scholarly journals Action Video Games Enhance Attentional Control and Phonological Decoding in Children with Developmental Dyslexia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bertoni ◽  
Sandro Franceschini ◽  
Giovanna Puccio ◽  
Martina Mancarella ◽  
Simone Gori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Developmental Dyslexia ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
Phonological Decoding ◽  
Action Video Games ◽  
Decoding Speed

Reading acquisition is extremely difficult for about 5% of children because they are affected by a heritable neurobiological disorder called developmental dyslexia (DD). Intervention studies can be used to investigate the causal role of neurocognitive deficits in DD. Recently, it has been proposed that action video games (AVGs)—enhancing attentional control—could improve perception and working memory as well as reading skills. In a partial crossover intervention study, we investigated the effect of AVG and non-AVG training on attentional control using a conjunction visual search task in children with DD. We also measured the non-alphanumeric rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological decoding and word reading before and after AVG and non-AVG training. After both video game training sessions no effect was found in non-alphanumeric RAN and in word reading performance. However, after only 12 h of AVG training the attentional control was improved (i.e., the set-size slopes were flatter in visual search) and phonological decoding speed was accelerated. Crucially, attentional control and phonological decoding speed were increased only in DD children whose video game score was highly efficient after the AVG training. We demonstrated that only an efficient AVG training induces a plasticity of the fronto-parietal attentional control linked to a selective phonological decoding improvement in children with DD.

Association Between Action Video Game Playing Experience and Visual Search in Real-life Multisensory scenes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hamzeloo ◽  
Daria Kvasova ◽  
Salvador Soto-Faraco
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Visual Search Task ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Action Video Game ◽  
Action Video Games

Prior studies investigating the effects of playing action video games on attentional control have demonstrated improvements on a variety of basic psychophysical tasks. However, as of yet, there is little evidence indicating that the cognitive benefits of playing action video games generalize to naturalistic multisensory scenes - a fundamental characteristic of our natural, everyday life environments. The present study addressed the generalization of attentional control enhancement due to AVGP experience to real-life like scenarios by comparing the performance of action video-game players (AVGPs) with non-players (NVGPs) on a visual search task using naturalistic, dynamic audio-visual scenes. To this end, a questionnaire collecting data on gaming habits and sociodemographic data as well as a visual search task was administered online to a gender-balanced sample of 60 participants of age 18 to 30 years. According to the standard hypothesis, AVGPs outperformed NVGPs in the search task overall, showing faster reaction times without sacrificing accuracy. In addition, in replication of previous findings, semantically congruent cross-modal cues benefited performance overall. However, according to our results, despite the overall advantage in search, and the multisensory congruence benefit, AVGPs did not exploit multisensory cues more efficiently than NVGPs. Exploratory analyses with gender as a variable indicated that the advantage of AVG experience to both genders should be done with caution.

scholarly journals Influence of action video gaming on spatial representation in the haptic modality

2020 ◽  
Vol 238 (12) ◽  
pp. 2769-2781
Author(s):  
Hanneke I. Van Mier ◽  
Hui Jiao
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Reference Frame ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Spatial Representation ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Video Gaming ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Egocentric Reference Frame ◽  
Action Video Games ◽  
Set Up

Abstract Spatial representation in the haptic domain has been shown to be prone to systematic errors. When participants are asked to make two bars haptically parallel, their performance deviates from what would be veridically parallel. This is hypothesized to be caused by the bias of the egocentric reference frame. Stimulating the use of an allocentric reference frame has previously been shown to improve performance in haptic parallelity matching. The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of action video game experience on parallelity performance. We hypothesized that participants who extensively play action video games with a so-called ‘bird’s-eye view’ are likely to process spatial information more allocentrically, resulting in better performance in haptic parallelity matching. This was tested in two groups of male participants, 10 participants with extensive action video gaming experience (AVGPs) and 10 participants without or hardly any action video gaming experience (NAVGPs). Additionally, the effect of visual–haptic practice on haptic parallelity performance was tested. In the haptic blocks, blindfolded participants had to feel the orientation of a reference bar with their non-dominant hand and had to match this orientation on a test bar with their dominant hand. In subsequent visual–haptic blocks, they had full view of the set-up and visually paralleled both bars. As hypothesized, AVGPs performed significantly better in haptic blocks than NAVGPs. Visual–haptic practice resulted in significantly better performance in subsequent haptic blocks in both groups. These results suggest that playing action video games might enhance haptic spatial representation, although a causative relationship still needs to be established.

scholarly journals Action-Video-Game Experience Alters the Spatial Resolution of Vision

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Green ◽  
D. Bavelier
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Target Identification ◽  
Video Game Play ◽  
Action Video Game ◽  
Causative Relationship ◽  
Action Video Games ◽  
Game Players

Playing action video games enhances several different aspects of visual processing; however, the mechanisms underlying this improvement remain unclear. Here we show that playing action video games can alter fundamental characteristics of the visual system, such as the spatial resolution of visual processing across the visual field. To determine the spatial resolution of visual processing, we measured the smallest distance a distractor could be from a target without compromising target identification. This approach exploits the fact that visual processing is hindered as distractors are brought close to the target, a phenomenon known as crowding. Compared with nonplayers, action-video-game players could tolerate smaller target-distractor distances. Thus, the spatial resolution of visual processing is enhanced in this population. Critically, similar effects were observed in non-video-game players who were trained on an action video game; this result verifies a causative relationship between video-game play and augmented spatial resolution.

scholarly journals Action Video Games Improve Multi-sensory Perceptual Noise-Exclusion in Developmental Dyslexia

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 158d
Author(s):  
Simone Gori ◽  
Sara Bertone ◽  
Sandro Franceschini ◽  
Andrea Facoetti
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Developmental Dyslexia ◽  
Action Video Games

scholarly journals The Influence of Action Video Games on Attentional Functions Across Visual and Auditory Modalities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Wu ◽  
Ying Jiang ◽  
Yunpeng Jiang ◽  
Guodong Chen ◽  
Ying Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Visual Task ◽  
Attention Network ◽  
Specific Target ◽  
Action Video Game ◽  
Action Video Games ◽  
Game Players ◽  
Auditory Tasks

Attention can help an individual efficiently find a specific target among multiple distractors and is proposed to consist of three functions: alerting, orienting, and executive control. Action video games (AVGs) have been shown to enhance attention. However, whether AVG can affect the attentional functions across different modalities remains to be determined. In the present study, a group of action video game players (AVGPs) and a group of non-action video game players (NAVGPs) selected by a video game usage questionnaire successively participated in two tasks, including an attention network task-visual version (ANT-V) and an attention network task-auditory version (ANT-A). The results indicated that AVGPs showed an advantage in orienting under the effects of conflicting stimuli (executive control) in both tasks, and NAVGPs may have a reduced ability to disengage when conflict occurs in visual task, suggesting that the AVGs can improve guidance toward targets and inhibition of distractors with the function of executive control. AVGPs also showed more correlations among attentional functions. Importantly, the alerting functions of AVGPs in visual and auditory tasks were significantly related, indicating that the experience of AVGs could help us to generate a supramodal alerting effect across visual and auditory modalities.

The Puzzle Challenge Analysis Tool. A Tool for Analysing the Cognitive Challenge Level of Puzzles in Video Games

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (CHI PLAY) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Megan Pusey ◽  
Kok Wai Wong ◽  
Natasha Anne Rappa
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Game Features ◽  
Action Video Games ◽  
Player Experience ◽  
Cognitive Challenge ◽  
Puzzle Games ◽  
Simple Action

Video games are often designed around puzzles and problem-solving, leading to challenging yet engaging experiences for players. However, it is hard to measure or compare the challenge level of puzzles in video games. This can make designing appropriately challenging puzzles problematic. This study collates previous work to present refined definitions for challenge and difficulty within the context of video games. We present the Puzzle Challenge Analysis tool which can be used to determine the best metrics for analysing the challenge level of puzzles within video games. Previous research has focused on measuring the difficulty of simple action video games, such as Pac-Man, which can be easily modified for research purposes. Existing methods to measure challenge or difficulty include measuring player brain activity, examining game features and player scores. However, some of these approaches cannot be applied to puzzles or puzzle games. For example, approaches relying on game scores will not work for puzzle games with no scoring system, where puzzles are either solved or not. This paper describes the design and development of the Puzzle Challenge Analysis tool using two case studies of commercial video games The Witness and Untitled Goose Game. The tool is also tested for generalisability on a third commercial puzzle video game, Baba Is You. This proposed tool can help game designers and researchers to objectively analyse and compare puzzle challenge and produce more in-depth insights into the player experience. This has implications for designing challenging and engaging games for a range of player abilities.

scholarly journals Learning, Attentional Control, and Action Video Games

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. R197-R206 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Green ◽  
D. Bavelier
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Action Video Games
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