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. 2020 May-Jun;11(3):279-288.
doi: 10.32598/bcn.9.10.335. Epub 2020 May 1.

Changes in Cognitive Functions Following Violent and Football Video Games in Young Male Volunteers by Studying Brain Waves

Hamed Aliyari  1 , Hedayat Sahraei  2 , Marjan Erfani  3 , Mohammad Mohammadi  4 , Masoomeh Kazemi  2 , Mohammad Reza Daliri  5 , Behrouz Minaei-Bidgoli  6 , Hassan Agaei  2 , Mohammad Sahraei  7 , Seyed Mohammad Ali Seyed Hosseini  8 , Elaheh Tekieh  2 , Maryam Salehi  2 , Fereshteh Farajdokht  9
Affiliations

Changes in Cognitive Functions Following Violent and Football Video Games in Young Male Volunteers by Studying Brain Waves

Hamed Aliyari et al. Basic Clin Neurosci. 2020 May-Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: This research investigated the effects of violent and football video games on cognitive functions, cortisol levels, and brain waves.

Methods: A total of 64 participants competed in a single-elimination tournament. Saliva samples of all players were obtained before and after the games for the assessment of cortisol levels. The cognitive performances of the players were also assessed by paced auditory serial addition test. Moreover, the electroencephalogram recording was conducted during the games.

Results: The results showed that salivary cortisol levels significantly decreased after playing both games. Also, playing the football game increased reaction time, whereas decreased sustained attention and mental fatigue.

Conclusion: Conversely, following playing a violent game, the reaction time decreased, and sustained attention and mental fatigue increased. Furthermore, the results of the EEG recording revealed that playing a violent game engaged more brain regions than the football game. In conclusion, playing violent game more effectively improved cognitive performances in the players than the football game.

Keywords: Cognitive; Cortisol; EEG; Football game; PASAT; Violent game.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors declared no potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Effect of playing violent and football video games on salivary cortisol concentration Values are expressed as Mean±SEM; Paired t-test; * P<0.05
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effect of playing violent and football video games on mental health Values are expressed as Mean±SEM.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Effect of playing violent and football video games on reaction time Values are expressed as Mean±SEM; Paired t-test; *P<0.05
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Effect of playing violent and football video games on sustained attention Values are expressed as Mean±SEM
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Effect of playing the violent game and football video games on mental fatigue Values are expressed as Mean±SEM.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Plot of classification. Training data for football and violent video games are given in red and green, respectively The encircled data demonstrate support vectors and the solid line illustrates the boundary of margin, in which the data is classified. The data dispersion for two classes exhibits a clear distinction between two classes, i.e. football and violent games data.
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