UCLA fMRI study on Internet causes changes to brain development.

This article, though not related to RPG research directly, seems like a relevant topic to post in that this would be an interesting type of study to do on RPGers under similar circumstances.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568576,00.html?test=latestnews

They spent about 1 hour per day, for a total of 7 days over a 2 week period searching online. Their brain function was baselined with an fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan prior to the experiment, and then again after the experiment. The test subjects were ages 55 to 78. There was marked increase shown.

Wouldn't it be interesting to perform a similar study (but also with different populations) with RPGing using fMRI before and after.

For an "accurate" accounting compared to normal gaming, it would only be once per week for 2-6 hours. However, for the sake of research, it would be interesting to setup a schedule for participants to come in for gaming for 2 hours per day, let's say 3-4 days per week, for 2 weeks. And then see if anything shows up in that short a time. Or maybe extend the timeline over a month or so?

Though fMRI scans are expensive, this wouldn't be too exhorbitant compared to the longitudinal study. I am not suggesting it as a replacement to the large scale longitudinal, just as another lead up to build data, and refine the target testing tools and variables to monitor and introduce for better efficacy in the full project.

And this would be VERY interesting to see how it impacted brain trauma victims, such as stroke patients, and if it helped significantly with the recovery/rewiring process compared to the existing techniques.