Gregory West, associate professor of psychology at the Universite de Montreal, claims that the study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry early this week offers definitive evidence that there is indeed gray matter loss as a result of playing too much video games, particularly shooters. West didn’t act alone in justifying your mom’s incessant nagging – he and Associate Professor Veronique Bohbotat of McGill University conducted a four-year study that suggests direct computer interaction negatively impacts the hippocampus, among other things.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is instrumental to the consolidation of information, (long term and short term memory) as well as spatial memory. The study was orchestrated on 18-30 year olds and brain scans reported, after about 90 hours of playing first person shooters, “significant grey matter loss” in the hippocampus. This potentially births complications both in the short-term and later in life, like depression and Alzheimer's respectively. Although the study concludes that playing action games in particular results in the loss of grey matter, the link between long time players and these particular disorders are tenable at best.
Perhaps the most worrisome acclamation of West and Bohbot’s study was the effect it will potentially have on young developing minds. A child’s brain is still developing and can’t afford to take the kind stresses the study examines. Conversely research has suggested that playing platformers can restore grey matter in the brain, regardless of the methodology utilized while playing them.
“If I had to recommend a type of video game to someone, it would be a 3-D platform or logic puzzle game. The evidence is clear at this point that these games can be beneficial for the brain," said West.
Conversely, the advantageous effects of playing certain kinds of video games has been well-documented over the years and this study seems to speak to action/first person shooters specifically. The study concluded that 85 percent of players of these type of games tend to utilize the caudate nucleus. It helps us form habits, which is why it lends itself to the shoot and cover stylings of titles like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor.
As a champion of video games as both a pastime and a credible art form, I’m skeptical of studies like this. There are a plethora of ill-informed detractors out there, but in this particular instance it seems like the data is scaled pretty evenly with the conviction of the authors. Does this mean you shouldn't pick up a copy of Wolfenstein 2? The research and the medium as a whole are still very young, meaning there is still plenty of room for more findings and modifications to the technology that mitigate its harmful effects.
