Action video game play facilitates “learning to learn”

Previous work has demonstrated that action video game training produces enhancements in a wide range of cognitive abilities. Here we evaluate a possible mechanism by which such breadth of enhancement could be attained: that action game training enhances learning rates in new tasks (i.e., “learning to learn”). In an initial controlled intervention study, we show that individuals who were trained on action video games subsequently exhibited faster learning in the two cognitive domains that we tested, perception and working memory, as compared to individuals who trained on non-action games. We further confirmed the causal effect of action video game play on learning ability in a pre-registered follow-up study that included a larger number of participants, blinding, and measurements of participant expectations. Together, this work highlights enhanced learning speed for novel tasks as a mechanism through which action video game interventions may broadly improve task performance in the cognitive domain.

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

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.

Effects Of Video Games On Executive Control, Aggression and Gaming Motivation

With the advancements of computer technology and accessible internet, playing video games has become immensely popular across all age groups. Increasing research talks about the cognitive benefits of Video Games. At the same time, video games are stereotyped as an activity for the lazy and unproductive. Within this backdrop, our study aims to understand the effect of video games on Executive control (Visual Scanning and Visual Perception), Aggression, and Gaming Motivation. Twenty non-gamers were selected and divided into two groups: Action Video Game Players (AVGP) and Non-Action Video Game Players NAVGP). We used two computerized tests: Gabor Orientation Identification Test and Visual Scanning Test (to assess visual perception and visual scanning, respectively) and two questionnaires (to assess aggression and gaming motivation). We found an improvement in visual perception as well as visual scanning following video game training in AVGPs. Interestingly, aggression did not increase with an increase in video game exposure. We also found insignificant changes in gaming motivation after the training, except for self-gratification motives. Cognitive improvements do not relate to action video games alone, but non-action video games also show promising results to enhance cognition. With better timed and controlled training with video games, aggression as a prospective consequence of video game exposure can also be controlled. We propose targeted video game training as an approach to enhance cognition in non-gamers.

The Lateralization of Attentional Functions in Action Video Game Players

Action video game players (AVGPs) are proven to be significantly different from non-AVGPs (NAVGPs) in attention, which is proposed to be divided into three functional networks: alerting, orienting, and execution control. However, whether the hemispheric lateralization of attentional functions is influenced by the action video game is unclear. In the present study, we examined the lateralization of the three attentional functions in a group of AVGPs ( n = 33) compared to NAVGPs ( n = 34). The results showed that, relative to NAVGPs, the interactions between orienting and executive control in the left hemispheres of AVGPs were higher than those in the right hemisphere. Moreover, the correlations among the functions are much more sensitive in the left hemisphere. These results suggest significant left lateralization of the attentional functions in AVGPs.