Video Games: Harmful or Helpful?

Written By: Kayla Hernandez, Clinical Trainee at ACS, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program

more and moreAmericans are playing video games every year, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. About two thirds of adults and three quarters of children and teens reported regularly gaming, with reported use going up by six percent within the past year, according to the 2021 annual report from Entertainment Software Association. Additionally, more caregivers reported playing with their children during the pandemic as well. Common reasons that were given as to why included having more free time, stress relief, emotional wellbeing, cognitive stimulation, and socialization.

With all the increased attention and time devoted to gaming, many caregivers may be wondering what impact it has on the brain. Previous research into problematic gaming focused on negative outcomes as a result of time spent gaming. Time spent gaming was originally thought to be linked to problems with school and work, as well as worsen depression and anxiety symptoms. However, as we can see during the pandemic, this may not be entirely accurate. Many neuropsychological researchers are finding that regular engagement of games, such as brain training software or VR, may help improve cognition in those with mental illnesses or dementia. Additionally, some players demonstrate improvements on certain functions such as mental rotation, abstract reasoning, problem solving, reaction times, and accuracy. Simply put, claiming that video games “harm” or “help” the brain is too reductionistic to explain the complexities of gaming in the literature. Since time spent by gaming is not a reliable way to measure outcomes, we should look towards specific tasks and areas that are affected instead.

Brain scans of gamers have identified the prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and central gyrus as the main areas impacted by video game play. This has led researchers to focus on changes in attention, impulsivity, poor decision making, and risk taking, as they are similar brain regions impacted by those with substance use addictions. These domains are grouped as executive functioning, which refers to a broad range of cognitive abilities that are handled by the frontal lobe. They handle tasks such as planning, organizing, decision making, reasoning, judgment, and multitasking among many others. On behavioral measures of risky decision making, gamers tended to be more impulsive, struggle with delayed gratification, and make errors toward the beginning. Conversely, they also tended to adapt quicker to their environment on learning tasks and did not appear different than non-gamers toward the end of these tasks.

Attention is known to impact executive functioning in that it can divert cognitive resources toward or away from the frontal lobe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more children and adolescents were referred to psychiatrists for ADHD like symptoms associated with video gaming. While results on attention have been markedly mixed, the fluctuations may indicate that some cognitive differences are person dependent, not video game dependent. Video games may in fact prime the brain in order to be able to deal with more complex tasks later.

Therapeutic interventions have been increasingly looking toward video games as a way to improve cognition and mood. Although some research has found correlations between problematic gaming and ADHD, OCD, depression, and anxiety, it may be more indicative of self-coping and mental stimulation related to facets of the disorders themselves rather than the other way around. Moreover, many people report that video games bring people together and allow them an outlet for socialization and recreation. Social software such as Discord targeted toward gamers, offer avenues to interact with others to improve communication skills. Not only that, but games also offer an opportunity for families to bond and have fun. Overall, gaming is a popular hobby that many Americans enjoy. There are many cognitive benefits as well as external rewards such as socialization and improving mental health. However, risk taking behavior and impulsivity should also be monitored.

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References

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