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Assessment of R1 Relaxometry Changes Induced via Repeated Videogame Training as a Measure of Neuroplasticity in College-aged Brains1Medical Physics, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, 2Waisman Center for Brain Imaging, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, 3Psychology, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, 4Psychology, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States, 5Psychology, NYU-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 6Pediatrics, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, 7Psychiatry, UW-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
Synopsis
Two video games, Need for Speed and Guitar Hero, were used as training tasks for two groups of college-aged, typically developing participants over 4 weeks and 10 total hours of training. Imaging was acquired before and after the first training session and upon completion of the last training session. The robust MPnRAGE sequence, which produces hundreds of T1 contrasts, was used to generate quantitative R1 maps. Longitudinal changes of R1 were observed in several parietal and temporal lobe areas, which may indicate a neuroplastic response due to video game training.
Introduction
Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to adapt and change in response to experiential and environmental factors.1 Recent studies have reinforced the emerging view that the brain retains significant plasticity throughout lifespan and have shown that a variety of forms of behavioral training can induce clear neuroplastic changes observable using MRI.2-7 One form of behavioral training that has garnered a great deal of scientific interest for its potential to alter various core human abilities is training with commercial video games.8 Previous studies have reported gray matter structural changes resulting from video game training using T1-weighted imaging.9 Quantitative R1 (1/T1) mapping may also provide useful microstructural information of cortical myelination, and has not been studied in studies of brain plasticity including videogame training. This study used the state-of-the-art magnetization-prepared n-rapid acquisition gradient echoes (MPnRAGE)10 sequence with self-navigated retrospective (SNARE) motion correction to simultaneously produce structural T1-weighted images and highly reliable quantitative T1 and R1 maps. In this work, we analyzed neuroplastic changes of R1 observed as a result of repeated videogame training in a cohort of typically developing, college-aged participants.Methods
A cohort of 60 normally developing, college-age participants were recruited for participation in the study. The participants were equally divided into 3 groups: two video-game training groups - Need-for-Speed (NFS; n=20; 6 Males, 14 Females) and Guitar Hero (GH; n = 20; 5 Males, 15 Females) - and a Control (n=20; 5 Males, 15 Females) group. The two training games were hypothesized to cause changes in different brain networks – i.e., spatial working memory in NFS, motor learning in GH. Participants received MRI scans on three occasions – (1) baseline, (2) after 90 minutes of game training, and (3) after 10 sessions of 90 minutes of game training over 4 weeks. Here we report the changes that occur from the baseline scan (1) to the final scan (3). Videogame Training: Each training session lasted 90 minutes. The NFS cohort played the Need for Speed: Shift11 car racing game and completed as many laps of the same racecourse as possible in each session. The track used was changed halfway through the 4-week training period. This NFS game was used in a prior study of short-term brain plasticity, which revealed diffusivity changes in the hippocampus and medial temporal cortex.5 Participants were instructed to race as fast as possible for each lap. The GH cohort played the Guitar Hero12 simulated guitar playing game for roughly 90 minutes in each session. The bulk of the songs were neither repeated within session nor across sessions; however, one standard song was repeated for each session to estimate changes in performance. Data Acquisition and Processing: Participants were scanned on a 3T scanner (Discovery MR 750, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI) using an 32-channel Nova head RF coil. Spatial resolution = 1.0 mm × 1.0 mm × 1.0 mm, matrix size=256x256x256, TR = 4.6ms, TE = 1.7ms, nominal flip angle αn = 4°/6° for the first 326/remaining 112 views. MPnRAGE imaging data were processed using an in-house retrospective motion correction pipeline and T1-weighted and quantitative R1 maps were generated.13,14 T1-weighted images were analyzed using the FreeSurfer image analysis pipeline and the Desikan et al. atlas labels were used to extract cortical thickness and R1 values in the cortical regions of the atlas.15-22 Means for several ROIs (n=10) were calculated, and paired t-tests were conducted to compare time 1 to time 3 differences. p-values were Bonferroni corrected. Parietal ROIs (inferior parietal, superior parietal, and paracentral lobule) were chosen due to their integration of associative processing areas. Medial temporal lobe areas (parahippocampal gyrus and entorhinal cortex) were selected due to their use in spatial learning.23,24Results
Table 1 shows significant results in the NFS cohort, particularly bilateral increases in R1 in the inferior and superior parietal cortices and the right paracentral lobule. Note that a decrease in R1 was observed in the right parahippocampal gyrus. Though GH and control subjects were analyzed, no results survived multiple comparisons correction. Further, no significant cortical thickness differences were observed.Discussion
For participants that played the Need for Speed game, we observed significantly increased cortical R1 in the left and right inferior and superior parietal lobe, as well as the right paracentral lobule; these regions form the basis for understanding sensory and somatosensory association, as well as coordinating the control of the lower limbs (which were used to operate the gas and brake pedals in the NFS cohort).25 Further, we observed evidence of a neuroplastic response in the right parahippocampal gyrus, which is involved in memory, particularly the spatial location of objects.23 These changes may represent cortical myelination or other microstructural changes. Though we did not observe any significant changes in the GH cohort, we attribute the lack of findings to the difficulty of measuring the small changes induced by just a few weeks of training and the need for larger sample sizes. Future work will examine R1 in subcortical ROIs.Acknowledgements
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number T32CA009206. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.References
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