Video Games and the Brain: Effects on Cognition and Health
This paper presents a brief literature review examining how video games affect the brain, covering both positive and negative outcomes across different age groups and game types. Drawing on studies by Shams et al. (2015), Ballesteros et al. (2015), Gentile et al. (2017), Salminen and Ravaja (2007), and Bavelier et al. (2011), the paper explores changes in brain structure and cognition, the biological effects of violent video games, oscillatory brain responses measured via EEG, and links between video game use and psychiatric well-being. The review concludes that while certain games can enhance cognition and rehabilitate the brain, others may intensify aggressive tendencies and harm mental health, and that the overall body of research remains in its early stages.
- Introduction: Technology, Video Games, and the Brain: Overview of video games as a brain-research concern
- Video Games and Cognitive Development Across Age Groups: Cognitive effects on young and older players
- Violent Video Games and Biological Effects: Cortisol, aggression, and biological responses to violent games
- Oscillatory Brain Responses During Gameplay: EEG study of brain waves during Super Monkey Ball 2
- Broader Psychiatric and Mental Health Implications: Links between video game use and mental health
- Conclusion: Summary of findings and call for further research
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What makes this paper effective
- Draws on a focused set of peer-reviewed sources to build a coherent, multi-angle picture of how video games affect the brain.
- Balances positive and negative findings rather than presenting a one-sided argument, acknowledging that game type, age, and context all matter.
- Grounds abstract claims in specific study details — for example, the EEG findings from the Super Monkey Ball 2 experiment add concrete empirical texture.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates disciplined literature synthesis: each paragraph introduces a distinct study, identifies its methodology or scope, and connects its findings to the paper's central question about brain effects. Transitional framing ("there are other games, however" and "even with this being clear") keeps the argument from reading as a list of summaries, showing how sources speak to one another.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by situating video games within broader technology use, then moves through four thematic content sections — cognitive development, violent game effects, EEG-measured oscillatory responses, and psychiatric implications — before a short conclusion that acknowledges the field's immaturity and calls for further research. The structure follows a problem-then-evidence pattern appropriate for a short literature review.
Introduction: Technology, Video Games, and the Brain
Technology has emerged and pervaded the lives of many people as it becomes more advanced and more deeply embedded in society. A good and prominent example of this is video games. Even acknowledging the leisure value and perceived positive effects of video games, their impact on the brain is a cause for concern among many in the scientific and academic communities. While many of the effects could be positive, others could be harmful, with age and stage of brain development being important factors to keep in mind.
Video Games and Cognitive Development Across Age Groups
One factor that clearly complicates the situation is that many of the people playing video games are young, with their brains still actively developing. As such, verifying whether there are effects on cognition and brain structure is an important consideration. That precise subject was the focus of a study by Shams et al. (2015). Specifically, they examined the confluence of video game effects on cognition and brain structure, and how these effects do or do not carry implications for neuropsychiatric disorders. Shams captured findings over a three-year period from 2011 to 2014.
While the effects do not appear uniform across all video game types, certain categories of games show clear effects on brain structure and cognition. Contrary to widespread concerns that changes in brain structure represent degradation or regression, these subclasses of video games appear to improve and enhance cognition — meaning that certain games can be used to train and strengthen the brain. Shams acknowledges that the body of research on this topic remains in its nascent stage and that much more work is necessary. At the same time, at least some outcomes from using certain types of video games appear to be positive rather than negative (Shams et al., 2015).
The cognitive enhancement appears not to be limited to younger players. Ballesteros et al. (2015) conducted a study examining how certain non-action games can enhance cognition in older adults, offering evidence that beneficial effects extend across the lifespan (Ballesteros et al., 2015).
Violent Video Games and Biological Effects
There are other games, however, that are considered to have a negative effect on players. This concern is often directed at children and young adults, but the implications appear to span all age groups, even if the typical video game player skews younger. Violent video games in particular are of high concern. Work by Gentile et al. (2017) suggests that the effects are extensive and largely biological in nature. While mental effects are included, others affect additional parts of the body. Gentile explains that violent video games appear to influence salivary cortisol levels, various forms of physiological arousal, and aggressive thought patterns in children. Additional dimensions apparently in play include the "fight or flight" response and general impulsivity. Importantly, per Gentile, video games do not appear to create violent thoughts from nothing, but they do seem to amplify such thoughts when they are already present to some degree (Gentile, Bender, & Anderson, 2017).
Conclusion
A few things are easily apparent from this brief literature review. There are clear signs that video games affect the brain on one or more levels, and those effects manifest throughout the body in various forms, tending to be either beneficial or harmful depending on the circumstances. Even so, the surface of this topic is just beginning to be scratched, and there is certainly much that remains unknown. Regardless, it is clear that video games can affect the brain positively, but they can also be negative and harmful in nature. Time will tell precisely what is true about each type of effect, to what degree, and why.
References
Ballesteros, S., Prieto, A., Mayas, J., Toril, P., Pita, C., Ponce de Leon, L., & Waterworth, J. (2015). Corrigendum: Brain training with non-action video games enhances aspects of cognition in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7, 82. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2015.00082
Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., Han, D. H., Renshaw, P. F., Merzenich, M. M., & Gentile, D. A. (2011). Brains on video games. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(12), 763–768.
Gentile, D. D., Bender, P. K., & Anderson, C. A. (2017). Violent video game effects on salivary cortisol, arousal, and aggressive thoughts in children. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, 39–43.
Salminen, M., & Ravaja, N. (2007). Oscillatory brain responses evoked by video game events: The case of Super Monkey Ball 2. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10(3), 330–338. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9947
Shams, T. A., Foussias, G., Zawadzki, J. A., Marshe, V. S., Siddiqui, I., Muller, D. J., & Wong, C. (2015). The effects of video games on cognition and brain structure: Potential implications for neuropsychiatric disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17(9), 71. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0609-6
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