Abstract
Videogame play (VGP) has been associated with numerous preferred and non-preferred effects. However, the effects of VGP on the development of microstructural properties in children, particularly those associated with negative psychological consequences of VGP, have not been identified to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue through cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective analyses. In the present study of humans, we used the diffusion tensor imaging mean diffusivity (MD) measurement to measure microstructural properties and examined cross-sectional correlations with the amount of VGP in 114 boys and 126 girls. We also assessed correlations between the amount of VGP and longitudinal changes in MD that developed after 3.0±0.3 (s.d.) years in 95 boys and 94 girls. After correcting for confounding factors, we found that the amount of VGP was associated with increased MD in the left middle, inferior and orbital frontal cortex; left pallidum; left putamen; left hippocampus; left caudate; right putamen; right insula; and thalamus in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Regardless of intelligence quotient type, higher MD in the areas of the left thalamus, left hippocampus, left putamen, left insula and left Heschl gyrus was associated with lower intelligence. We also confirmed an association between the amount of VGP and decreased verbal intelligence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. In conclusion, increased VGP is directly or indirectly associated with delayed development of the microstructure in extensive brain regions and verbal intelligence.
Highlights
Videogame play (VGP) is increasingly prevalent among children in the modern era.[1]
Multiple regression analyses that used preexperiment data and corrected for confounding variables were employed. These analyses revealed that the amount of VGP in the preexperiment was significantly and negatively correlated with verbal IQ (VIQ) in the preexperiment (Figure 1a, P = 0.027, uncorrected, P = 0.038, corrected for false discovery rate (FDR), t = − 1.930, standardized partial regression coefficient (β) = − 0.120), as expected, and with Full Scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) in the preexperiment (P = 0.032, uncorrected, P = 0.038, corrected for FDR, t = − 2.159, β = − 0.135) but only tended to negatively correlate with performance IQ (PIQ) in the preexperiment (P = 0.061, P = 0.038, corrected for FDR, t = − 1.879, β = − 0.118)
The results revealed that the hours of VGP in the preexperiment were significantly and negatively correlated with the VIQ change between the preexperiment and postexperiment data (Figure 1b, P = 0.044, uncorrected, P = 0.038, corrected for FDR, t = − 1.710, standardized partial regression coefficient (β) = − 0.119) but only tended to correlate negatively with FSIQ in the preexperiment with the FSIQ change between the preexperiment and postexperiment data (P = 0. 064, P = 0.038, corrected for FDR, t = − 1.525, β = − 0.076) and did not correlate with the change in PIQ between the preexperiment and postexperiment data (P = 0. 595, P = 0.2975, corrected for FDR, t = − 0.533, β = − 0.037)
Summary
Videogame play (VGP) is increasingly prevalent among children in the modern era.[1]. VGP has been associated with numerous preferred and non-preferred effects. Previous cross-sectional studies have revealed that children who play large amounts of videogame and professional online gamers exhibited increased cortical thickness and regional gray matter volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), frontal eye field and similar areas.[7,8,9] to date the effects of VGP on the development of microstructural properties in children, those associated with negative psychological consequences of VGP, have not been identified. Observational study design, we can focus on the negative consequences of VGP such as long-term maldevelopment of verbal functions and changes in the dopamine system owing to long VGP. These issues cannot be ethically and practically investigated in controlled short-term interventional studies
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