Video games have become increasingly popular over the past few decades, much to the dismay of parents worried about the correlation between video games and child violence.
The National Institutes of Health studied how video games impact the brain based on the game’s genre and participant’s age. Using MRI scans and cognitive puzzles, scientists deduced whether the brain cells change after an experience.
This research allowed scientists to conclude that video games do affect the brain’s structural and functional aspects, such as the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain controlling executive function and emotional regulation. Other areas affected largely depend on the genre, as different genres can impact brain cells positively or negatively.
While video games often positively impact the brain, some negative impacts still prevail in genres such as horror. Natalie Coyle, Ph.D., is an author at the Platinum Paragon who explained how video games may have short-term negative impacts on the user. The psychological horror genre has become increasingly popular and often causes a fight-or-flight response, which can lead to stressful nightmares.
Two researchers at Frontiers for Young Minds wrote an article about how certain video game genres improve cognition by allowing players to gain or improve skills such as attention span, multitasking and memory.
Mark Fischbach, known online as Markiplier, is a gaming YouTuber diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) In his video titled “A Game About Digging a Hole,” Fischbach stated that the slow-paced video games he plays on his YouTube channel help alleviate his ADHD symptoms.
“I would say that I am infinitely more patient about slow procedural progress than I have been in the past,” Fischbach said. “Power Washing Simulator has legitimately made dealing with the symptoms of ADHD better.”
People with different mental illnesses lean toward playing video games that have positive impacts on their brains. People with ADHD play action video games instead of story-based games to busy their brain, just as people with anxiety disorders typically avoid horror games and play story-based games that focus on less intense emotions.
Video games have proven to illicit both positive and negative growth in people depending on the genre and impact. The variety of genres and uniqueness of each game means that no two games play the same—their impact depends on the creator’s goals and the players’ interpretations of them.
