Thalamic morphometric changes induced by first‐person action videogame training

Abstract

Cross‐sectional data suggest videogaming as promoting modifications in perceptual and cognitive skills of players, as well as inducing structural brain changes. However, whether such changes are both possible after a systematic gaming exposure, and last beyond the training period, is not known. Here, we originally quantified immediate and long‐lasting cognitive and morphometric impact of a systematic gaming experience on a first‐person shooter (FPS) game. Thirty‐five healthy participants, assigned to a videogaming and a control group, underwent a cognitive assessment and structural magnetic resonance imaging at baseline (T0), immediately post‐gaming (T1) and after 3 months (T2). Enhancements of cognitive performance were found on perceptual and attentional measures at both T1 and T2. Morphometric analysis revealed immediate structural changes involving bilateral medial and posterior thalamic nuclei, as well as bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right precentral gyrus, and left middle occipital gyrus. Notably, significant changes in pulvinar volume were still present at T2, while a voxel‐wise regression analysis also linked baseline pulvinar volume and individual changes in gaming performance. Present findings extend over the notion that videogame playing might impact cognitive and brain functioning in a beneficial way, originally showing long‐term brain structural changes even months after gaming practice. The involvement of posterior thalamic structures highlights a potential link between FPS games and thalamo‐cortical networks related to attention mechanisms and multisensory integration processing.

Safety and recommendations for TMS use in healthy subjects and patient populations, with updates on training, ethical and regulatory issues: Expert Guidelines

“…Following these initial observations, there have been several attempts to modulate cortico-cortical plasticity in a STDP manner using ccPAS. Novel cc-PAS protocols have been developed to investigate STDP within different interhemispheric cortical networks, being able to induce bidirectional modulation of cortical plasticity in the conditioned target area ( Rizzo et al, 2009 ; Arai et al, 2011 ; Koch et al, 2013 ; Veniero et al, 2013 ; Momi et al, 2019 ; Nord, 2019 ; Romei et al, 2016 ; Santarnecchi et al, 2018 ; Zibman et al, 2019a ).…”

Cognitive exergame training and transcranial random noise stimulation effects on executive control in healthy young adults.

“…During the last 20 years, the use of the so-called “brain games” captured the interest of many researchers because of their beneficial effects on cognition and behavior (Palaus et al, 2017; Green and Seitz, 2015), and because of the structural changes they may induce in the brain (Momi et al, 2018, 2019). Playing brain games includes complex cognitive demands, and recent studies have found that training based on brain games, can significantly improve abilities in cognition and perception (Achtman et al, 2008; Green & Bavelier, 2008; Maillot et al, 2012).…”

Personalized Adaptive Training Improves Performance at a Professional First-Person Shooter Action Videogame

“…Thus, we hypothesized and expected the achievement of better videogame and cognitive performances in the adaptive trained group of our healthy subjects’ sample. Videogames provide entertainment via immediately rewarding experience, substantiated by neuroimaging findings suggesting a pivotal role of the striatum – part of the neural reward system – during video gaming ( Lorenz et al, 2015 ; Momi et al, 2018b ). This mechanism might be capitalized to the exploitation of personalized video gaming to obtain potential benefits for cognitively impaired populations as well as in the prevention of cognitive weaknesses ( Mishra et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Interestingly, a recent investigation by our group has shown how playing CS:GO in its “default” modality might induce acute and long-lasting changes in brain structures (e.g., cortical thickness, volume) relevant for the currently observed cognitive effects. For instance, in one study, long-term morphovolumetric changes in the pulvinar were found ( Momi et al, 2018b ). The pulvinar is strongly connected with the occipital cortex and it has been shown to be involved in cognitive functions such as selective attention ( Shipp, 2004 ), multisensory integration ( Stein and Stanford, 2008 ) inhibition ( Mitchell, 2015 ), and spatial seeking ( Fischer and Whitney, 2009 ).…”