It seems that ever since games began people have been linking them with negative side effects, whether that be that they cause violence or are harmful to children, and now a new study from the Université de Montréal in Canada is suggesting that brain damage may well be caused by first-person shooters.
The study used 100 participants who were all asked to play 90 hours of games in this genre, including Call of Duty and Borderlands, and after playing these games, the results showed a lower level of grey matter in the brain compared to those who don't play these kinds of games.
What does this mean though? Well, the study indicates that these games activate what they call the 'autopilot' section of the brain, so the hippocampus (which helps process emotional responses and long-term memory) diminishes in size, which can lead to depression and memory loss, among other things.
After the gaming session, the participants were asked to play 3D puzzle solving games instead, requiring more thought and spatial awareness, allegedly increasing grey matter and strengthening the hippocampus.
Before you start throwing out you copies of Call of Duty and investing in The Witness, though, bear in mind that this is only one study on a small group of individuals, so you shouldn't draw hard and definitive conclusions from that just yet. Do you think the study has a point though?
Thanks, COG Connected.