Action video gamers have enhanced functional and structural connectivity in the dorsal visual stream

A neuroimaging study of action video game players revealed that these individuals tend to have enhanced functional and structural connectivity in the dorsal visual stream of the brain. More specifically, they exhibited heightened functional connectivity between the left superior occipital gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule. The research was published in Brain Sciences.

The human brain has two distinct pathways for processing visual information: the dorsal and ventral streams. The dorsal stream, often referred to as the “where” pathway, originates in the primary visual cortex and extends toward the parietal lobe. It is primarily involved in processing the spatial location and movement of objects, helping to guide movements in relation to those objects.

In contrast, the ventral stream—known as the “what” pathway—extends from the primary visual cortex to the temporal lobe. This pathway is essential for recognizing and identifying objects, including their details and colors. Together, the dorsal and ventral streams enable the brain to integrate visual information into coherent perceptions and facilitate effective interaction with the environment by combining recognition and spatial awareness.

Study author Kyle Cahill and his colleagues hypothesized that action video game players might exhibit enhanced functional and structural connectivity within these visual streams. They reasoned that action video games often involve intensive spatial exploration, navigation, and rapid timing coordination. As a result, prolonged gameplay might lead to brain adaptations in the form of increased connectivity.

The study included 28 gamers and 19 non-gamers. Among them, 4 gamers and 12 non-gamers were female. Participants’ average age ranged from 20 to 21 years. On average, gamers played action video games for five or more hours per week. The researchers focused on four types of action video games: First-Person Shooter (FPS), Real-Time Strategy (RTS), Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), and Battle Royale (BR). Non-gamers averaged less than 30 minutes of gameplay per week across any type of video game over the previous two years.

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All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which focused on brain regions comprising the dorsal and ventral visual streams. The researchers used specialized software (DSI Studio 2022.08.0) to analyze structural connectivity between brain areas and to map components of both visual processing pathways.

The results showed that action video gamers exhibited enhanced functional and structural connectivity in the regions under study, particularly within the dorsal visual stream. More specifically, functional connectivity was increased between the left superior occipital gyrus and the left superior parietal lobule during a moving-dot discrimination decision-making task—a test in which participants must determine the overall direction of motion in a field of moving dots. Gamers with heightened connectivity in this region tended to have faster response times. Structural connectivity in the dorsal stream was also greater in gamers compared to non-gamers.

In the brain, structural connectivity refers to the physical network of fibers—primarily axons—that link different regions, forming a stable anatomical framework. Functional connectivity, in contrast, reflects how different brain regions interact over time, even if they are not directly connected through physical structures.

“These connectivity changes in the dorsal visual stream underpin the superior performance of action video gamers compared to nongamers in tasks requiring rapid and accurate vision-based decision-making,” the study authors concluded.

These finding provide valuable insights into how action video gaming may induce improvements in structural and functional connectivity between brain regions in visual processing pathways. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. While it is possible that gaming induces the observed improvements in connectivity, it is also possible that people with better connectivity in these areas are the ones who become action gamers as their brain anatomy allows them to perform better than other people in such games.

The paper, “Connectivity in the Dorsal Visual Stream Is Enhanced in Action Video Game Players,” was authored by Kyle Cahill, Timothy Jordan, and Mukesh Dhamala.