Doctors want more study on overuse of video games
294932
CHICAGO - The American Medical Association called  for more research into the public health risks of video and  Internet games on Wednesday but stopped short of declaring them  addictive.
147441
Experts are to study the "sweaty palmed excitement" of people playing their computer and console games.
213614
By Dorsey Griffith, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.  Jun. 21--Excessive video game playing sure can be a problem.
436632
Video game maker needs to work on its brand management.
666078
Playing on the Nintendo Wii can improve a surgeon's performance in the operating theatre, a study shows.
293245
It may seem an obvious diagnosis for parents, but video games might not actually be addictive, the American Medical Association says.
454734
The AMA suggests gaming addiction should be considered as a sub-category of internet addiction. But "internet addiction" doesn't begin to cover the realm of bizarre and pathological behaviors the internet inspires.
67548
(InfoWorld) - Playing high-action video games for a few hours each day can improve your vision, according to researchers in the U.S. But an eye expert in the U.K. called their findings into question. The researchers from the University of Rochester in New York found that people who play video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month can improve certain aspects of their vision by about 20 percent. Playing the games changes the pathways in the brain responsible for visual processing, as the brain adapts to the additional pressure that playing such games puts on the visual system, they said. The researchers found a group of students who played little or no video games -- which was a challenge in itself -- and gave them a test that measured how well they could discern the orientation of a letter "T" within a crowd of other, distracting symbols. They then divided the students into two groups. One group was told to play the shoot-em-up game "Unreal Tournament" for an hour each day for a month, while a control group played "Tetris," a less visually complex game. After about a month, the students playing the action game could determine the orientation of the "T" much more easily than before, while the Tetris players showed no improvement, the researchers said. The T test measures visual acuity, or the clarity of a person's vision, according to the researchers, who are Daphne Bavelier, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and graduate student Shawn Green. That means playing video games should improve your ability to identify letters on a standard eye-test, they said. An optometry expert in the U.K. disagreed, however. The American researchers are confusing visual acuity with visual search, which is what the T test really measures, according to Maggie Woodhouse, a senior lecturer in the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at Cardiff University. "The test they're using is not for visual acuity," she said after being told of the research. "They've trained their students to make rapid eye movements and to scan large areas to find objects of interest. ... That is visual search." There may indeed be a benefit from playing high-action video games, she said, but it will be in the ability to locate objects in a large or crowded area. That means it could help you pick out a friend's face at a football game, or play a fast-moving sport like ice hockey. The improvement may not last for very long, however, and Woodhouse seemed to consider the overall impact of video games a negative one. Playing for too long can cause eye strain, she said. She also said playing video games "gives you brain damage," although that seemed to be her subjective view rather than a scientific one. The researchers at Rochester University could not immediately be reached for comment. They said the results of their test suggest that people with visual defects could improve their visual acuity with special software that mimics the need to identify objects quickly in an action game. The research is due to appear in next week's Psychological Science journal.
9586
Video games improve street children's learning skills and social inclusion, Argentine researchers find out.
415422
Those who use the Internet to research their own chronic diseases often wind up in worse condition than if they had heeded a doctor&#39;s advice.
378061
It's not all fun and  violence in video games, according to makers of a new genre of  games which claim to boost players' mental health and  self-esteem.
539087
TORONTO, Dec 7 (Reuters Life!) - A new generation of  technologically savvy parents are turning gaming into a family  event, according to a new survey, but critics pushing for  greater monitoring of video game content remain concerned.
193419
The word "gaming" is making its way onto the whiteboards of advertising conference rooms on a regular basis these days. As a proponent of this industry's viability as a communication platform for brands, I think that's great progress. We've collectively woken up to the fact that pimple-faced teenagers are not the only ones playing games (for those of you not in the know, these guys aren't even the typical game consumers anymore, nor have they been for quite a few years now).
329626
A Texas A&M researcher says studies showing connections between video games and violent behavior suffer from shoddy research techniques and bias. In Game|Life.
185476
Byron Review wants to bubble-wrap kids, ISPs The ongoing Byron Review of the impact of technology on children will recommend a clampdown on violent videogames, it has been reported.â¦
398196
TORONTO, Dec 7 (Reuters Life!) - A new generation of technologically savvy parents are turning gaming into a family event, according to a new survey, but critics pushing for greater monitoring of video game content remain concerned.
509834
A new report says families need education about "appropriate use of video games," and prescribes some common-sense guidelines.