Seems a pretty feeble claim at this stage:
Millions of people could be at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other mental illnesses in later life through playing action video games such as Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed, new research claims.
Scientists say players navigate the screen using a key area of the brain called the caudate nucleus, use of which has been associated with loss of grey matter in the hippocampus.
Previous studies have shown reduced volume in the hippocampus, which controls memory, learning and emotion, is associated with neurological and psychological disorders including dementia and depression.
The Canadian team said that if action gamers had less grey matter, as people who rely on the caudate nucleus normally do, then they may be more prone to mental illness
In the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they tested 26 players and 33 non-players who wore skull caps recording their brainwaves and eye movements as they negotiated a virtual maze decorated with trees and mountains from which they had to retrieve objects.
It found the players were twice as likely to use their caudate nucleus (80.76 per cent) during navigation rather than the non-gamers (42.42 per cent) who tended to rely on the brain’s spatial memory system, the hippocampus.
The caudate nucleus is the brain’s reward system and has also been linked with drug and alcohol addiction.
Dr Gregory West, of the University of Montreal, said: “For more than a decade now, research has demonstrated action video game players display more efficient visual attention abilities. Our current study again confirms this notion.
“We, however, also found action video game players use navigation strategies that rely on the caudate nucleus to a much greater degree than non-video game players.
“Past research has shown people who rely on caudate nucleus dependent strategies have lower grey matter and functional brain activity in the hippocampus.
“This means people who play a lot of action video games could have reduced hippocampal integrity, which is associated with increased risk for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
Full: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/video-games-increase-risk-of-alzheimers-disease-researchers-claim-20150520-gh5oi4.html
