Michigan State University (MSU) researchers say playing violent video games leads to brain activity patterns that may be characteristic for aggressive thoughts.

In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, 13 male research participants were observed playing a latest-generation violent video game. Each participant’s game play was recorded and content analyzed on a frame-by-frame basis.

"There is a causal link between playing the first-person shooting game in our experiment and brain-activity pattern that are considered as characteristic for aggressive cognitions and affects," said René Weber, assistant professor of communication and telecommunication at MSU and a researcher on the project.

"There is a neurological link and there is a short-term causal relationship. Violent video games frequently have been criticized for enhancing aggressive reactions such as aggressive cognitions, aggressive affects or aggressive behavior. On a neurobiological level we have shown the link exists."

FMRI is a technique for determining which parts of the brain are activated by different types of physical sensation or activity, such as sight, sound or the movement of a subject's fingers. This "brain mapping" is achieved by setting up an advanced MRI scanner in a special way so that the increased blood flow to the activated areas of the brain shows up on functional MRI scans.

René Weber: "There is a causal link between playing the first-person shooting game in our experiment and brain-activity pattern that are considered as characteristic for aggressive cognitions and affects."

Thirteen German male volunteers between the ages 18 and 26 participated in the study. The participants played a minimum of five hours of video games weekly. On average, participants played video games for 15 hours per week and started playing video games at the median age of 12.

Eleven of the 13 subjects showed large observed effects that can be considered as caused by the virtual violence.

Participants played the mature-rated first-person-shooter game Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror for five rounds, 12 minutes per round (an average of 60 minutes total), while in an fMRI scanner. Brain activity was measured throughout game play. Physiological measures were also taken. This data as well as audio data from the game were recorded and synchronized with the fMRI signal.

Game-play recordings were content analyzed with a novel frame-by-frame method, which assessed whether virtual violence was involved at any moment during play.

The video game industry is a $10bn dollar industry in the United States and more than 90 per cent of all US children and adolescents play video games, on average for about 30 minutes daily.

The entire report of the research will appear in the January 2006 edition of Media Psychology.