Brain Development Annotated Bibliography

Crone, Eveline A., and Elly A. Konijn. “Media use and brain development during adolescence.” Nature communications9.1 (2018): 588. Accessed https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03126-x

Summary: the study conducted by Crone and Emily focus on the aspects of video game use with a correlation to social media and how it affects brain development. The study argues that neuroscience can be used as a basis to understand the impact that video games, as well as social media (which is a conglomerate of video games), affect neural development in adolescents. However, the study is qualitative and does not present actual data to synthesise its central argument. This makes it one of its greatest limitations because science needs factual back up to make it pertinent in the current world. Nonetheless, the read is phenomenal since it provides an inlet to comprehending why specific brain development issues are only suffered by adolescents who are addicts in video games.

Value: the craving for video games among adolescents has been linked to abnormal brain growth which subjectively affects social behaviour. To comprehend the extent to which video games impact the social and cognitive well being of a human being, science may be the best catalyst to this comprehension. Therefore, the study conducted by Crone and Emily is impactful to the current research in providing a factually based platform to the understanding of the influence and the significant impact. However, on its own, the study may not be appropriate due to the limitation in concurrent studies in neuroscience. But it provides an in-depth comprehension of the phenomenon of video game addiction among teenagers.

Hummer, Tom A. “Media violence effects on brain development: what neuroimaging has revealed and what lies ahead.” American Behavioral Scientist 59.14 (2015): 1790-1806. Accessed https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/10079/Hummer_2015_media.pdf?sequence=1

Summary: The aspect of video games has always been connected to issues of violence and aggressive behaviour. The study according to Hummer focuses on the premise with an emphasis on how video games affect the player. In the research, Hummer produces evidence of numerous online and physical video games that are played by teenagers that are violence prone. They include those that promote warfare, bodily harm as well as aggressive behaviour. Such games, according to Hummer are more popular among teenagers. The explorative study compares the impact that traditional studies have brought on compared to the modern types of research in video games. Hummer concludes that based on neuroimaging, there are devastating effects of playing video games long-term and short-term in brain development among teenagers. Hummer urges that future studies have been conducted to understand the sociological impacts.

Value: most studies have concentrated on the impact of video games on teenagers based on their brain development. Hummer’s journal article focuses on how violent games are destructive to children. As a result, Hummer proposes that little exposure to such violent games are prudent in ensuring limited tendencies of teenagers to turn to virtual ideological philosophies into real life. The study is congruent with the present research as it will provide qualitative information regarding video games with specificity to violence among teenagers.

Blandón, Diego Zamora, et al. “Influence of a BCI neurofeedback videogame in children with ADHD. Quantifying the brain activity through an EEG signal processing dedicated toolbox.” 2016 IEEE 11th Colombian Computing Conference (CCC). IEEE, 2016. Accessed https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Munoz4/publication/310809553_Influence_of_a_BCI_neurofeedback_videogame_in_children_with_ADHD_Quantifying_the_brain_activity_through_an_EEG_signal_processing_dedicated_toolbox/links/59f7927a458515547c24cb40/Influence-of-a-BCI-neurofeedback-videogame-in-children-with-ADHD-Quantifying-the-brain-activity-through-an-EEG-signal-processing-dedicated-toolbox.pdf

Summary: specificity to the type of disorders that are associated with playing video games have always been theorised. These have ranged from ADHD to autism to epilepsy. According to the study by Blandon et a. the focus has been magnified on the issues about ADHD. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder which ranks at 10% among adolescents and has proven challenging to rehabilitate among them. The focus nonetheless has been on the impact that video games have on children who have ADHD. Intuitively, the effect has been less researched, and this has presented numerous loopholes especially in neuroscience as Blandon et al. presents. The study is a quantitative study which focuses on the EEG signals that are emitted by the brain of ADHD children. The authors conclude that teenagers with ADHD that are exposed to video games have heightened EEG signals compared to normal teens. The correlation is that this may have an impact on the social identity perspective which is limited among ADHD children.

Value: it is clear that studies have not concentrated on the specific disorders among teenagers and how this can affect their neural cognition as well as important social abilities. The article is relevant since it will provide a different perspective as to how video games affect special needs children. Specifically, the report presents an understanding of how well children with ADHD respond to video games. This goes against every pinnacle in science that is against video games. However, the scope of the study was only limited to the brain function but, did not present the physical impact and influence of video games.

Raouafi, Sana, and F. A. Etindele Sosso. “Cyberpsychology: video games as a perspective for cognitive training.” Ment Health Addict Res 2.3 (2017): 1-2. Accessed https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sana_Raouafi/publication/318199694_Cyberpsychology_Video_games_as_a_perspective_for_cognitive_training/links/595c2073a6fdcc36b4dc512c/Cyberpsychology-Video-games-as-a-perspective-for-cognitive-training.pdf

Summary: the present advances in neuroscience and especially when it comes to an understanding of the issues regarding video games have surpassed the negative connotations. In the study by Raouafi and Faustin, the focus has diverged to the positive impact that video games possess among teenagers. The aim of the study has been on understanding how video games improve cognitive recognition and improve one’s IQ. Based on a qualitative study the research proposes that teenagers who are diagnosed with acute memory loss or dementia (of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease) have a lot to stimulate to remain relevant brain-wise. Therefore, Raouafi and Faustin propose that video games may be used to encourage the brain activity of teenagers with early onset dementia or Alzheimer’s. The conclusion according to the authors is that communication with video games with the brain is improved.

Value: neuroscience has always been the go-to science to comprehend the impact of video games among growing teenagers. The study conducted by Raouafi and Faustin is a crucial element in understanding how a different perspective of video games can help in someone’s life. As such, the article is beneficial since it provides a different outlook to the negativity that surrounds video games. The proposition is that video games can be used for brain development or maintenance when it comes to teenagers diagnosed with early dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Green, C. Shawn, and Aaron R. Seitz. “The impacts of video games on cognition (and how the government can guide the industry).” Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2.1 (2015): 101-110. Accessed https://learningtransferlab.wiscweb.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/280/2017/07/Policy_Insights_from_the_Behavioral_and_Brain_Sciences-2015-Green-101-10.pdf

Summary: the study by Green and Seitz focuses on the political side of video games and the documented effects of video game use among teenagers. The study is descriptive research that focuses on evaluating how the American culture among teenagers is segmented on video games. Inherently, the authors determine that brain studies have illuminated the benefits of video games and how they can be used to boost cognition among teenagers. The assumption is that if the government can use video games as a sign of education, then probably the current generation may not be lost. However, the premise is unfounded and leaves a lot to be desired from an economic and political standpoint.

Value: Political involvement can sometimes be hectic and never results with the best intentions. However, according to Green and Seitz, this may not necessarily be the result. The study proposes the use of video games for good. As such, this makes the article relevant to the current research illuminating on pivotal ways in which video games can be used for good. The approach is that the government can sanction the use of video games as educational instruments but, this can be met with a lot of repercussions and rejections from society.

Anguera, Joaquin A., and Adam Gazzaley. “Video games, cognitive exercises, and the enhancement of cognitive abilities.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 4 (2015): 160-165. Accessed https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fd26/ba7a0d77bffbdb38db12234789dbe8ecb5e1.pdf

Summary: the question of whether video games have a more cognitive impact compared to other aspects of media use has always been contentious. The study by Anguera and Adam, the research focuses on a comparative analysis of whether video games have more impact or not.

Nonetheless, the study is not longitudinal, and this makes the premise of the research a bit extreme. Regarding the trueness of the survey, it is clear that video games have more impact compared to other media platforms including social media. The approach to the study is exploratory and descriptive expounding on the issues that society depicts about video games. In conclusion, the authors discover that video games have a significant impact on social, psychological and cognitive recognition when it comes to teenagers compared to other media outlets.

Value: the article by Anguera and Adam promote an understanding as to the stereotypic mindset when it comes to an understanding of the impact that video games have on teenagers. However, the limitation to the study, in my view, is that individuals are not well versed with what impact video games have on a long-term basis according to the survey. Therefore, there are a lot of loopholes when it comes to articulating what to expect and the facts surrounding the disorders associated with video game exposure both long term and short term.

Smith, Kenneth L., Tom A. Hummer, and Leslie A. Hulvershorn. “Pathological video gaming and its relationship to substance use disorders.” Current Addiction Reports 2.4 (2015): 302-309. Accessed https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-015-0075-6

Summary: the study by Smith et al. focuses on the perspective that video games are directly related to substance abuse disorders. The new ideology stems from the fact that most of the violent games are associated and praise individuals who commit to substance use. The premise of the research according to Smith et al. is to explore whether this assumption is true or not. The study is a qualitative study describing the effects of pathological gaming disorder among teenagers and how it affects neurological capacities. The epidemiological intake also boosts the approach of the study, and this further improves on the research. Therefore, Smith et al. denote that pathological gaming has a direct effect on substance abuse disorder. But, the study does not provide the types of substances abused.

Value: the study by Smith et al. will fortify the claim of the current paper that video games have a more secondary effect on the users. It will improve on the proposition that exposure to video games can lead to issues of societal impacts including substance abuse. However, the research does not provide the type of substances that are abused by teenagers and this, in the researcher’s opinion would have been very helpful. Nonetheless, the paper is critical to the current document providing a perspective on substance abuse among video game users.

Music, Graham. Nurturing Natures: Attachment and children’s emotional, sociocultural and brain development. Routledge, 2016. Accessed http://www.mellanrummet.net/nr27-2012/Bokanmalan-NurturingNatures.pdf

Summary: the aspect of brain development among children who are aged between nine and eighteen years of age is pivotal to their adulthood. The book by Music provides a perspective of what it means for a teenager to have healthy brain development and the different spectrums of that. As such, the book offers a concise explanation of what it means to have emotional, sociostructurally and brain development intertwined. In other words, the book provides a detailed scientific and psychological understanding of how society, personal, familial and cognitive development are all linked and are necessary for ensuring a child grows at a standard scale.

Value: the book is pivotal to the research since it will provide a framework of what is brain development in teenagers. It is necessary to articulate the scope and theories that explain the perspectives on brain development, how society and the environment which a child grows in impacts their standard growth curve. This will, therefore, provide a broader scope of how other references are beneficial to the current paper. The book also provides an understanding of the extremities of not having good brain development and how this can affect the social and familial interrelations with the teenagers as they grow.

Bergen, Doris, Darrel R. Davis, and Jason T. Abbitt. Technology play and brain development: Infancy to adolescence and future implications. Routledge, 2015. Accessed https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=P9ZzCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=effects+of+videogames+on+brain+development-+books&ots=q9uLysS_1Z&sig=M-Da3jwI61SvBcDetO2FnRHTWQ8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=effects%20of%20videogames%20on%20brain%20development-%20books&f=false

Summary: The book on technology and how it affects brain development from infancy to adolescents provides a broader ground of how technology impacts a person. To be specific, the book determines the long-term influence that technology has on children and how it influences brain development. The book is both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the researches that have been done on the cognitive development of teenagers when it comes to technology exposure. The benefit of this book is the need to compare generations based on technology exposure and this singles out the current generation on its limitations.

Value: the book is significant to the current research as it will offer great assistance to understanding what the neurological aspect of brain development entails. The purpose of the book is clear according to Bergen, Darrel and Jason about comprehending the impact of technology from infancy to teenagehood. Therefore, the book is critical to the present study in encapsulating the approach that technology has had a significant effect on the brain development of teenagers and worsened through video game exposure.

Parker, Marcie. “Videogames and Educational Games for Young Minds: What Could Go Wrong? … Plenty: A Review of Five Books on Internet Addiction and Solutions for All of Us.” (2019): 1-3. Accessed https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01612840.2018.1548855?journalCode=imhn20

Summary: the book by Parker focuses on elucidating the issues about video games and how educational games can be used for educating young minds. However, the book is based on a review of previously published books on the same topic regarding video games and internet addiction. The book by Parker proposes to determine that internet addiction can be used for good and not necessarily be documented as a wrong concept. Therefore, Parker insinuates that it is best to paint a good picture of video games and should be used for education purposes among teenagers to solve internet addiction issues.

Value: The perspective that Parker presents when it comes to the issue of video games is new and can be argumentative. Nonetheless, through the analysis of more than five books that have been previously published on the topic renders the book non-prejudiced. The book, therefore, is important to the current study as it presents factors of video games, internet addiction and how it can be turned around to improve on teenager cognition in solving problems of the society.

Thesis

The current generation has been associated with the addition to video games, social media platforms and internet addiction. The assumption has not been good with numerous studies implicating the addition to limited brain growth. Neuroscience is among the pivotal and pioneering sciences that have undertaken the mission to prove the assumption correct. However, there is insufficient recognition of whether video games have a positive or negative impact on brain development among teenagers. The loophole presents a research profundity that needs to be explored to gauge whether video game exposure hampers brain development among teenagers. The premise of the present paper is to delineate the effects of video games on mental cognition on adolescents. The study will focus on previous studies conducted on this approach, from a qualitative research perspective, to determine the effects of video games on the mental development of adolescents. The study hopes to improve on the current scientific information regarding video games and the young generation.

Work Cited