Call of Duty increases risk of Alzheimer's disease

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.

Got another one. This was in call of duty 2. Cant recall the name of the map, except to say I think it was some french village. A game of “team battle”. I was an allied sniper. I was walking up and down the streets looking for german soldiers to kill when I noticed a strange sight. Half way down the street, on the second floor of a building. There was an open window. On both sides of the window the tips of rifle barrels were sticking through the wall.

It was obvious what this was. Two guys flattened themselves up against the wall inside the building. One guy on one side of the window so that he can get a full view of the street one way and the other guy could get a full view of the street in the other direction. And any poor soul who walked up that street would get blasted from that window. What those two guys didnt realize is that by flattening up against the wall caused a little glitch and the tips of their rifle barrels stuck out from within the wall, giving away their positions.

Instead of going down that street, I immediately raced up to behind the buildings across the street from their hiding place. I went inside the building across from theirs, raced upstairs to the second floor and found an open window directly across from theirs and waited.

From my vantage point I could have tossed a hand grenade into their window, but I wanted to kill them both and I feared that the grenade would kill only one of them or just stun them both.

Instead, I opted to aim my rifle and watch the open window through my scope while keeping my finger on the trigger. After a minute or so, the guy on the left side of the window began to stir. The tip of his rifle barrel began to move. I imagine he got bored of waiting around and nothing was happening. First thing he did was to look out the window only to find himself looking down the barrel of my rifle. I pulled the trigger. BLAM! Right in his face and he’s killed instantly.

His buddy doesnt stir. Doesnt move a muscle. The tip of his rifle barrel stays frozen in place. I just KNEW what he was thinking. Seeing his partner go down, he doesnt want that allied sniper (me) to know that he’s there too. He thinks I dont know he’s there also. So he figures that if he stays there long enough and doesnt move for a while, I’ll go away to find some other target.

Instead, I keep my position and keep the crosshairs of my scope fixated on his open window just like before and bide my time. In the back of my mind I’m worried about his friend respawning and coming to my position to take me out. But he never shows up.

Finally, after a minute or so the second guy hiding alongside the window across the street finally begins to move. Just like his buddy, he stares out the window only to find himself also looking down the barrel of my rifle. I pull the trigger. BLAM! Right in the face, same as his friend. And he goes down. Then I leave my position to go find other german soldiers to kill and I learned a lesson from those two guys: never flatten yourself facing against a wall lest your rifle barrel will stick through, giving away your hiding place.

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