ArticleFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2019
Improving Hippocampal Memory Through the Experience of a Rich Minecraft Environment.
Article in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Individual differences in experiential diversity shape event segmentation granularity.iScience · 2025Article
- Towards a characterization of human spatial exploration behavior.Behavior research methods · 2025Article
- Bimodal Transformer with Regional EEG Data for Accurate Gameplay Regularity Classification.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Optimizing the mnemonic similarity task for efficient, widespread use.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Article
- Sleep facilitates spatial memory but not navigation using the Minecraft Memory and Navigation task.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- A rodent obstacle course procedure controls delivery of enrichment and enhances complex cognitive functions.NPJ science of learning · 2022Article
- Rethinking GPS navigation: creating cognitive maps through auditory clues.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- PlayingFrontiers in sports and active living · 2021Article
- Functional and Structural Correlates of Impaired Enrichment-Mediated Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis in a Mouse Model of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure.Brain plasticity (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2020Article
- Exploration of a novel virtual environment improves memory consolidation in ADHD.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Exploring the Spatial Relationships Between Real and Virtual Experiences: What Transfers and What Doesn't.Frontiers in virtual reality · 2020Article
- Enriching hippocampal memory function in older adults through video games.Behavioural brain research · 2020Article
- The role of the fornix in human navigational learning.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2020Article
- Importance of Non-pharmacological Approaches for Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Mechanisms and Clinical Relevance.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Enriching Hippocampal Memory Function in Older Adults Through Real-World Exploration.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2020Article
- Mnemonic Similarity Task: A Tool for Assessing Hippocampal Integrity.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
It is well known that the brain changes in response to the surrounding environment. The hippocampus has been shown to be particularly susceptible to environmental enrichment, with effects ranging from the generation of new hippocampal neurons and synapses to an increased expression of neurotrophic factors. While many of these changes in the hippocampus are well documented in animals, our understanding of how environmental enrichment can apply to humans is more ambiguous. In animals, spatial exploration has been shown to be a clear way to elicit the effects of environmental enrichment and considering the role of the hippocampus in spatial navigation, which has been shown in both animal models and humans, it suggests a viable avenue for translation of environmental enrichment to humans. Here, we test the hypothesis that the spatial exploration of a virtual video game environment, can impact the hippocampus and lead to an improvement in hippocampal-dependent memory. Using the video game Minecraft, we tested four groups of participants, each playing on custom servers and focusing on different aspects of Minecraft to test the effects of both building and exploration over the course of 2 weeks. We found an improvement in hippocampus-associated memory from pre-test to post-test and that the degree of improvement was tied to both the amount of exploration of the Minecraft world and the complexity of the structures built within Minecraft. Thus, the number of enrichment participants engaged in while playing Minecraft was directly correlated with improvements in hippocampal-dependent memory outside of the game.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.