Researchers can predict your performance on a video game simply by measuring the volume of specific structures in your brain, a multi-institutional team reports this week.

The new study conducted at the University of Illinois has found that nearly a quarter of the success rate seen among men and women playing a new video game could be predicted by measuring the volume of three structures in their brains.

Participants were then trained on one of two versions of Space Fortress, a video game developed at the University of Illinois that requires players to try to destroy a fortress without losing their own ship to one of several potential hazards.

Half of the study participants were asked to focus on maximizing their overall score in the game while also paying attention to the various components of the game. While the other participants had to periodically shift priorities, improving their skills in one area for a period of time while also maximizing their success at the other tasks.

Research has shown that expert video gamers outperform novices on many basic measures of attention and perception, but other studies have found that training novices on video games for 20 or more hours often yields no measurable cognitive benefits.

So there you have it - it looks like us gaming folk are born wired to play!

Space Fortress is due out for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network on March 3rd  - Just kidding!

Source: Science Daily