Videogames Affect Your Brain 98
ozmm writes "A story on GameSpot explains the concept of 'mirror neurons.' When we shoot a gun, certain neurons fire in our brain. When we see someone else shoot a gun, even a video game character, the exact same neurons fire. How do virtual reactions affect our lives and thoughts? This short but sweet article touches on all of this and more." From the article: "We can tell if someone is watching a television by the way that person is facing it--even if we can't see or hear if the television is even on. It also means that we can experience the mental states associated with actions without ever having to perform those actions. In video games, in particular, it's like we're automatically empathizing with what is happening on the screen as if we were the video game characters ourselves. If you've ever had a particularly heart-palpitating race in Burnout, surely you can relate."
Re:I can hear the liberals already... (Score:3, Informative)
Attacks on our freedom have their genesis on both sides of the aisle.
Re:KIds with ADHD (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not sure which neurofeeback techniques you're specifically talking about, but I'm going to assume it's the type where they strap sensors to your head to measure your brainwaves.
That technique works because it teaches you to directly manage your neural state. The use of games is a quick and easy way to make the system palatable for children.
They could just as easily show you what they want your brainwave to look like, show you your brainwave on a monitor & then tell you "make it look like that."
Staring at a wave form for an hour at a time isn't going to appeal to kids very much... so they turn it into a game.
Adults have been using the "lets play a game" trick for years. "Lets play a game. Who can clean up their side of the room the fastest!" I cringe at how naive I used to be.
Re:ID'ers Eat Your Heart Out. (Score:2, Informative)
Following your Google link, I found this interesting essay Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked [pbs.org] - (one of the myths debunked is the 'The military uses video games' argument...)