Gamer Brain is a term coined by Akio Mori, a Humanities and Sciences professor at Nihon University in Japan. He founded and headed up the division before releasing a controversial book titled “The Fear of Game Brain” in 2002.
Pronounced “Game Nō no Kyōfu” in Japan, it chronicled his adventures into the effects of gaming on the human brain through the study of Neuroscience. Professor Mori was primarily known for his Physiology research at the time, something which persistently became a hurdle thanks to him ignoring his own ignorance on the subject for the most part.
Even esports professionals have a strict training and diet routine.
Gamer Brain – A Case Study
Mori carried out an experiment that would monitor and examine beta waves from brain activity in a beta state. For you and me, this means the signals our brains put out whilst generally conscious.
Mori claimed his studies found that players exhibited less activity in the brain’s prefrontal region, which is responsible for creativity and emotion, over long periods of time. However, no other variables were considered, with a major factor in this case study being fatigue from long gaming sessions.
Whilst these findings were compared to other test subjects who didn’t play any games, it was hardly a fair analysis. He also claimed that he had pinned down adverse emotional effects of gaming such as:
- Socialising with others in real life
- Problem solving and concentration
- Lack of temper control
These findings gained traction with Japanese parents who were worried about their children’s development. This resulted in children who played games and suffered from the above being diagnosed with ‘Gamer Brain’, in Japanese media at least.
Pseudoscience
Whilst too much of anything good isn’t going to do someone’s brain any good, there were too many variables in The Fear of Game Brain to make any tangible sense. One of the book’s biggest and most criticisms came from Ryuta Kawashima, the man behind the popular Brain Age game series for Nintendo DS, called Gamer Brain ‘Superstition’.
It’s also thought that Mori misread the beta brain waves altogether, with modifiers such as fatigue completely ignored. Looking further afield, there’s not really any creditable evidence that video games by themselves cause any significant neurological damage at all.
Addiction however is very dangerous. It’s a factor in all things we humans enjoy doing. Gaming, drinking, work, exercise, and many more activities we love to do all have a dangerous side. Like all of these things, gaming should be enjoyed in moderation.
If any of the topics discussed in this article have negatively impacted you, there are people out there who can help.
Safe in our World
The Calm Zone
MIND
Samaritans
Rethink
Mental Health America