Gaming is related to enhanced working memory performance and task-related cortical activity.
Gaming experience has been suggested to lead to performance enhancements in a wide variety of working memory tasks. Previous studies have, however, mostly focused on adult expert gamers and have not included measurements of both behavioral performance and brain activity. In the current study, 167 adolescents and young adults (aged 13-24 years) with different amounts of gaming experience performed an n-back working memory task with vowels, with the sensory modality of the vowel stream switching between audition and vision at random intervals. We studied the relationship between self-reported daily gaming activity, working memory (n-back) task performance and related brain activity measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results revealed that the extent of daily gaming activity was related to enhancements in both performance accuracy and speed during the most demanding (2-back) level of the working memory task. This improved working memory performance was accompanied by enhanced recruitment of a fronto-parietal cortical network, especially the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, during the less demanding (1-back) level of the task, gaming was associated with decreased activity in the same cortical regions. Our results suggest that a greater degree of daily gaming experience is associated with better working memory functioning and task difficulty-dependent modulation in fronto-parietal brain activity already in adolescence and even when non-expert gamers are studied. The direction of causality within this association cannot be inferred with certainty due to the correlational nature of the current study.
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland; Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Finland. Electronic address: mona.moisala@helsinki.fi.
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Moisala
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Finland.
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Salmela
Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Hietajärvi
Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Finland; Neuroscience Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Carlson
Neuroscience Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Vuontela
Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Finland; Optentia Research Focus Area, North-West University, South Africa.
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Lonka
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Hakkarainen
Cicero Learning, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; Institute of Education, University College London, United Kingdom.
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Salmela-Aro
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Finland.
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Alho
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003405:Creativity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
Adolescence; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Functional MRI; Gaming; Working memory