dxy

美国科学家最近研究发现，爱玩暴力电脑游戏的青少年大脑情绪激发区域活动频繁，而调节自我控制能力区域活动减弱。

据路透社报道，美国印第安纳大学医学院的研究人员将44名青少年分成两组，两组人分别玩两种电脑游戏，一种为暴力性游戏；另一种是非暴力性的游戏。半小时游戏过后，这些青少年需要完成一系列有关精神集中和情感处理方面的任务，研究人员通过功能磁共振成像的方法记录了这些青少年在完成任务时大脑细微的新陈代谢变化。

研究结果表明，两组青少年在判断准确性和反应时间上无差异，但是玩暴力游戏的孩子大脑杏仁核（该区域与情绪激发有关）活动更频繁。同时他们大脑中负责计划、移动以及控制和指导思想行为的相关区域活动更少。一些暴力电脑游戏可以对大脑功能产生短期影响，大脑中调节控制能力并让人集中精神的区域活动明显减弱。而这与非暴力性游戏所产生的影响大不一样。

在美国，电脑游戏产业产值高达130亿美元，完全可以与好莱坞票房相媲美，但游戏中的暴力内容也备受争议。此前，很多研究认为媒介暴力与人的暴力倾向有密切联系，目前还有研究人员正在利用先进的成像技术对大脑进行扫描研究，分析暴力电脑游戏是否会增加人的好斗倾向。

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196600301&subSection=Breaking+News
Study: Violent Video Game Exposure Affects Self-Control

The differences were associated with emotional arousal and controlling behavior.

By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek

A 29, 2006 03:37 H

Adolescents who play violent video games show differences in brain activity from those playing nonviolent games. The differences were associated with emotional arousal and self-control, medical researchers reported.

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine asked 44 adolescents to play either a violent or a nonviolent video game for 30 minutes. They used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while participants performed a series of tasks measuring inhibition and concentration immediately after playing video games. The researchers announced Tuesday that they had documented differences between the two groups.

The groups didn't differ in accuracy or reaction time, but those who played the violent game showed more activity (brightly colored scans) in the amygdala. That is an area of the brain connected with emotional arousal. They showed less activity in an area associated with executive functions such as planning, shifting, and controlling and directing thoughts and behavior, according to researchers.

Those who played the nonviolent games showed activation in the portions of the brain associated with inhibition, concentration, and self-control and less activity in areas connected with emotional arousal, the study revealed. The study aims to address a long-lasting debate over the influence violence in media can have on youth.

Experts, including American Psychological Association Fellow Craig Anderson, have addressed several of the arguments that criticize studies linking media violence and aggression. Anderson said that the current findings are consistent and correlations between the two groups are significant. He has pointed out in APA publications that entire scientific fields, such as astronomy, are based on correlation.

Earlier studies have indicated a correlation between exposure to media violence and brain functioning, but the researchers didn't actively manipulate participants' exposure to violence, said William Kronenberger, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at IU's medical school. In this study, researchers randomly assigned adolescents to play either a violent or a nonviolent game, he said.

"Therefore, we can attribute the difference between the groups specifically to the type of game played," Kronenberger said.

Dr. Vincent Mathews, an Indiana University radiology professor who led the study, said it reveals effects on short-term brain function.

"During tasks requiring concentration and processing of emotional stimuli, the adolescents who had played the violent video game showed distinct differences in brain activation than the adolescents who played an equally exciting and fun--but nonviolent--game," he said. "Because of random assignment, the most likely factor accounting for those differences would be the group to which the volunteers were assigned."

The researchers plan further study to understand more about the connection between exposure to media violence and brain function.

编辑：蓝色幻想