Gaming expertise induces meso‑scale brain plasticity and efficiency mechanisms as revealed by whole-brain modeling
Carlos Coronel-Oliveros,
Vicente Medel,
Sebastián Orellana,
Julio Rodiño,
Fernando Lehue,
Josephine Cruzat,
Enzo Tagliazucchi,
Aneta Brzezicka,
Patricio Orio,
Natalia Kowalczyk-Grębska,
Agustín Ibáñez
Affiliations
Carlos Coronel-Oliveros
Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres, Peñalolén, Santiago 2640, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), California US and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile
Vicente Medel
Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres, Peñalolén, Santiago 2640, Chile; Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, 94 Mallett St, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia; Department of Neuroscience, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Independencia, Santiago, Chile
Sebastián Orellana
Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile
Julio Rodiño
Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile; Brain Dynamics Laboratory, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, General Cruz 222, Valparaíso, Chile
Fernando Lehue
Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile
Josephine Cruzat
Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres, Peñalolén, Santiago 2640, Chile
Enzo Tagliazucchi
Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres, Peñalolén, Santiago 2640, Chile; Buenos Aires Physics Institute and Physics Department, University of Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Aneta Brzezicka
Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chodakowska 19/31, Warsaw, 03-815, Poland
Patricio Orio
Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile; Instituto de Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1091, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile; Corresponding author at: Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso (CINV), Universidad de Valparaíso, Harrington, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 287, Chile.
Natalia Kowalczyk-Grębska
Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chodakowska 19/31, Warsaw, 03-815, Poland; Corresponding author at: Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chodakowska 19/31, Warsaw 03-815, Poland.
Agustín Ibáñez
Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Diagonal Las Torres, Peñalolén, Santiago 2640, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), California US and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Vito Dumas 284, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Lloyd Building, Dublin 2, Ireland; Corresponding author at: Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI), Diagonal las Torres 2640, Peñalolén, Santiago, Chile.
Video games are a valuable tool for studying the effects of training and neural plasticity on the brain. However, the underlying mechanisms related to plasticity-associated brain structural changes and their impact on brain dynamics are unknown. Here, we used a semi-empirical whole-brain model to study structural neural plasticity mechanisms linked to video game expertise. We hypothesized that video game expertise is associated with neural plasticity-mediated changes in structural connectivity that manifest at the meso‑scale level, resulting in a more segregated functional network topology. To test this hypothesis, we combined structural connectivity data of StarCraft II video game players (VGPs, n = 31) and non-players (NVGPs, n = 31), with generic fMRI data from the Human Connectome Project and computational models, to generate simulated fMRI recordings. Graph theory analysis on simulated data was performed during both resting-state conditions and external stimulation. VGPs’ simulated functional connectivity was characterized by a meso‑scale integration, with increased local connectivity in frontal, parietal, and occipital brain regions. The same analyses at the level of structural connectivity showed no differences between VGPs and NVGPs. Regions that increased their connectivity strength in VGPs are known to be involved in cognitive processes crucial for task performance such as attention, reasoning, and inference. In-silico stimulation suggested that differences in FC between VGPs and NVGPs emerge in noisy contexts, specifically when the noisy level of stimulation is increased. This indicates that the connectomes of VGPs may facilitate the filtering of noise from stimuli. These structural alterations drive the meso‑scale functional changes observed in individuals with gaming expertise. Overall, our work sheds light on the mechanisms underlying structural neural plasticity triggered by video game experiences.
