Video Game Addiction and the Link Between Reward Processing

Publish Date : 04/10/2025

Excessive game play can lead to problematic behaviors. A recent study sheds light on how certain brain functions in teenagers might be associated with symptoms of video game addiction.

The Study at a Glance

Researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, focusing on over 6,000 participants ages 12-14. Over the course of three years, these adolescents completed the Video Game Addiction Questionnaire (VGAQ) to assess their gaming behaviors. Additionally, functional MRI scans were conducted while participants engaged in tasks designed to evaluate their brain’s reward processing mechanisms.​

Key Findings

The study revealed adolescents who exhibited lower activation in the caudate nucleus — a region deep within the brain associated with reward anticipation — during tasks involving potential rewards tended to report higher symptoms of video game addiction over time. Specifically, for each unit decrease in caudate activity, there was an associated 0.87-point increase in VGAQ scores, indicating more pronounced addictive behaviors.

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