Video Racing Games Linked to Risky Road Behavior

The findings are in the March issue of theJournal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, which is published by the American Psychological Association.

David S. Bickham, a research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health Center on Media and Child Health, said the German research appears to be the first of its kind.

"The studies parallel violent game research, and my advice to parents is the same: Be aware of what your children are doing," he said.

For players young and old, a computer game "basically is a driving simulator teaching patterns that can be the opposite of what other people should be teaching you," Bickham said.

Last November, researchers reported that a study of teens found that violent video games stir up the brain's emotional-response center while reducing activity in regions linked to self-control.

"After playing a violent video game, these adolescents had an increased activity in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal," said lead researcher Dr. Vincent Mathews, professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine. "At the same time, they had decreases in activity in parts of the brain which are involved in self-control," he added.

The video game findings were presented in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

More information

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SOURCES: Peter Fischer, Ph.D., assistant professor, psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany; David S. Bickham, Ph.D., research scientist, Harvard School of Public Health Center on Media and Child Health; March 2007,Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied