Video Game-Brain Functioning Reversibility Study

Status unconfirmed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Brain Functioning and Violent Video Game Play

In brief

1. Young adults who are exposed to 7-10 days of play of violent video games will show reduced activation in certain regions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. 2. Young adults who are exposed to 7-10 days of violent video games will show increased activation in regions of the amygdala. 3. Young adults who abstain from violent video games for a week, after 7-10 days of play of violent video games, will show increased activation of regions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex and decreased activation of the amygdala, on pre-post fMRI and compared to young adults who continue to play violent video games. 4. Young adults who complete a computerized attention-training program after 7-10 days of violent video games will show increased activation of regions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex and decreased activation of the amygdala, on pre-post fMRI and compared to young adults who continue to play violent video games.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00700453

Run by

Indiana University

People needed

60

Starts

2008-07-01

Expected to finish

2018-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2012-05-03

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 29. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Have K-BIT-2 Matrices IQ>70.
• Must be 18-29 years old for the entire study.
• Only males will participate in the study.
• Must be judged by the investigator to be reliable and cooperative for clinic visits and procedures.
• Must speak English, be proficient in spoken and written English, and have an educational level and understanding of English required to complete all tests and questionnaires. This is important because some of the tests require automatic and rapid processing of written English.
• Must have a baseline level of violent video game play averaging less than or equal to 2 hours per week in the year prior to the study, and must have a baseline level of total video game play averaging less than or equal to 5 hours per week in the year prior to the study. These values are based on research by Kronenberger et al. (2005a) showing that nonviolent control adolescent subjects averaged about 2-3 hours of video game play in a week (of which 1-2 hours are spent with violent video games), compared to aggressive adolescent subjects, who averaged about 4-7 hours of video game play per week (of which 3-4 hours are spent with violent video games). Green and Bavalier (2003) based their selection criteria for "action video game players" (VGP) on an average of 1 hour per day for 4 days a week of violent/action video game play and found differences between the VGP group and a non-VGP group on visual processing. It is important to select subjects who are not frequent game players in order for the experimental manipulation (8-16 hours of violent video game play) to be different from their baseline behavioral habits.
• Must be willing to make lifestyle changes about media habits during the 3-5 week duration of the study.
• Must have basic level of proficiency with computer to load and play video games.

You may not qualify if…

• Organic brain conditions or seizure disorder (history of febrile seizures with no neurological sequelae is acceptable).
• Any physical condition or risk that would preclude or invalidate an MRI.
• Any current mental health diagnosis (other than Adjustment Disorder), based on the Adult Inventory - 4 and follow-up questions from the interviewer, which would be defined as moderate or more severe using the Clinical Global Index - Severity.
• Treatment of a behavioral or emotional problem (excluding normal adjustment issues, such as adjustment to divorce) by a mental health professional in the past year.
• Any historical diagnoses of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia (or other disorder involving psychosis), Personality Disorders, or Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
• Any history of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia (or other disorder involving psychosis), Personality Disorders, or Pervasive Developmental Disorders in first degree relatives (mother, father, siblings, children).
• Current diagnosis of Substance Abuse or Dependence
• Use of psychotropic medication for treatment of a mental or behavioral disorder at any time in the study or in the year prior to the study.

Where it is running

• Radiology-- Research 2 building — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
• Riley Outpatient Center Rm 4300 — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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