The study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Charite University Medicine St Hedwig-Krankenhaus found that positive effects of video gaming may also prove relevant in therapeutic interventions targeting psychiatric disorders.
In order to investigate how video games affect the brain, scientists in Berlin asked adults to play the video game "Super Mario 64" over a period of two months for 30 minutes a day. A control group did not play video games.
These plasticity effects were observed in the right hippocampus, right prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum.
These brain regions are involved in functions such as spatial navigation, memory formation, strategic planning and fine motor skills of the hands.
Most interestingly, these changes were more pronounced the more desire the participants reported to play the video game.
"While previous studies have shown differences in brain structure of video gamers, the present study can demonstrate the direct causal link between video gaming and a volumetric brain increase. This proves that specific brain regions can be trained by means of video games," said study leader Simone Kuhn, senior scientist at the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
"Many patients will accept video games more readily than other medical interventions," said Jurgen Gallinat, co-author of the study.