The latest game consoles might represent the most cutting-edge advances in computer technology, but their appeal to men is purely primal. Scientists have found that men regress to their caveman instincts when playing the games, because the area of the brain linked with the desire to conquer becomes activated. This, say researchers, is why they are more likely to become obsessed with their Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 than women.

The discovery was made during a study which monitored a group of men and women as they played video games while linked up to an MRI scanner, which recorded their brain activity. The MRI data showed that the brain’s mesocorticolimbic centre, the region typically associated with reward and addiction, was stimulated in both sexes. While women understood the aims of the game, they were not as driven to win as men. Male brains, however, showed much greater activation which increased as they progressed in their games.

These gender differences might help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become hooked on, video games than females.

Source: UK Telegraph