The problem lies in untangling the connection to see if one causes the other. The amygdala, prefrontal cortex, gyrus, and the connection between the frontoparietal lobe and the amygdala are disrupted in the same way in addicted gamers and in people with depression.
They found that the same areas of the brain had abnormal functioning in both depression and gaming disorder. Liu and his colleagues (2018), for example, are among those who study the human brain and its functioning in disorders. On the contrary, they understand it very well. The problem isn’t that researchers don’t understand the connection. The answer to the question about the nature of the relationship between video games and depression is unsatisfactory to researchers, mental health professionals, and those with gaming disorder and depression.
This begs a new question: Does one disorder cause the other? Are video games causing depression in heavy gamers, or are people with depression turning to video games as an escape? The Relationship Between Video Games and Depression: Is It Cause-and-Effect? Multiple studies (Whittek, et al., 2016) have shown that video game addiction is associated with numerous symptoms of depression, including: The high percentage of gamers with depression compared to non-gamers indicates that although not everyone addicted to video games is depressed, the relationship between video games and depression is strong. Slightly more than 11 percent of non-gamers had depression (Liu, 2018). Just over 26 percent of the video gamers had depression. One group of study participants were addicted to video games, while the people in the control group were not hooked on gaming. Video games and depression occur together in over a quarter of all people with gaming disorder. Something they know already is that understanding the relationship between video games and depression can help treat both. Researchers are still studying gaming disorder to better understand how excessive gaming impacts people. It’s becoming increasingly evident that the relationship between video games and depression is real and significant.