ya know what i say? I say my mother affects my heart rate...

i say it's the parents fault,they are the ones ment to protect their child from such things but instead are handing them these mental weapons,that's like saying here charlie, take this book of matches and start lighting stuff on fire. with the way video games are starting to look more and more realistic, it won't be long before a kid really is unable to tell the difference and starts to think that his whole life is a video game and starts to copy what he does in the game based in reality, with such games like Manhunt,Run Like Hell,Assassin's Creed,God of War,etc,your basically building your kid's mind into that of charles manson and no-one even realizes it. it's time to take charge and start paying attention to what your kid is playing.

Okay, this is kinda stupid. Just another gripe by the tamed society control mechanism to try and snuff out the games they suck at. Well, not my actual logical opinion, but I'm irritated here. They're still attacking games with the same fervor of Quake back in the day, and it is still probably the same bible-thumping people doing it.

The brain can differentiate between a game and reality, we know we're playing a game. The reason for the heartbeat increases are the level of immersion, the depth of interest, and quite frankly, the adrenaline.

The reason that I think this study is full of crap, is that they probably got some stupid, lame, boring games for comparison. To be honest, my heart raced the more and more into Tetris I got into. You get to the fast paced parts, and the closer to the end of the game, and guess what? My brain released adrenaline, my concentration focused more clearly. It is a natural reaction to stress, fight or flight, and anything else really.

The violent video games keep you on edge, mainly because that is how the action is. Your senses are required to be on edge, reflexes to be heightened, and so on. But... also, there are other games that I'm willing to bet they didn't enter in for comparison. Games like GTA, Need for Speed, and other racing games. Or back in the day, Stunt Race FX on the Super Nintendo. Games like these are fast paced, require attention, and reflex. And games like Harvest Moon have their moments.

They just need to get off the old Quake stuff, and get over the fact that it is the child's upbringing that matters, and the morals instilled and such, not the games. Just a wake up call here, and all, but games don't make psychopaths. They don't make kids go to school and shoot everyone in sight. They don't make us rob stores, evade law enforcement, or any of those things. Granted they may tune our responses and reflexes. But they are not the causes. Society is the cause. Abuse is the cause. NEGLECT is the cause. Restriction of thought and emotion are the cause. Subsequently they are often the cause of the desire to immerse ourselves into fantasy worlds where we are in control, or where our actions matter in the fantasy world.

And so do movies, and certain music and playing in traffic. That's kind of why people partake of such things -- for excitement!