Regional differences in brain volume predict the acquisition of skill in a complex real-time strategy videogame

Chandramallika Basak; Michelle W Voss; Kirk I Erickson; Walter R Boot; Arthur F Kramer

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2011.03.017

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Regional differences in brain volume predict the acquisition of skill in a complex real-time strategy videogame

Journal article

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Regional differences in brain volume predict the acquisition of skill in a complex real-time strategy videogame

Chandramallika Basak, Michelle W Voss, Kirk I Erickson, Walter R Boot and Arthur F Kramer

Brain and cognition, Vol.76(3), pp.407-414

2011

DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.03.017

PMCID: PMC4955609

PMID: 21546146

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Abstract

► Grey matter volume predicts real-time strategy-based video game learning. ► Power functions are fitted to game time across numbers of games played. ► The associated regions subserve executive control and motor functions. ► They were medial frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, DLPFC, ACC and cerebellum. Previous studies have found that differences in brain volume among older adults predict performance in laboratory tasks of executive control, memory, and motor learning. In the present study we asked whether regional differences in brain volume as assessed by the application of a voxel-based morphometry technique on high resolution MRI would also be useful in predicting the acquisition of skill in complex tasks, such as strategy-based video games. Twenty older adults were trained for over 20 h to play Rise of Nations, a complex real-time strategy game. These adults showed substantial improvements over the training period in game performance. MRI scans obtained prior to training revealed that the volume of a number of brain regions, which have been previously associated with subsets of the trained skills, predicted a substantial amount of variance in learning on the complex game. Thus, regional differences in brain volume can predict learning in complex tasks that entail the use of a variety of perceptual, cognitive and motor processes.

Aging

Skill acquisition

Video game

Cognitive training

MRI

Brain volume

Older adults

Details

Title: Subtitle: Regional differences in brain volume predict the acquisition of skill in a complex real-time strategy videogame
Creators: Chandramallika Basak - Department of Psychology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
Michelle W Voss - Department of Psychology & Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Kirk I Erickson - Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburg, PA, USA
Walter R Boot - Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Arthur F Kramer - Department of Psychology & Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Brain and cognition, Vol.76(3), pp.407-414
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.03.017
PMID: 21546146
PMCID: PMC4955609
NLM abbreviation: Brain Cogn
ISSN: 0278-2626
eISSN: 1090-2147
Publisher: Elsevier Inc
Language: English
Date published: 2011
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002358502771

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