While technology has been changing brain function for 10,000 years, video games seem to be doing this in a special way, according to Dr Paul Howard-Jones, Reader in Neuroscience and Education at the University of Bristol.

In Australia to present Flinders University’s 2013 Investigator Lecture, What is leisure technology doing to our brains?, Dr Howard-Jones told a packed audience on Wednesday (August 7) evening that the uptake of dopamine associated with playing action video games causes users to prefer uncertain reward over certain reward.

Referring to a number of international studies, Dr Howard-Jones also said that as dopamine-induced motivation increases, study participants tended to spend more time on answering test questions and to have higher accuracy.

The observation has significant implications for education.

To view the entire 2013 Investigator Lecture, click here.