Does Video Gaming Have Impacts on the Brain: Evidence from a Systematic Review
Published 25 Sep 2019
Denilson Brilliant T. , Rui Nouchi, and Ryuta Kawashima
- Department of Biomedicine, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), East Jakarta 13210, Indonesia
- Smart Ageing Research Center (SARC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
- Department of Cognitive Health Science, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Short summary for very busy people
Results of this systematic review demonstrated that video gaming can be beneficial to the brain.
However, the beneficial effects vary among video game types.
| Author | Year | Game Genre | Beneficial Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gleich et al. | 2017 | 3D adventure | Increased activity in hippocampus |
| Decreased activity in DLPFC | |||
| Haier et al. | 2009 | puzzle | Increased GM in several visual-spatial processing area |
| Decreased activity in frontal area | |||
| Kuhn et al. | 2014 | 3D adventure | Increased GM in hippocampal, DLPFC and cerebellum |
| Lee et al. | 2012 | strategy | Decreased activity in DLPFC |
| Non-significant activity difference | |||
| Lorenz et al. | 2015 | 3D adventure | Preserved activity in ventral striatum |
| Martinez et al. | 2013 | puzzle | Functional connectivity change in multimodal integration system |
| Functional connectivity change in higher-order executive processing | |||
| Roush | 2013 | rhythm dance | Increased activity in visuospatial working memory area |
| Increased activity in emotional and attention area | |||
| Similar compared to active control- | |||
| West et al. | 2017 | 3D adventure | Non-significant GM difference |
| Increased cognitive performance and short-term memory | |||
| Increased GM in hippocampus and cerebellum | |||
| West et al. | 2018 | FPS | Increased GM in hippocampus (spatial learner ) |
| Increased GM in amygdala (response learner ) | |||
| Decreased GM in hippocampus (response learner) |