Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Researchers say a new study has shown that individuals who play violent video games show no evidence of additional aggressive tendencies when compared to non-players.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, involved the comparison of brain scans between 15 young men who were long-term players of violent video games and 15 men of similar age and education who had never played such games. The long-term video game players all attested to playing for at least two hours per day for over four years.

Researchers used an fMRI to look at the subjects’ brains and exposed them to drawings that depicted either emotionally negative interactions between two persons, emotionally neutral interactions between two persons, emotionally negative situations involving one person or emotionally neutral situations involving one person.

According to the researchers, the fMRI data did not show significant differences between the two groups reactions to the drawings. While small in size, the data does contradict a longstanding hypothesis that playing violent video games have a tendency to be more aggressive.

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