Violent games 'affect behaviour'

Violent adult Castle Bounce House computer games may make people more likely to act aggressively, a study says.
"People who play a lot of violent video games didn't see them as much different from neutral.

"They become desensitised. However, their responses are still normal for the non-violent negative scenes."

Previous research has found people who play such games are more likely to be aggressive but some say this just shows violent people gravitate （被吸引）towards them.

But a team from the University of Missouri-Columbia said their study which monitored the brain activity of 39 game players suggests a causal link.

The findings were published on the New Scientist website.

The researchers measured a type of brain activity called the P300 response which reflects the emotional impact of an image.

When shown images of real-life violence, people who played violent video games were found to have a diminished response.

However, when the same group were shown other disturbing images such as dead animals or ill children they had a much more natural response.

When the cheap Trackless Trains game players were given the opportunity to punish a pretend opponent those with the greatest reduction in P300 meted out（给予） the severest punishments.

Psychologist Bruce Bartholow, the lead researcher of the study which will be published in full in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology later this year, said: "As far as I'm aware, this is the first study to show that exposure to violent games has effects on the brain that predict aggressive behaviour.

The findings will back up what many have argued over recent years with the growth in games with scenes of graphic violence.