Study Finds Link Between Playing Video Games and Compulsive Gamblers
By: Stephanie Castillo
Updated: November 16, 2011
People who spend a lot of time playing video games, may have something
in common with compulsive gamblers.
That's coming from European scientists who studied a group of 14 year olds. About half the kids played more than nine hours of video games a week. The other half played less than that.
Researchers found the teens who played video games longer had larger "reward centers" in their brains.
They also found the kids showed greater brain activity, when they're losing. That's a trait also found in gamblers' brains.
Researchers say the findings could help them treat addictive behaviors.
That's coming from European scientists who studied a group of 14 year olds. About half the kids played more than nine hours of video games a week. The other half played less than that.
Researchers found the teens who played video games longer had larger "reward centers" in their brains.
They also found the kids showed greater brain activity, when they're losing. That's a trait also found in gamblers' brains.
Researchers say the findings could help them treat addictive behaviors.
