Impact of neuroanatomy on skill acquisition in video gaming.
Literature review

What we researched:

• Researchers conducted a literature review summarizing existing literature on gray matter (GM) and white matter correlates of complex VG skill acquisition and explored its relationship with neuroplasticity. In particular, since age can be an important factor in the acquisition of new cognitive skills, the researchers focused on studies that compare different age groups (young and old adults).

How we did it:

• The scope of the review encompassed studies on healthy adults, young (over 18 years old) and older.
• The researchers excluded studies on children and adolescents in order to concentrate on predictors of training success independent of developmental processes.
• They focused on longitudinal studies of naive participants learning to play a video game they had never played before, practicing for the duration of at least one session.
• The researchers excluded retrospective studies to minimize the impact of confounding factors on brain structure and to investigate causal relationships between individual differences and VG training benefits.

Why is it important:

• Because the present review highlights several insights concerning structural brain correlates of game learning success, which can be useful in optimizing training for healthy older and younger adults and in developing regimes and selection procedures for professional players.
• The researchers have found that the brain structures which predict VG skill acquisition are different in young and older subjects.