Prompt's TechBlog

Once again, new evidence has been wheeled out to prove that violent video games make us aggressive and antisocial. But this time the boffins involved monitored gamers' brains, so it must be true.

The more balanced response to previous research into the subject has always been that people who play such games are more likely to be aggressive simply because violent people are more likely to be drawn towards such games. It doesn't necessarily mean violent games breed violence, cynics would argue, but sure, it stands to reason that people who are violent in any case would undoubtedly get off on shooting and maiming pixel-people in the safety of their bedrooms. Doesn't it?

But now according to the New Scientist, a team from the University of Missouri-Columbia has conducted a more grounded study into violent gamers which monitored the brain activity of 39 game players, and apparently detected a causal link. Researchers measured a type of brain activity they call the 'P300 response' which they claim reflects the emotional impact of an image. When shown images of real-life violence, people who played violent video games were apparently found to have a diminished response.

Check out a fuller picture of the findings for yourself, and let us know what you think of it all. We'll get back to you after a few rounds of Battlefield II and San Andreas...