Gamers may lack grey matter

Scimex: Canadian scientists say around 80 per cent of video gamers learn by habit when navigating a game, compared to only around 42 per cent of non-gamers. Previous studies have linked habit learning to decreased grey matter in the hippocampus - a brain area involved in memory formation, organisation, and storage, suggesting gamers may be at risk of developing neurological disorders, they say.

When navigating, distinct strategies rely on either the hippocampus or the striatum. We investigated whether action-video game playing is also associated with increased use of response learning strategies during navigation. We found that actionVGPs had a significantly higher likelihood of using a response learning strategy (80.76%) compared to nonVGPs (42.42%). Using response strategies is associated with decreased grey matter in the hippocampus. Previous studies have shown that decreased volume in the hippocampus is associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders. If actionVGPs have lower grey matter in the hippocampus, these individuals could be at increased risk of developing neurological disorders.