Posted on 05/20/2015 10:12:08 AM PDT by Enlightened1
University of Montreal study finds video game players navigate the screen using a key area of the brain
Millions of boys could be at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other mental illnesses in later life through playing action video games such as Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed, according to new research.
Scientists say players navigate the screen using a key area of the brain called the caudate nucleus, which leads to loss of grey matter in the hippocampus.
Previous studies have shown reduced volume in the hippocampus, which controls memory, learning and emotion, is associated with neurological and psychological disorders including dementia and depression.
The Canadian team said if action gamers have less grey matter, as people who rely on the caudate nucleus normally do, then they may be more prone to mental illness.
In the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they tested 26 players and 33 non players who wore skull caps recording their brainwaves and eye movements as they negotiated a virtual maze decorated with trees and mountains from which they had to retrieve objects.
It found the players were twice as likely to use their caudate nucleus (80.76%) during navigation rather than the non-gamers (42.42%) who tended to rely on the brain's spatial memory system, the hippocampus.
The caudate nucleus is the brain's reward system and has also been linked with drug and alcohol addiction.
Dr Gregory West, of the University of Montreal, said: "For more than a decade now, research has demonstrated action video game players display more efficient visual attention abilities. Our current study again confirms this notion.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Cripes, the weasel media in full tilt.
“Adult Call of Duty players are 100% likely to become overgrown boys. While this country goes to crap, men are playing video games.”
Ouch, that seems a little harsh. I play a lot of video games, including Call of Duty, but I see this as another hobby, just as many other men my age often play golf as their hobby. Sometimes there can even be positives, as long as it doesn’t become an obsessive time drain. I really connected to my nephew through playing Call of Duty (he is freakishly good at it), and now it is easy for us to talk about a lot of things that have nothing to do with gaming.
Adult Call of Duty players are 100% likely to become overgrown boys. While this country goes to crap, men are playing video games.
I like Halo so, I guess I’m safe.
I have all of the Battlefield games on PC.
Still, after something like 9 years BF:2142 is by far my favorite BF game.
Just finished playing a round...
Miss that series of games. For whatever reason, they would never work for more than a few days on 8.1.
Secret Weapons was my favorite.
I’m already in trouble as I don’t know what the Hippocampus is. :-)
BF2 was hard to beat for just massive playability. I play BF3 and BF4. I need a new video card for BF4 though. The 6770 just isn’t cutting it.
I started with COD 1 when my son was 9 and taught me how to play.
Lol. And better yet if they'd been given baseline functional MRIs (fMRI) at age 2, split into game/nogame groups, and followed chronologically ever after. Unfortunately, these weren't invented until a few years later...
Yes, that part makes sense. Muscles do weaken and atrophy quickly if not used. Brain tissue is quite dynamic, growing new connections, compensating and decompensating as needed. To some degree one part of the brain can take over function for another part that is diseased or lost. So that part is believable.
I just picked up a GTX 960 for $200 dollars.
Getting like 70-80FPS in BF4 with all setting on Ultra.
Was going to buy a 970 but decided to save the extra $$$.
AMD has a faster card for around the same price but i have always stuck with Nvidia.
Card came with a free download of the new game The Witcher 3.
I might download it tonight, i imagine it is a HUGE file though....
Yeah, okay. It's a hobby. Some men play golf, some race cars, some tinker in the garage, some smoke cigars, some play video games.
What is your player name in BF4?
Mine is the same as here.
I have no idea what the various types of thinkers are. But years ago I tried to play it with my son over at a neighbor’s house. I sucked! (The neighbors 8 year old thought I was funny though!)
In all my games, it was my ID when I was in Men Of God Clan
Restored.
BF4 was a huge download.
I found a R9 280X for $169 on Amazon, didn’t pull the trigger and now it is $211.
Try Call of Duty: World and War and find a Tactical server. You have to move in crouch which slows the game down tremendously. I only play in crouch because I got tired of getting knifed by some sprinter.
Call of duty war story bragging time.
Call of duty 3. Playing capture the flag. Hour long game. Town of poisson map.
I was on the german side. Dont know how this happened but right from the beginning of the game the allied side had us pinned down on our own base. We were completely unable to get off the base, much less reach their flag all the way at the opposite side of the map.
Though we were putting up a vigorous defense. So they were unable to grab our flag, but they were cleaning up on points just by killing us.
I was a scout, which meant in addition to a sniper rifle, I could call in artillery strikes. About a half hour into the game I finally reached the rank of sergeant. Which means my artillery strikes comes fast and long.
I aimed one of my strikes at the graveyard wall right next door to our base because thats where most of the enemy fire was coming from.
Boom. I then checked to see how many I killed on the opposing team. Much to my shock EVERYONE on the other team were dead. This was the break we needed. I yelled at my teammates that everyone on the other team were dead and now was our time to make a break for it. We all raced to get off our base and were on top of them when they respawned. Cant recall the final score of the game, but we did win.
Another story:
Again I’m scout on the german side. Poisson map. I see an m1 rifle lying on the ground. I grab it and theres 2 rounds left in the clip. I shoot off the 2 rounds so that I can insert a fresh 8 round clip. Then I head for the tunnel running under the hotel. Half way up the tunnel my heart drops because im face to face with 4 allied soldiers. One is carrying an m-60 machine gun. The guy behind him is carrying a BAR rifle. The guy behind him is carrying a thompson sub machine gun. And the guy behind him is carrying an m1 rifle.
As a scout, my main weapon is my bolt action rifle. And normally when I run into an enemy soldier carrying an automatic weapon, 99% of the time its me that winds up dead. So running into those 4 guys in the tunnel, naturally I think im dead.
I figure since im dead, I might as well take as many of them with me as I can. Im still carrying the m1 rifle I found on the ground. I dont aim it. I just rush them, shooting from the hip, pulling the trigger as fast as I can.
The tunnel walls prevents them from seeking shelter anywhere. Before I know it, I get to the last guy with the m1 rifle. I shot him with my last bullet but he didnt go down. I only wounded him and hes dazed. I dont have the time to reload before he comes out of his daze, so I hit him with the butt of the rifle and that does the trick. He goes down.
I look at the 4 guys I killed. Im stunned that I managed to survive, much less pull off what I did. Before they have a chance to respawn, I tea bag them all. Later on I got a really nasty private message from one of those guys. :-)
“But years ago I tried to play it with my son over at a neighbor’s house. I sucked! (The neighbors 8 year old thought I was funny though!)”
Was playing call of duty 3 one day. Over the in game voice I overheard a childlike voice. I asked the kid how old he was. 7, was his reply.
After the game was over, which we won handily, before the next game started, the 7 year old kids voice was heard again. I taunted the guys on the other team: “you hear that voice? Thats the voice of a 7 year old kid! You got your butts kicked by a 7 year old kid!” To their credit, they laughed.
Great Stories!
I Love that stuff!
Just took a break from Battlefield 2142, after reading about 70 yrs ago today’s Okinawa battles i was in the mood.
Glad it’s only a video game......
Wish they would come out with a new WWII game.
Thinking of getting the latest Wolfenstein game but i believe it’s only single player, gets good reviews though.
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