Playing games against a computer activates different brain areas from those activated when playing against a human opponent.
Research published in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience has shown that the belief that one is playing against a virtual opponent has significant effects on activation patterns in the brain.
Dr. Krach and Prof. Dr. Kircher from the University of Marburg, Germany, led the research team. They performed brain-imaging studies on people playing a gambling game against opponents the subjects believed were either human or computer-controlled. According to Krach, "In our study we examined the impact of gender (women vs. men) and game partner (human vs. computer) on neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)". The mPFC is an area of the brain that has been associated with the ability to create a 'Theory of Mind' – an accurate model of the thoughts, emotions and intentions of others.
In the game the subjects played, they had to decide whether to collaborate with their opponents to receive a share of the prize or betray them to win the full amount. If both players chose to betray, they would win nothing. Unknown to the players, however, they were always playing against a computer programmed to make random decisions in each round – even when they believed they were playing against another person. As Dr. Krach explains "By tricking the players into 'playing against' a series of random decisions, we averted a situation where two players might settle on an optimal strategy".