Video Games and Teenagers.

Since the rise of video games over recent decades there have been major debates on whether these video games are influencing teenagers to commit crimes or whether they are just a harmless way of socializing and expressing anger in a controlled way. 

Researchers such as Kristin Kalning a games editor for msnbc claims that research has found that these video games are affecting the way in which teenagers or young adults act.  In recent research study, adolescents played two different types of video games (right) showed increased activity in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal. Vince Matthew's the principal investigator on the study hesitates to jump to conclusions that after playing the call of duty kids will go on a killing rampage but warns parents that they should look more closely at the types of games there kids are playing. 

Matthew's and his colleagues chose two action games to include in their research - one violent the other not. The first game was the high octane but non violent racing game 'Need for Speed:Underground'. The other was the ultra-violent first-person shooter 'Medal of Honor : Frontline'. The team divided a group of 44 adolescents in two groups, and randomly assigned the kids to play one of the two games. Immediately after the play sessions, the children were given MRIs of their brains. 

The scans showed a negative effect on the brains of the teens who played 'Medal of Honor' for 30 minutes. The same effect was not present in the kids who played 'Need for Speed.' The only difference? violent content. What's not clear is whether the activity picked up by the MRIs indicates a lingering - or worse, permanent - effect on the kids' brains.

And it is also not known what effect longer play times might have. The scope of this study was 30 minutes of play, and one brain scan per kid, although further research is in the works.