If you ever thought you have a special part of your brain dedicated to Pokemon, you’d be right! A recent study published in Natural Human Behavior determined that long time Pokemon experts have an identifiable section in their brains dedicated to Pokemon.
Researchers at Stanford tested 11 experienced Pokemon experts as well as 11 people who were unfamiliar with Pokemon. They scanned the participants’ brains while showing images of Pokemon alongside images of animals, corridors, cartoons, words, and other pictures.
The cluster of neurons responsible for recognizing faces, words, and other information has been identified before to reside in the temporal lobe, a part of the brain just behind the ears. During testing, fMRI brain scans pointed to a new section of neurons in the Pokemon experts that lit up when they were shown pictures of Pokemon.
The research demonstrates interesting findings about how people learn new visual stimuli as children. Studying Pokemon players made for a unique opportunity to explore how brains learn visual stimuli, thanks to the consistent experience of playing on a Gameboy.
Do you have a dedicated part of your temporal lobe specifically for Pokemon? Based on how many people mentioned this study to me, I know I certainly do!
Sources: The Verge, Ars Technica
