Brain Controller –
Oct. 27, 2018 – As the gaming phenomenon grows, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a new disease – gaming disorder. The WHO defines the disorder as “a pattern of gaming behaviour with increasing priority given to gaming over other activities … and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.” So what does gaming disorder really mean and how can it be treated? “What happens when we are immersed in a video game, is that the brain starts to activate the sort of exciting reward system, neurological pathways that are associated with excitement and pleasurable activities, and of course it makes us want to do it more and more,” children and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Richard Graham told Al Jazeera. “So game designers and perhaps social media platforms have learned how to activate those systems to keep us in the game and on screen for as long as possible.”
