The Striatum is Part of the basal ganglia of the brain. The basal ganglia are interconnected masses of gray matter located in the interior regions of the cerebral hemispheres and in the upper part of the brainstem.
Researchers have found that individuals with large Striatums are better at video games than those withsmall stiatums; its also been found that large-striatum individuals were also better at shifting priorites from, say, shooting a target to outrunning an enemy - abilities that could translate to the real world.
The game Space Fortress is used in the study; it looks like an old arcade game with geometric shapes subbing for spaceships and buildings. Over the years, researchers have used the game to study memory, motor control and learning speed; the US air force and the Israeli air force have even changed their training regimens based on how cadets fared as players.
Its being reported in Cerebral Cortex (magazine) that even among highly educated people, the size of the striatum can play a significant role in skills such as learning and multitasking; the next step is to figure out whether playing the game can alter the striatum size and function. Yaakov stern, a cognitive neuroscientist at columbia university said, "that could help answer the question of whether some people are born with larger striatums than others, or whether this region becomes bigger as people develop certain skills."
source: sciencemag
