BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Violent computer games may make gamers more likely to act aggressively, and the links between computer images of brutality and the real thing may go further than was at first thought, US researchers say in a new study.
While many previous studies have identified a link between violent games and aggression, their findings are debated on the basis of whether violent games cause aggression or simply attract players more prone to violence.
The research team from the University of Missouri-Columbia said their study which monitored the brain activity of 39 experienced game players suggests there is a causal link.
Subjects with the highest level of experience with violent games were found to have a smaller and delayed response to the violent images.
The researchers say the study suggests that violent computer games, which often involve brutal killings, high-powered weaponry and street crime, trigger a mechanism in the brain that makes people more likely to behave aggressively.
Bruce Bartholow, a psychologist involved in the study said: "As far as I'm aware, this is the first study to show that exposure to violent games has effects on the brain that predict aggressive behaviour."
The findings support the views of many who have argued over recent years about the growth of such games with scenes of graphic violence.
Some experts however still remain unconvinced of a link but many do question the morality of such games.
In the Columbine High School incident in 1999, two high-school students shot dead 13 people and wounded 23, and in the Gutenberg school incident in 2002, a German teenager murdered 16 people with a shotgun; both incidents were linked to the playing of violent video games. In the UK in 2004, the game Manhunt was blamed by parents of a murdered boy for contributing to his death.
The findings were posted on the New Scientist website, and will be published in full in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology later this year. Enditem
(Agencies)
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