title: Positive association of video game playing with left frontal cortical thickness in adolescents.
abstract: Playing video games is a common recreational activity of adolescents. Recent research associated frequent video game playing with improvements in cognitive functions. Improvements in cognition have been related to grey matter changes in prefrontal cortex. However, a fine-grained analysis of human brain structure in relation to video gaming is lacking. In magnetic resonance imaging scans of 152 14-year old adolescents, FreeSurfer was used to estimate cortical thickness. Cortical thickness across the whole cortical surface was correlated with self-reported duration of video gaming (hours per week). A robust positive association between cortical thickness and video gaming duration was observed in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left frontal eye fields (FEFs). No regions showed cortical thinning in association with video gaming frequency. DLPFC is the core correlate of executive control and strategic planning which in turn are essential cognitive domains for successful video gaming. The FEFs are a key region involved in visuo-motor integration important for programming and execution of eye movements and allocation of visuo-spatial attention, processes engaged extensively in video games. The results may represent the biological basis of previously reported cognitive improvements due to video game play. Whether or not these results represent a-priori characteristics or consequences of video gaming should be studied in future longitudinal investigations.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology and Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ghent, Belgium; Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, St Hedwig Krankenhaus, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin and Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kühn
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, St Hedwig Krankenhaus, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Banaschewski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gareth J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büchel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Conrod
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Herta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Flor
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garavan
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin and Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ittermann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Loth
authors.affiliation: Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nees
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 "Imaging & Psychiatry," University Paris Sud, Orsay, France; AP-HP Department of Adolescent Psychopathology and Medicine, Maison de Solenn, University Paris Descartes, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Artiges
authors.affiliation: Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paus
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rietschel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Smolka
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology and Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ströhle
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin and Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernadetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walaszek
authors.affiliation: Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, St Hedwig Krankenhaus, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine, St Hedwig Krankenhaus, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallinat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018910:Video Games