Using Neuroimaging Techniques to Link Game Rewards to Memory Through Activity in the Hippocampus

The purpose of this study was to better understand effects of video game rewards on information processing using neuroimaging techniques. Excitation transfer theory, with the limited capacity model of motivated mediated messages, was used to predict that game rewards (administered through goal-directed spatial decision-making demands) will increase hippocampal activity. Activity will remain heightened in a subsequent declarative memory task. It was also predicted that heightened hippocampal activity during encoding will result in better recall after a 25-min delay. Both hypotheses were supported. Participants who played the goal-directed spatial decision-making game experienced greater hippocampal activation during the encoding phase of the memory task. And they demonstrated better recall for the encoded information after the delay. There was also a negative correlation between hippocampal activation and a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid. These results suggest that goal-directed spatial decision-making mechanics can be important for facilitating hippocampal activation and declarative memory. They stress the need for future research to consider how these mechanics could be implemented in games for learning or as a potential intervention technique for those with memory impairments.