Taking control! Structural and behavioural plasticity in response to game-based inhibition training in older adults

•We set out to train response inhibition using computer-game elements.•We trained older adults for 2 months and had an active and passive control group.•The experimental group showed increases in right IFG cortical thickness.•The experimental group showed shorter stop signal response times after training.•The results may foster treatment research in psychiatric impulse control diseases.

While previous attempts to train self-control in humans have frequently failed, we set out to train response inhibition using computer-game elements. We trained older adults with a newly developed game-based inhibition training on a tablet for two months and compared them to an active and passive control group. Behavioural effects reflected in shorter stop signal response times that were observed only in the inhibition-training group. This was accompanied by structural growth in cortical thickness of right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) triangularis, a brain region that has been associated with response inhibition. The structural plasticity effect was positively associated with time spent on the training-task and predicted the final percentage of successful inhibition trials in the stop task. The data provide evidence for successful trainability of inhibition when game-based training is employed. The results extend our knowledge on game-based cognitive training effects in older age and may foster treatment research in psychiatric diseases related to impulse control.