Video game effects on the brain have been heavily debated for decades, with a chief concern being that action video games like Call of Duty influence aggressive and violent behavior. Some experts believe these adverse effects have been overstated, but a new study from the Université de Montréal has found habitually playing them may actually harm your brain.

Researchers had about 100 people play shooter games like Call of Duty, Killzone, and Borderlands 2, along with 3D Super Mario games for 90 hours. They found that participants who favor their brain's caudate nucleus — an area associated with the brain's reward system and habit formation — had less grey brain matter in their hippocampus after playing action games.

The hippocampus is a major part of the brain that helps maintain spatial and episodic memories, according to the study. And reduced grey matter in this part of the brain has previously been linked to higher risks of brain illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, and Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers found that 85% of gamers rely on their caudate nucleus (also known as "response learners") more than their hippocampus (spatial learners) while navigating action video games. This adversely affects the hippocampus because as the amount of grey matter increases in the caudate nucleus, it decreases in the hippocampus. Meanwhile, playing the 3D Super Mario games for 90 hours resulted in increased grey matter in the hippocampus for all the participants, according to the study.

To counter potential long-lasting damage, the study authors suggest that response learners would benefit from strategies that target spatial learning. For example, video game designers could alter modern action games by removing in-system navigational tools. This would allow the gamer to get around using landmarks included in the world of the game, which can strengthen spatial learning.

数十年来，有关视频游戏对大脑的影响一直存在激烈争论，最大的问题在于《使命召唤》这类动作视频游戏会影响玩家的攻击和暴力行为。有专家认为，这些不利影响被夸大了，但蒙特利尔大学的一项最新研究却发现，经常玩动作视频游戏，会对大脑产生实际损害。

研究人员邀请了100人玩90个小时《使命召唤》、《杀戮地带》、《战地2》等射击游戏和《超级马里奥3D世界》（3D Super Mario）等游戏。他们发现，喜欢调用尾状核的玩家，在玩过动作游戏之后，海马体中的脑灰质会减少。尾状核是大脑中与奖赏系统和习惯养成有关的部位。

研究称，海马体是大脑的一个重要组成部分，主要作用是帮助保持空间和事件记忆。以前，海马体灰质减少通常与更高的脑部疾病风险有关，包括抑郁、精神分裂、创伤后应激障碍和阿尔兹海默症疾病等。

研究人员发现，85%的游戏玩家在动作视频游戏中行走时，更依赖尾状核（又称“响应学习者”）而非海马体（空间学习者）。这会对海马体造成不利影响，因为尾状核中灰质增加，意味着海马体中的灰质会减少。另外，研究显示，玩《超级马里奥3D世界》90个小时，使所有玩家的海马体灰质数量增加。

为了避免潜在的持久伤害，研究人员建议，以空间学习为目标的策略，可以令响应学习者受益。例如，视频游戏设计师可以修改现代动作游戏，取消系统内的导航工具。这将使游戏玩家可以利用地标畅游游戏世界，从而强化空间学习能力。（财富中文网） 

译者：刘进龙/汪皓