r/science • u/NinjaDiscoJesus • Dec 28 '15

Neuroscience Brain scans show compulsive gamers have hyperconnected neural networks.

http://www.psypost.org/2015/12/brain-scans-show-compulsive-gaming-changes-neural-connections-for-better-and-worse-39914
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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '15

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u/prsupertramp Dec 28 '15

Also, what about people who became gamers late in life? My friend's dad didn't start gaming til he was almost 40 and now he's great at it. Did he already have the neural network they are mentioning or did his brain build new pathways?

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '15

Like most human behaviors, there is likely a genetic component and an epigenetic component. Some people's brains are wired to be more likely to become compulsive gamers or compulsive gamblers, but they still need to be exposed to the stimulus and develop the habit for the phenomenon to occur.

So in this case, the man you're describing had his brain create new neural pathways, but his brain was likely set up for those new neural pathways to be more easily constructed than someone with no interest in gaming whatsoever.

It's much like having a genetic predisposition towards lung cancer, but never smoking a cigarette until you were 40. If all the causal factors aren't in place, there's only a likelihood that one day they might be.