Video Game Players Brains Are 'Wired Differently'

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I think we all knew this. What I want to know is whether playing games caused our brains to be "wired differently" or are people with weird rewired brains just drawn to video games? Maybe a little of both?

The study, based on brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys, found that that those who play games more often show signs of enhanced coordination between the brain networks that process vision or hearing and the so-called salience network, which governs our attention span.
 
I thought brains were self-wiring. Therefore if you play games, a consequence of that action is brain rewiring.
 
People that snort cocaine also have differently 'wired' brains.

:rolleyes:


Yeah, it is laughable.

If you engage in any activity that takes up a lot of your time your brain will "wired" for that.
On my previous job I had to crank out a lot of math in my head and do it quickly. I got dang good at it. That was 9 years ago.
I was in the garage the other doing some carpentry and needed to work out some dimensions in my head; and I struggled a bit to do it.
I though "Dang!! I've lost my edge totally!". Not really. My brain has been "rewired" for what I spend most of my time doing now at my current job. I currently preform at a level I couldn't have handled when my brain wasn't "wired" for it.
 
I thought brains were self-wiring. Therefore if you play games, a consequence of that action is brain rewiring.

Something like 90% of your brain wiring is done by age 5. So its possible gamers had gamer dads. Instead of "heres barney tape for the 1000's time" Its dad playing supermeat boy level for the 1000th run with little timmy riding shotgun on the couch.
 
they only have good coordination in a video game, both of my younger brothers are clumsy. they were raised up with video games, hardly ever went outside. i'm 12 years older and i owned my first console and pc when i was 18.
 
Something like 90% of your brain wiring is done by age 5. So its possible gamers had gamer dads. Instead of "heres barney tape for the 1000's time" Its dad playing supermeat boy level for the 1000th run with little timmy riding shotgun on the couch.

A hereditary pre-disposition for the type of thought processes involved in gaming makes more sense than "rewiring" on the fly. My father was a huge board gamer and RPG'er as a kid, then video games when they started being interesting in the early 1980's.
 
they only have good coordination in a video game, both of my younger brothers are clumsy. they were raised up with video games, hardly ever went outside. i'm 12 years older and i owned my first console and pc when i was 18.

Spot on mate.

It's the stuff you miss while devoting an immature mind to only gaming that does the damage. Most younger guys have issues as a result of too much computer game time but are either too arrogant (immature and naive) or too stupid to comprehend the effect it is having upon them.

They think because they haven't shot up a school it can't have had any effect on them :rolleyes:
 
You left out the downside in the story:

"...there do appear to be some unwanted side-effects.

For example, the study also found that, in the brains of those who play more games, there was an increase in coordination between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction, a connection that may "increase distractibility."

That same change is often seen in patients with neuropsychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, Down's syndrome, and autism, as well as in those with poor impulse control."
 
Old enough that I graduated HS before Attention Deficit Disorder became the in thing. Otherwise, I probably would have been one of the ones targeted for the drugs. In my time, they called it daydreaming. I always maxed the reading tests and was generally ahead of the teacher in anything that could be solved by reading. Which is why I think the rise in the ADD in grade school is more a symptom of less demanding classes rather then an increase in poorly wired kids brains.

I think my attraction to games is I can generally control the pace and therefore avoid the quick onset of boredom.
 
Everyone thinks differently, its hard to say if videogamers are thinking differently because of the games or they thats just their character mindset
 
You left out the downside in the story:

"...there do appear to be some unwanted side-effects.

For example, the study also found that, in the brains of those who play more games, there was an increase in coordination between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction, a connection that may "increase distractibility."

Pft. I don't believe any of that. I think that's just made up stuff for a story. Believe me, in my experience I have no probl--- hold on... just got a text message...
 
Something like 90% of your brain wiring is done by age 5. So its possible gamers had gamer dads. Instead of "heres barney tape for the 1000's time" Its dad playing supermeat boy level for the 1000th run with little timmy riding shotgun on the couch.

Then my brain would be wired for throwing corn cobs at the rats in the corn crib.
 
they only have good coordination in a video game, both of my younger brothers are clumsy. they were raised up with video games, hardly ever went outside. i'm 12 years older and i owned my first console and pc when i was 18.

Not really true. My son, 8 has his own xbox 1 in his room. Very good at games, but is also a superior athlete for his age group. He was the star of his tackle football team (RB and LB), and currently the star of his soccer and basketball team.
Now before anyone says that his grades must be shit, since he plays games on demand and plays sports year round, he is in the second grade and his report cards have only seen all As and only 2 B's. He prolly only average 1-2 hours a day gaming during the weekend. And prolly next to a half an hour a day during school days.
But gaming does promote hand eye coordination and problem solving skills. Certain kids wrap themselves in this world where they are totally dependent on gaming, others (like my son) see it only as a form of entertainment. And nothing else.
 
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