Video games get a bad rap, but can they cause seizures?
Hello Everyone, Crystal your friendly neuroscientist here for DNews to talk videogames and epilepsy.
Normally, the activity in your brain is a lot of neurons firing at different times.
The activity of these neurons are highly regulated and there are inhibitory systems in place
to make sure they don’t fire out of control.
Right now many of your brain regions are active processing this stimulating video, but they
are all working independently of each other.
In some cases though, a glitch can occur and the activity syncs up.
When this happens it can trigger what we know as a seizure.
Seizures are often described as a storm of concerted brain activity with all circuits
firing in rhythm together.
There are many different types of seizures, and not all lead to a diagnosis of epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by a specific form of recurring seizure, a reduced
seizure threshold, and it usually requires an electroencephalogram (EEG) or neuroimaging
for diagnosis.
It might come as a surprise but over the course of a lifetime 4% of our population will experience
epilepsy and it is the fourth most common neurological disorder on par with dementia
and stroke.
What does this have to do with video games?
Well, somehow it seems that certain types of repetitive sensory stimuli can trigger
a seizure, and pulsing light, like the flashes from a computer or television screen can fit
the bill.
About 3 percent of people with epilepsy, and some individuals without, experience photosensitive
seizures in response to flashing light.
These types of seizures are more common in children and adolescents, the portion of the
population for whom video games are the greatest concern.
Many people don’t know that they are sensitive to flickering lights until they experience
a seizure.
Factors that can trigger a photosensitive seizure are 1) how quickly the light flashes,
2) the intensity of the flashing lights, 3) the distance between the viewer and the light
source, and 4) the color or wavelength of the light.
Any repetitive visual stimuli can trigger seizure, video games are seen as frequent
culprits, but the incidence of these seizure events has been on the rise since the advent
of television in the 1950s.
In the 90’s there was a famous Japanese incident in which over 600 children experienced
seizures and were hospitalized after watching a saturday morning Pokemon cartoon, and in
the UK a noodle commercial that triggered seizures led to increased regulations for
broadcast television.
Here in the united states, seizure warnings are becoming more and more common, but we
have yet to enact the regulatory approaches taken by the UK and Japan.
It is important to note that isolated seizures caused by a distinct visual triggers are not
enough for an epilepsy diagnosis.
So to say videogames cause epilepsy is a bit misleading.
But they can cause seizures!
And these episodes can occur when they are least expected are not without consequence.
Repeated seizure activity can lead to cognitive impairment, behavioral abnormalities and even
brain damage!
So the next time you sit down at a computer or television screen just know that you might
be putting your brain at risk for much more than just a good time.
For other new research on how video games affect the brain, check out this recent video
from Trace