Playing action video games (AVG) requires a high level of attention and hand-eye coordination, and previous research has indicated that AVG-playing facilitates attentional and sensorimotor functions.

However, the effects of AVG experience on the insula, an important brain area for these functions, have not been probed.

In a new study reported in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, researchers Diankun Gong and colleagues in China examined insular subregions and their functional neural networks in 27 AVG experts and 30 amateurs. Experts are those who have played for at least six years and were recognized as regional or national champions, and amateurs do not play habitually and had less than one year of game playing experience.

They find that functional connectivity between attentional and sensorimotor networks within and between insular subregions are increased in experts when compared with amateurs.

Grey matter volume in insular subregions was also greater in experts.

These results suggest that playing AVGs may enhance functional integration of insular subregions and important neural networks within this brain area. However, further studies are needed to determine if there is a causal relationship.