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Neuropsychology

The joystick years

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 14, page 671 (2013)Cite this article

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A new study has used voxel-based morphometry of MRI scans of adult video-game players to investigate whether there is a correlation between grey matter volume and the number of years spent playing video games ('joystick years'). They found that grey matter volume in the entorhinal cortex was altered and that the direction of change was influenced by the type of game played; logic or puzzle games tended to increase entorhinal grey matter volume, whereas action-based games had the opposite effect. Moreover, hippocampal volume was found to be greater in players with more 'joystick years', suggesting positive long-term effects on visual attention and navigation.

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References

  1. Kühn, S & Gallinat, J. Amount of lifetime video gaming is positively associated with entorhinal, hippocampal and occipital volume. Mol. Psychiatry http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.100 (2013)

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  1. Sian Lewis
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Lewis, S. The joystick years. Nat Rev Neurosci 14, 671 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3606

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