According to the study,? ?games are built to evoke a? ‘?fight or flight?’? reaction? ?from players,? ?due to the? ?adrenaline triggered into the body during play.? ?The researchers add that,? ?due to the lack of physical reaction during such rushes,? ?the chemical remains in the body.?
?“Pushing anxiety to such a level without physical action can cause adrenaline overload.? ?The rise in anxiety disorders is frightening,?” ?laments? ?Charles Linden of the? ?Linden Centre in? ?Worcestershire,? ?UK.
The conclusions of the study add to the mix of conflicting research and results on the matter.? ?A team at? ?Oxford? ?University? ?recently concluded that? ?videogames could,? ?in fact,? ?reduce stress.?
That? ?Oxford study? – ?Which Edge covered? ?here and? ?here? – ?concluded that playing a game of Tetris? ?immediately after a traumatic event appeared to? ?alleviate? ?post-traumatic stress symptoms.?
“We know there is a period of up to six hours in which it is possible to affect certain types of memories that are laid down in the human mind,?”? said? ?Catherine Deeprose,? ?who worked on the Oxford study.? ?“We have shown that in healthy volunteers,? ?playing Tetris in this time window can reduce flashback-type memories without wiping out the ability to make sense of the event.?”
Then again,? ?a? ?study at the? ?Kaohsiung? ?Medical? ?University? ?Hospital in? ?Taiwan? ?claimed that? ?obsessive gamers exhibited the same neurological effects as drug addicts.
Click? ?here to read Edge’s feature on the? ?15? ?Clearest Benefits of gaming.