Study: Video games activate reward regions of brain in men more than women

If you’re male and find it a wee bit difficult to put down the controller when you’re playing a video game, then the findings of a Stanford study might be able provide you with a pretty interesting reason behind it.

In a study done by Allan Reiss and his colleagues, they were able to find out that video games have a greater effect on the reward region of the brain of men than in women. Details of their study in the full article.

We’ve reported before than playing video games may damage the brain. However, we’ve also reported on studies that claim that these games may actually be healthy for children. Now, a new study shows new information on how video games affect men and women.

In a study done by Allan Reiss and his colleagues from the Stanford University, they were able to find out why men find it difficult putting down the game controller when playing video games.

They were able to find out that part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play.

The scientists studied 22 young adults, 11 men and 11 women, using a specifically designed video game. With the use of a functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, they were able to find out which parts of the brain were working during a given activity.

The results showed that the brains of men showed greater activities in the mesocorticolimbic center, the region usually associated with rewards and addiction, as compared to the brains of the women. In addition, the three parts of the reward system – the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and orbitofrontal cortex- were found to influence each other more in men than in women. The better the connected the circuit was, the better the performance in playing video games.

The research noted the findings of their study by saying that, “These gender differences may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become ‘hookedÂ’ on video games than females.”

Via Stanford