Video gamers around the world play for THREE BILLION hours every week.

A typical “screenager” will spend several hours a week gaming, and by the age of 21 it is estimated the average young person will have spent weeks of their life glued to games such as Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario or Call of Duty.

But a study is now warning that this could change the way that children use their brains, leading to mental illnesses such as dementia and depression.

The research, by the University of Montreal, found that sustained gaming could lead youngsters to neglect parts of their brains, with devastating results.

Scientists monitored the brain activity and eye movements of gamers using state-of-the-art “skull caps” and compared them with those of non-gamers.

They found gamers were far more likely than non-gamers to use an area of the brain referred to as the “reward system”, rather than the hippocampus, which controls memory, learning and emotion.

Lead author Dr Gregory West explains: “This means people who play a lot of action video games could have reduced hippocampal integrity, which is associated with increased risk for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”

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But the experts cannot seem to agree on whether computer games are good or bad for children.

Some believe that in moderation gaming is a ­positive influence, keeping young brains active and speeding up reflexes.

Games such as Nintendo’s Brain Training series supposedly improve attention span and learning ability.

But bloodthirsty, hugely popular shoot-’em-ups are blamed for leaving players desensitised to violence – and isolated from the real world.

But the Montreal research re­inforces many of the more positive ideas about the impact comp­uter games have on our brains.

It found they can improve hand-eye co-ordination and visual awareness, which is our ability to focus on what we see.

Other studies have found more benefits. Scientists at Radboud University in the Netherlands found playing games – even violent ones like Call of Duty – boosted decision-making and problem-solving skills, and emotional resilience.

Most experts have yet to be convinced, and even the team in Montreal admit their findings are speculative at this stage and will need much more res­­earch. But it is not the first time scientists have raised concerns about the dangers of video games.

In some parts of the world the dangers are taken so seriously legal action is used to keep youngsters safe.

Favourite past-time: But are games harming kids? (
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In Taiwan, the government can fine parents £1,000 for letting children under the age of 18 use electronic devices for too long.

There are also fears gamers can have a false sense of their abilities as they spend too long in a virtual world instead of the real one.

And researchers at Ohio State University found teenagers who spent long periods playing violent games such as Grand Theft Auto felt exempt from ethical standards the rest of us live by and showed less self-restraint.

Study author Brad Bushman said this made gamers more aggressive and also made them “eat more and cheat more”.

But you cannot necessarily blame gamers for the hours they spend on screen. It turns out the pleasure chemical dopamine is released by the brain as they play – making it scarily similar to substance abuse.

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman says: “There are concerns among neuroscientists that this dopamine being produced every single day for many years, through, for example, playing computer games, may change the reward circuitry in a child’s brain and make them more dependent on screen media.”

Since video games are not going away any time soon, the solution seems to be to limit the time your children play.

A study published by Oxford University last year showed that playing for an hour a day could even be beneficial for children.

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Parents are also advised to talk to their youngsters about the content of the games they play and to encourage them to play with their friends, rather than spending hours alone, cut off from the rest of the real world.

Prof Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at Nottingham Trent University and director of the International Gaming Research Unit, says: “There is no evidence that playing games in moderation has any negative effects whatsoever.

"These games are wonderful things – except when they are played to excess.

“The problem is that they are designed to be more-ish, as any game you can put down after 15 minutes has essentially failed.

“Luckily, most people know when to stop and can fit other things into their lives. But a small minority do get completely hooked.

“That could be on the most sophisticated games, like World of Warcraft, that run for years, right down to very simple ones such as Angry Birds or Candy Crush.

“When games are played to excess there can be lots of negative effects and obviously that is a cause for concern.”

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