NEW YORK, NEW YORK, January 10, 2006: People who play a lot of violent computer games may become aggressive, says a new study that confirms a link between violent computer games and destructive behavior. Earlier research has found people who play such games are more likely to be aggressive though some say this just shows violent people gravitate towards them. However, researchers at University of Missouri-Columbia monitored the brain activity of 39 game players and found changes in their brain activity when they play violent video games, reported BBC News. They measured a type of brain activity called the P300 response, which reflects the emotional impact of an image. The researchers gave the game players opportunity to punish a pretend opponent; those with the greatest reduction in P300 were much more severe with the kinds of punishments being picked. “This is the first study to show that exposure to violent games has effects on the brain that predict aggressive behavior,” Bartholow, the lead researcher of the study, said. “People who play a lot of violent video games didn’t see them as much different from neutral. They become desensitized. However, their responses are still normal for the nonviolent negative scenes,” he said. The findings will back up what many have argued over recent years with the growth in games, there may be a growth of graphic violence.
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