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Playing video games is a common recreational activity of adolescents. Recent research associated frequent video game playing with improvements in cognitive functions. Improvements in cognition have been related to grey matter changes in prefrontal cortex. However, a fine-grained analysis of human brain structure in relation to video gaming is lacking. In magnetic resonance imaging scans of 152 14-year old adolescents, FreeSurfer was used to estimate cortical thickness. Cortical thickness across the whole cortical surface was correlated with self-reported duration of video gaming (hours per week). A robust positive association between cortical thickness and video gaming duration was observed in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left frontal eye fields (FEFs). No regions showed cortical thinning in association with video gaming frequency. DLPFC is the core correlate of executive control and strategic planning which in turn are essential cognitive domains for successful video gaming. The FEFs are a key region involved in visuo-motor integration important for programming and execution of eye movements and allocation of visuo-spatial attention, processes engaged extensively in video games. The results may represent the biological basis of previously reported cognitive improvements due to video game play. Whether or not these results represent a-priori characteristics or consequences of video gaming should be studied in future longitudinal investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:A compulsivity spectrum has been hypothesized to exist across Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD), Eating Disorders (ED), substance abuse (SA) and binge-drinking (BD). The objective was to examine the validity of this compulsivity spectrum, and differentiate it from an externalizing behaviors dimension, but also to look at hypothesized personality and neural correlates. Method:A community-sample of adolescents (N=1938; mean age 14.5 years), and their parents were recruited via high-schools in 8 European study sites. Data on adolescents’ psychiatric symptoms, DSM diagnoses (DAWBA) and substance use behaviors (AUDIT and ESPAD) were collected through adolescent- and parent-reported questionnaires and interviews. The phenotypic structure of compulsive behaviors was then tested using structural equation modeling. The model was validated using personality variables (NEO-FFI and TCI), and Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) analysis. Results:Compulsivity symptoms best fit a higher-order two factor model, with ED and OCD loading onto a compulsivity factor, and BD and SA loading onto an externalizing factor, composed also of ADHD and conduct disorder symptoms. The compulsivity construct correlated with neuroticism (r=0.638; p≤0.001), conscientiousness (r=0.171; p≤0.001), and brain gray matter volume in left and right orbitofrontal cortex, right ventral striatum and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The externalizing factor correlated with extraversion (r=0.201; p≤0.001), novelty-seeking (r=0.451; p≤0.001), and negatively with gray matter volume in the left inferior and middle frontal gyri. Conclusions:Results suggest that a compulsivity spectrum exists in an adolescent, preclinical sample and accounts for variance in both OCD and ED, but not substance-related behaviors, and can be differentiated from an externalizing spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]