Violent video games affect biological systems

In the study boys (12-15) were asked to play two different video games at home in the evening. The boys' heart rate was registered, among other parameters. It turned out that the heart rate variability was affected to a higher degree when the boys were playing games focusing on violence compared with games without violent features.

Differences in heart rate variability were registered both while the boys were playing the games and when they were sleeping that night. The boys themselves did not feel that they had slept poorly after having played violent games.

The results show that the autonomous nerve system, and thereby central physiological systems in the body, can be affected when you play violent games without your being aware of it. It is too early to draw conclusions about what the long-term significance of this sort of influence might be. What is important about this study is that the researchers have found a way, on the one hand, to study what happens physiologically when you play video or computer games and, on the other hand, to discern the effects of various types of games.

It is hoped that it will be possible to use the method to enhance our knowledge of what mechanisms could lie behind the association that has previously been suggested between violent games and aggressive behavior.

The researchers, from Stockholm University, Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, also hope the method can be used to study how individuals are affected by playing often and for long periods, which can take the form of so-called game addiction. This research on the effects of video games is funded by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS) and the Oscar and Maria Ekman Philanthropic Fund.

For further information please contact:
Frank Lindblad, professor, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University. Employed at the Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University. Phone: +46 (0)8-5537 8914 (project director)
Malena Ivarsson, doctoral candidate, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University. Phone: +46 (0)8-5537 8909 (especially regarding questions about how the study was performed)
Torbjörn Åkerstedt, professor, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University.
Phone: +46 (0)8-5537 8928 (especially for questions about the impact on sleep)
Martin Anderson, chief physician, Department of Clinical Physiology, Stockholm South General Hospital and Karolinska Institutet.

Phone: +46 (0)8-616 35 27 (especially for questions about the method for analyzing how heart rate is affected)