NPR reports on different interpretations of a recent study involving young mice and prolonged audiovisual stimulation:
The debate centered on a study of young mice exposed to six hours daily of a sound and light show reminiscent of a video game. The mice showed "dramatic changes everywhere in the brain," said Jan-Marino Ramirez, director of the Center for Integrative Brain Research at Seattle Children's Hospital.
"Many of those changes suggest that you have a brain that is wired up at a much more baseline excited level," Ramirez reported. "You need much more sensory stimulation to get [the brain's] attention."
So is that a problem?
On the plus side, it meant that these mice were able to stay calm in an environment that would have stressed out a typical mouse, Ramirez explained. But it also meant they acted like they had an attention deficit disorder, showed signs of learning problems, and were prone to risky behavior.
Overall, the results add to the evidence that parents should be very cautious about screen time for young children, Ramirez said. "I would minimize it."
A more optimistic interpretation came from Leah Krubitzer, an evolutionary neurobiologist at the University of California, Davis. "The benefits may outweigh the negative sides to this," Krubitzer said, adding that a less sensitive brain might thrive in a world where over-stimulation is a common problem.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @05:19AM
The debate centered on a study of young mice exposed to six hours daily of a sound and light show reminiscent of a video game.
So is this meant to be a study on the effects of twitch.tv? Because actual video games are under player control, which might make a teensy bit of difference.
I know people who can't watch someone else play fast-paced shooters like Doom and RoTT for 5 minutes without getting nausea or headaches, but can play the same games for hours when they're in control. I know that's not the same as developmental issues, but it illustrates that it can make a huge difference.