Effects of Video Games Kelsey Wagoner Opportunities in Zoology Dr. Kristen Baum

Background Eye-hand Coordination: is the coordinated control of eye movement with hand movement. It is also the processing of visual input to guide grasping and reaching along with the use of proprioception of the hands to guide the eyes -Proprioception : “one’s own", "individual”, and perception - Right hippocampus: part of the brain that deals with visual memory -Right prefrontal cortex: is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain that has to do with decision making and moderating social behavior -Cerebellum: is the region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control.

Review of Literature Greenfield, P. M Mind and media: the effects of television, video games, and computers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. - Greenfield says that each medium can make a contribution to development, that each has weaknesses and strengths, and that the a normal childhood environment will include a multimedia approach to learning. She then says that video games teach inductive thinking and spatial skills. Beins, B., Felman, A., and Gall, S The Gale encyclopedia of psychology. Detroit, MI: Gale Research. - This book explains that hand-eye coordination is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to guide, direct, and control the hands to be able to accomplish a task. It goes in to detail about how the hand-eye coordination progresses.

Question: Do video games have any affect on the eye-hand coordination? Or do they not affect the brain at all? Hypothesis: If someone plays video games for four hours a week, then they will have a strong eye-hand coordination because they have trained their right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and cerebellum which are the areas of the brain responsible for spatial navigation, and memory formation, strategic planning and fine motor skills in the hands.

Methods  I will test my hypothesis by having two groups of 20 adults coming to a total of 40 at the age of 25 (so their brains are more developed).  I will then have one group, experiment group, of 20 play the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 30 minutes a day for a period of one month. While the other group, control group, of 20 will not be exposed to video games for that month.  I will then examine the two group’s brain by using an MRI machine, and then I will compare the two brain’s gray matter’s in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex, and the cerebellum. I assume that each person in the experimental group will play the game on a Nintendo 64 game system. Playing the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time An MRI of someone’s brain

Limitations  One liimitation will be I cannot control how long the person plays the game. I may say only play for 30 minutes a day, but they may play for an hour or even longer. It will then vary the results between the other people in the experimental group.  Another limitation could be that someone or more than one in the control group could play video games without my knowledge.  If the experimental group each use a different a game system, it could vary the results because each game system has a different controller which can alter their brain activity. The different types of controllers

Significance  If my hypothesis is supported, then the public will understand there is more to games.  They, the public, will also see that games are actually helpful, and even though there are negative outcomes to video games there are also positive ones that help with our day to day functions.

Literature Cited Beins, B., Felman, A., and Gall, S The Gale encyclopedia of psychology. Detroit, MI: Gale Research. Guarini, D. (2013, November 7). 9 Ways Video Games Can Actually Be Good For You. The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from Greenfield, P. M Mind and media: the effects of television, video games, and computers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.