VIDEO GAMES AND KIDS' BRAINS

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine report today more specific evidence on how violent video games affect teenagers.

They split 44 kids, ages 13 to 17, into two groups to play video games for half an hour. One group played an exciting, fast-paced racing game. The other played a shoot-and-kill war game that was rated for teenagers, not adults. Afterward, they looked an MRI images of the kids' brains.

The MRIs showed significant differences in brain activity. The kids who played the violent game were more emotionally aroused and less able to concentrate or control inhibitions.

Though video game sales are levelling off from a decade ago, they still generate more than $7 billion a year in sales. The gaming industry says people who don't like violent games are free not to buy them. And while they don't promote violent games, they strongly believe in their First Amendment right to sell them.

A number of states have tried to restrict violent video game sales, but the industry is winning some of those fights in court. There's also a federal bill backed by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman, but it's stuck in committee.

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