A recent Video Game Addiction to Brain Function report shows that teenagers with pathological video-gaming tendencies exhibit disturbed brain activity, especially within reward-related regions. The article helps alleviate some of the concerns of many parents relating to the overuse of a screen by their adolescents in terms of the probable repercussions on behavior. Hundreds of studies before this one have made hypotheses that screen overuse relates to adverse results, including anxiety, violence, and sleeping disorders.
A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester employed functional MRI imaging in the determination of the effects of over-gaming in the human brain. While most earlier studies targeted adults, the present research focuses on the vulnerable adolescent brain, which, because of heightened reward-seeking and risk-taking behaviors, becomes more prone to addiction.
The research team, which included co-author Dr. John Foxe, director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. A survey of young adolescents aged 10 to 15 years was conducted on video game addiction, and their brains were scanned with functional MRIs while performing tasks that stimulate the brain’s reward system. The scans showed lower activity in the bilateral caudate, a part of the brain associated with reward processing and decision-making, in those with higher addictive tendencies.
The findings suggest that adolescents who have reduced caudate activation may be more vulnerable to gaming addiction. Researchers noted that the reason why individuals with lower brain activity would find less motivation in standard rewards is because of the connection of the caudate to higher cognitive functions and goal-directed behavior.
It poses important questions about whether there is a long-term effect on brain function due to gaming addiction and whether changes in the reward system of the brain can be reversed by behavioral interventions and reduced exposure to screen time.
To Read More: Gaming