Paul2]

A little off topic.

is interesting how you brought out the book, 1984 or Big Brothers or whatever the title is.  I was trying to remember the book title because my English teacher was using it to mislead and confuses the facts about something...

thanks for reminding me of the title of the book.  Otherwise, I still wouldn\'t have remembering it.

I love 1984. Especially the end.

Regardless, I think you missed my point. I wasn\'t blaming videogames or the content really, just the health effects of regular/extended gaming sessions. In this thread anyhow.

^ No problem man

Heh, I make sure gaming doesn\'t decrease my health.
I don\'t game without a break after 2 hours at most. Subconsciously I can relate to game characters like Sam Fisher and Snake better becuz I keep in fit shape like them.

Kinda funny to notice how such fictional characters actually help me improve my quality of life.

[Evi]

Video games increase "spatial awareness" and is sometimes used in the medical field to help handicapped individuals. It has many positive effects. And obviously too much of anything is a bad thing. Porn is addictive, video games are addictive, sex is addictive, this study is stupid and proves no logical point.

They say that gamers who get into trouble in games have a hard time creating dopamine,wich is necessary to experience a feeling of joy and hapiness.Some people require a higher dosage of dopamine that the brain can produce.

So they\'re saying video games is like doing crack :rolleyes: Riiight.

Scientist say "this can explain the Asian gaming culture where people sometimes literally game thereself to death(80+ hours)"

Japan also has the highest suicide rate in the entire world, but not because of gaming. They\'re a very advanced culture, with a very strenuous lifestyle, so I can see why they\'d just want to sit back and play some damn video games. I don\'t see what\'s wrong with that. GO ASIANZZZ!!