The Briefing Room
General Category => Health/Education => Topic started by: rangerrebew on June 23, 2018, 02:58:59 pm
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Can Playing Video Games Cause Addiction? Here's What Makes A Substance Or Behavior Truly Addictive
22 June 2018, 9:48 am EDT By Allan Adamson Tech Times
Excessive gambling is a behavior classified by American Psychiatric Association as addiction. Can playing video games also lead to brain changes and addictive illness caused by drugs and alcohol? ( Pixabay )
WHO's move to classify gaming disorder as a mental health condition has revived a debate about whether or not certain substances and behaviors can cause the same addictive illness as drugs.
In its strictest definition, addiction is a disease caused by changes in brain chemistry linked to use of drugs or alcohol and characterized by excessive use that damages aspects of a normal life. Brain studies show that excessive gaming may have an effect on the brain in similar ways.
Brain's Reward Circuit
Certain drugs, such as opioids and alcohol can over-activate the reward circuit of the brain, which is normally activated when people engage in behaviors crucial to survival such as eating when hungry and drinking water when thirsty.
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/230924/20180622/can-playing-video-games-cause-addiction-heres-what-makes-a-substance-or-behavior-truly-addictive.htm (https://www.techtimes.com/articles/230924/20180622/can-playing-video-games-cause-addiction-heres-what-makes-a-substance-or-behavior-truly-addictive.htm)