Action Video Gaming Experience Related to Altered Resting-State EEG Temporal and Spatial Complexity

ESports, also known as competitive video gaming, has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Several studies have been conducted that examined the potential cognitive benefits of playing video games, but few have examined the psychosocial factors needed to perform at the highest level of competitive video gaming. In this study, the researchers aimed to identify specific mental obstacles players face and any mental techniques gamers already utilize by conducting a qualitative content analysis. Interviews with five high-level competitive League of Legend players were conducted to shed light on their experiences. The interviews resulted in two high order themes. Those high order themes were the following: techniques used to achieve optimal performance and obstacles encountered by competitive gamers. The data collected can be used by a wide population in both the performance psychology field and the eSports realm, more specifically, future mental skills consultants working with League of Legends players, gamers themselves, and academics who wish to serve, improve, or study those involved in an emerging performance domain.

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The Effects of Energy Drink Consumption on Cognitive and Physical Performance in Elite League of Legends Players

Sports ◽

10.3390/sports7090196 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 196 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Casey J. Thomas ◽

Jeffrey Rothschild ◽

Conrad P. Earnest ◽

Aaron Blaisdell

Keyword(s):

Repeated Measures ◽

Energy Drink ◽

Video Gaming ◽

Test Reaction ◽

Double Blind ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Hand Grip ◽

Energy Drink Consumption ◽

Physical Changes ◽

League Of Legends

To examine the cognitive and physical changes associated with consuming an energy drink concurrent to video gaming, we examined a convenience sample of nine elite League of Legends (LoL) e-sport players (21 ± 2 y, BMI 25.6 ± 3.4 kg/m2) consuming an energy drink (ReloadTM) or placebo (Placebo) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. Participants completed the same test battery prior to treatment consumption and after playing each of three competitive LoL games. Primary outcomes included measures of attention (Erikson Flanker Test), reaction time (Go/No-Go test) and working memory (n-back test). Secondary outcomes examined fatigue (hand grip strength and finger tap speed). Statistical analysis was performed by repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and reported as the mean (standard deviation [SD]) or mean change (95% confidence interval [CI]). Participants reported sleeping 8.1 (1.2) h/night, playing LoL 10.3 (2.1) h/d, playing other video games 1.8 (2.8) h/d, and exercising 4.2 (1.7) times per week. Overall, we observed no significant time, group, or group-by-time interactions for any measured performance index with the exception of a significant improvement for the n-back test, where the Reload group demonstrated a significant within-group improvement: Reload [−171 ms (95% CI, −327.91, −14.09), p < 0.004], Placebo [−92 ms (95% CI, −213.63, 29.63)]. However, no between-group differences were noted (38.50 ms, 95% CI, −141.89, 64.89, p = 0.803). Our findings suggest that elite eSport athletes do not demonstrate a mental or physical improvement in performance relative to the treatment supplement or indices measured in this study.

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An Exploration of Mental Skills Among Competitive League of Legend Players

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations ◽

10.4018/ijgcms.2017040101 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 1-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Daniel Himmelstein ◽

Yitong Liu ◽

Jamie L. Shapiro

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

High Order ◽

Video Gaming ◽

Mental Skills ◽

Performance Psychology ◽

Cognitive Benefits ◽

High Level ◽

Mental Techniques ◽

League Of Legends ◽

Wide Population

ESports, also known as competitive video gaming, has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Several studies have been conducted that examined the potential cognitive benefits of playing video games, but few have examined the psychosocial factors needed to perform at the highest level of competitive video gaming. In this study, the researchers aimed to identify specific mental obstacles players face and any mental techniques gamers already utilize by conducting a qualitative content analysis. Interviews with five high-level competitive League of Legend players were conducted to shed light on their experiences. The interviews resulted in two high order themes. Those high order themes were the following: techniques used to achieve optimal performance and obstacles encountered by competitive gamers. The data collected can be used by a wide population in both the performance psychology field and the eSports realm, more specifically, future mental skills consultants working with League of Legends players, gamers themselves, and academics who wish to serve, improve, or study those involved in an emerging performance domain.

Download Full-text