This Month is the only One!

The addiction to video games may appear harmless compared to a good old-fashioned coke habit but there's no way to avoid its potential for harm. Just this month, an unnamed Russian man even sued "Fallout 4" developers after a three-week gaming addiction cost him his job, friends and even his spouse.

Online games like "StarCraft" and "League of Legends" are often identified by psychologists as Internet gaming disorder. This is an issue that requires further investigation and is outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5 DSM-5). Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging on 106 boys between the ages between 10 and 19 - all of them seeking treatment for internet gaming disorder. To see how their neural wiring differed they compared their results to the brains of 80 boys who didn't have the disorder.
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As the video above illustrates that a lot of the brain changes observed in people who are addicted to gaming were actually beneficial. Researchers discovered that there was an increase in coordination between the vision and hearing processing networks and the salience network, that concentrates attention and prepares an individual to deal with. This means faster reaction time to both virtual and real threats, and a greater ability to focus in on vital sense data in a chaotic setting.

But, it's not all super mushrooms and fire flower. Researchers warn that this rise in neural efficiency could be linked to a negative characteristic of compulsive gamers' minds that is greater connectivity between the dorsolateral anterior cortex and the temporoparietal joint. It's the same distinction researchers find in the brains of people with schizophrenia, Down syndrome, autism and in those who have poor impulse control.

Which came first Which came first: the Yoshi or the egg? While this US/Korean study published in Addiction Biology, is the largest and most thorough of its kind, the researchers stress that a lot of work is still to be done. We don't know if compulsive gaming alters brain function or if people's already unique neural connections make them more prone to addiction.