Different cognitive abilities displayed by action video gamers and non-gamers

Playing for keeps or just playing with emotion? Studying tilt and emotion regulation in video games

Introduction

In video gaming, tilt is thought to relate to poor emotional control and game performance. Despite widespread recognition of tilt in video gaming, there is a lack of research examining tilt empirically.

Methods

One thousand and seven gamers took part in our online study examining gamers experience of tilt, the factors which contribute to and protect against tilt, and the emotion regulation strategies gamers employ to deal with tilt.

Results

Gamers who reported playing for more competitive reasons, were at higher risk of experiencing tilt. Additional factors associated with an increased risk of experiencing tilt were increased anger and more hours spent playing. Protective factors against experiencing tilt were also identified, inclusive of a greater number of years gaming experience and engagement in adaptive emotion regulation strategies.

Discussion

This study provides an important starting point for creating a better understanding of tilt in gaming, equipping us with new knowledge to better support gamers to improve their emotion regulation during game play performance.

Caffeine supplementation improves the cognitive abilities and shooting performance of elite e-sports players: a crossover trial

We explored the effect of 3 mg/kg of caffeine supplementation on the cognitive ability and shooting performance of elite e-sports players. Nine e-sports players who had received professional training in e-sports and had won at least eighth place in national-level e-sports shooting competitions. After performing three to five familiarization tests, we employed a single blind, randomized crossover design to divide participants into caffeine trial (CAF) and placebo trial (PL). The CAF trial took capsules with 3 mg/kg of caffeine, whereas the PL trial took a placebo capsule. After a one-hour rest, the Stroop task, the visual search ability test, and the shooting ability test were conducted. The CAF trial's performance in the Stroop task in terms of congruent condition (P = 0.023) and visual search reaction time with 20 items (P = 0.004) was significantly superior to those of the PL trial. In the shooting test, the CAF trial's kill ratio (P = 0.020) and hit accuracy (P = 0.008) were significantly higher, and the average time to target (P = 0.001) was significantly shorter than those of the PL trial. Caffeine supplementation significantly improves e-sports players' reaction times and shooting performance.

Comparing the cognitive performance of action video game players and age-matched controls following a cognitively fatiguing task: A stage 2 registered report

Recent work demonstrates that those who regularly play action video games (AVGs) consistently outperform non-gamer (NG) controls on tests of various cognitive abilities. AVGs place high demands on several cognitive functions and are often engaged with for long periods of time (e.g., over 2 h), predisposing players to experiencing cognitive fatigue. The detrimental effects of cognitive fatigue have been widely studied in various contexts where accurate performance is crucial, including aviation, military, and sport. Even though AVG players may be prone to experiencing cognitive fatigue, this topic has received little research attention to date. In this study, we compared the effect of a cognitively fatiguing task on the subsequent cognitive performance of action video game players and NG control participants. Our results indicated AVGs showed superior spatial working memory and complex attention abilities while showing no difference from NGs on simple attention performance. Additionally, we found that our cognitive fatigue and control interventions did not differentially affect the cognitive performance of AVGs and NGs in this study. This pre-registered study provides evidence that AVGs show superior cognitive abilities in comparison to a non-gaming population, but do not appear more resilient to cognitive fatigue.

Nutrition, lifestyle, and cognitive performance in esport athletes

Introduction

Electronic sports, termed esports, is a growing athletic activity in which high levels of attention and cognitive performance are required. With its increasing popularity and competitiveness, interest in strategies to improve performance have emerged. Improving esports athlete performance, namely cognitive endurance, and resilience, may lie in nutritional or lifestyle factors. The Nutrition, Vision, and Cognition in Sport Studies (IONSport) investigated nutritional and behavioral factors that can influence cognition via 3-dimensional multiple objects tracking test (3DMOT) via Neurotracker X (NTx) software. The purpose of this study was to characterize the lifestyle of high level esports athletes with detailed nutrition, sleep, and physical activity assessments, and their association to gaming related cognitive performance.

Methods

103 male and 16 elite female esports athletes aged 16 to 35 years old completed surveys, food records, and cognitive testing sessions over 10 days. Participants were instructed to maintain their normal dietary and lifestyle habits.

Results

There were positive significant associations between average NTx scores and the following nutrients: magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, zinc, selenium, thiamin, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, folate, cholesterol, saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, and choline. Majority of participants did not meet recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for these micronutrients nor the recommended intakes for dairy, fruit, and vegetables. There was a significant (p = 0.003) positive (r = 0.272) association between total vegetable intake and average NTx score. There was a significant negative association (p = 0.015) with our final sustain session, which measured cognitive resilience, and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale score. Repeated measures analysis was done with these groups over the 18 core NTx sessions. There were significant (p = 0.018) differences between the two groups with those who consumed the recommended amount of protein or more performing significantly better on NTx over the 18 sessions than those that did not consume enough protein. Those who consumed the recommended intakes for riboflavin, phosphorous, vitamin B12, and selenium performed significantly better over the 18 core NTx sessions than those that did not meet the recommended amounts.

Discussion

The need for a nutrition intervention that is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals is warranted in this population.

Video games and board games: Effects of playing practice on cognition

The worldwide popularity of playing practices has led to a growing research interest in games' impact on behavior and cognition. Many studies have already reported the benefits of both video games and board games for cognitive functions. However, these studies have mainly defined the term players according to a minimum play time or in connection to a specific game genre. No study has confronted the cognitive implications of video games and board games in the same statistical model. Thus, it remains unclear whether the cognitive benefits of play are due to play time or game type. To address this issue, in this study, we conducted an online experiment in which 496 participants completed six cognitive tests and a playing practice questionnaire. We examined the between the participants' overall video game and board game play times and cognitive abilities. The results demonstrated significant relations between overall play time and all cognitive functions. Importantly, video games significantly predicted mental flexibility, planning, visual working memory, visuospatial processing, fluid intelligence, and verbal working memory performance, while board games were not found to predict any cognitive performance. These findings suggest that video games affect cognitive functions in specific ways compared to board games. We encourage further investigation to consider players' individual differences through their play time and the specific features of the games they play.

Assessment of human expertise and movement kinematics in first-person shooter games

In contrast to traditional professional sports, there are few standardized metrics in professional esports (competitive multiplayer video games) for assessing a player's skill and ability. We assessed the performance of professional-level players in Aim LabTM, a first-person shooter training and assessment game, with two target-shooting tasks. These tasks differed primarily in target size: the task with large targets provided an incentive to be fast but imprecise and the task with large targets provided an incentive to be precise but slow. Each player's motor acuity was measured by characterizing the speed-accuracy trade-off in shot behavior: shot time (elapsed time for a player to shoot at a target) and shot spatial error (distance from center of a target). We also characterized the fine-grained kinematics of players' mouse movements. Our findings demonstrate that: 1) movement kinematics depended on task demands; 2) individual differences in motor acuity were significantly correlated with kinematics; and 3) performance, combined across the two target sizes, was poorly characterized by Fitts Law. Our approach to measuring motor acuity has widespread applications not only in esports assessment and training, but also in basic (motor psychophysics) and clinical (gamified rehabilitation) research.

Visuospatial working memory and attention control make the difference between experts, regulars and non-players of the videogame League of Legends

Video games have been postulated as an emerging field for studying the cognition-expertise relationship. Despite this, some methodological practices hinder scientific advance (e.g., heterogeneous samples, an ambiguous definition of expertise, etc.). League of Legends (LOL) is a massively played video game with a moderately defined structure that meets the requirements to overcome current study limitations. The aim of this study was to analyze cognitive differences among expert LOL players, regular LOL players, and non-videogame players. A sample of 80 participants was enrolled in three different groups of expertise. Participants were evaluated with behavioral tests of working memory, attention, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition. Kruskal-Wallis tests for group comparison showed that the experts performed significantly better than regular players and non-videogame players in the working memory test. Significant differences were also found between players and non-videogame players in the attention test. Methodological implications for future research in neuroscience and human-computer interaction are discussed.

Difference in gaze control ability between low and high skill players of a real-time strategy game in esports

This research investigated the difference in aspects of gaze control between esports experts (Expert) and players with lower skills (Low Skill) while playing the real-time strategy game called StarCraft. Three versions of this game at different difficulty levels were made with the StarCraft Editor, and the gaze movements of seven Expert and nine Low Skill players were analyzed while they played the games. The gaze of Expert players covered a significantly larger area in the horizontal direction than the gaze of Low Skill players. Furthermore, the magnitude and number of saccadic eye movements were greater, and saccade velocity was faster in the Expert than in the Low Skill players. In conclusion, StarCraft experts have a specific gaze control ability that enables them to quickly and widely take visual information from all over the monitor. This could be one of the factors enabling StarCraft experts to perform better than players with lower skills when playing games that require task-switching ability.

An Empirical Investigation of Virtual Networking Sites Discontinuance Intention: Stimuli Organism Response-Based Implication of User Negative Disconfirmation

The study’s prime objective is to investigate the user discontinuance intention in the shed of the negative disconfirmation of user expectation. The study has derived the theoretical structure from the expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) enacted through the stimuli organism response (SOR) framework to study the actual cause and effect relationship of human behavioral response. To investigate the user discontinuance intention behavioral response, a total of 434 correct and complete answers were shortlisted for analysis. To examine the data set, the study has used the modern partial least square method technique or simply SmartPLS service package to run the structural equation modeling (SEM). Moreover, the study has implied the 80/20 rule run the mediating analysis of the SOR framework. The statistical results show that all three stimuli make significant positive disconfirmation of the user beliefs in terms of dissatisfaction and the anxiety that ultimately leads to the discontinuance intention in virtual network users. Further, these results are validated through the six mediating relationships, which partially mediate the relationship between the stimuli and response. Besides all these findings, this study has made some practical and realistic theoretical and practical implications for both researchers and service-providing managers.

Why iPlay: The Relationships of Autistic and Schizotypal Traits With Patterns of Video Game Use

Video games are popular and ubiquitous aspects of human culture, but their relationships to psychological and neurophysiological traits have yet to be analyzed in social-evolutionary frameworks. We examined the relationships of video game usage, motivations, and preferences with autistic and schizotypal traits and two aspects of neurophysiology, reaction time and targeting time. Participants completed the Autism Quotient, Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, a Video Game Usage Questionnaire, and two neurophysiological tasks. We tested in particular the hypotheses, motivated by theory and previous work, that: (1) participants with higher autism scores would play video games more, and participants with higher schizotypy scores would play video games less; and (2) autism and positive schizotypy would be associated with opposite patterns of video game use, preferences and motivations. Females, but not males, with higher autism scores played more video games, and exhibited evidence of relatively male-typical video game genre preferences and motivations. By contrast, positive schizotypy was associated with reduced video game use in both genders, for several measures of game use frequency. In line with previous findings, males played video game more than females did overall, preferred action video games, and exhibited faster reaction and targeting times. Females preferred Puzzle and Social Simulation games. Faster reaction and targeting times were associated with gaming motives related to skill development and building behavior. These findings show that gaming use and patterns reflect aspects of psychology, and gender, related to social cognition and imagination, as well as aspects of neurophysiology. More generally, the results suggest that video game use is notably affected by levels of autistic and schizotypal traits, and that video games may provide an evolutionarily novel medium for imaginative play in which immersive play experiences can be decoupled from social interaction.

Searching in clutter: Visual behavior and performance of expert action video game players

Searching for targets among distractors in visual scenes can be more difficult due to the presence of clutter. However, studies in various domains have shown differentiated effects according to the expertise of the searcher. The present study extended these findings to the domain of action video games expertise. 58 participants, split in 2 groups (action video game players and non-action video game players) searched for targets in visual scenes under two clutter conditions (uncluttered and high clutter). Reaction times and accuracy served as measures of performance, and the visual behavior was assessed using the number and duration of eye fixations. Our findings suggest that visual clutter has a negative influence on performance and alters the visual behavior during visual search in action video game scenes. Our results also suggest that expert action video game players might use different visual strategies to cope with clutter, leading however to no performance benefits.

The effect of computer mouse mass on target acquisition performance among action video gamers

Advances in human performance have shifted research attention from individuals towards understanding the effects that equipment can have on their performance. In esports, the effect of gaming peripherals on performance has only recently been explored. In this study, we investigated the effect of computer mouse mass on gaming skill. 72 video game players performed a target acquisition task, a pertinent composite skill in first-person shooter (FPS) video games, while using computer mice that varied only by their mass (50g, 60g, 90g & 100g). Results showed that participants were 4% faster and 9% more accurate with 50g, 60g, and 90g mice compared to the 100g mouse. They were also 34% more accurate and 14% more precise when using lower control-display gain and preferred lighter mice (50g and 60g) when performing the skill at a lower control-display gain. Taken together, using a lighter mouse at lower sensitivity may augment target acquisition performance among video gamers.

Can Nutrients and Dietary Supplements Potentially Improve Cognitive Performance Also in Esports?

Factors influencing brain function and cognitive performance can be critical to athletic performance of esports athletes. This review aims to discuss the potential beneficial effects of micronutrients, i.e., vitamins, minerals and biologically active substances on cognitive functions of e-athletes. Minerals (iodine, zinc, iron, magnesium) and vitamins (B vitamins, vitamins E, D, and C) are significant factors that positively influence cognitive functions. Prevention of deficiencies of the listed ingredients and regular examinations can support cognitive processes. The beneficial effects of caffeine, creatine, and probiotics have been documented so far. There are many plant products, herbal extracts, or phytonutrients that have been shown to affect precognitive activity, but more research is needed. Beetroot juice and nootropics can also be essential nutrients for cognitive performance. For the sake of players’ eyesight, it would be useful to use lutein, which, in addition to improving vision and protecting against eye diseases, can also affect cognitive functions. In supporting the physical and mental abilities of e-athletes the base is a well-balanced diet with adequate hydration. There is a lack of sufficient evidence that has investigated the relationship between dietary effects and improved performance in esports. Therefore, there is a need for randomized controlled trials involving esports players.

Shooting Your Accuracy in the Foot? Examining the Short-Term Effect of Playing an Action or Strategy Video Game on Cognitive Control

The current study examined the effects of brief video game exposure on cognitive control using event-related potentials (ERPs). Cognitive control was assessed by ERP components associated with the ability to detect (N2) and resolve (SP) conflict when the conflict was either expected or unexpected. After playing either an action or strategy video game, participants completed a counting Stroop task while ERPs were recorded. The proportion of congruent to incongruent trials was manipulated across blocks to create conditions where conflict was expected or unexpected. While visual inspection of the behavioral and neural data revealed interesting patterns by video game, none of those effects were statistically significant. This is consistent with some previous work and inconsistent with other published data, suggesting that there is still much to learn about the relationship between cognitive control and video game experience.

How do visual skills relate to action video game performance?

It has been claimed that video gamers possess increased perceptual and cognitive skills compared to non-video gamers. Here, we examined to which extent gaming performance in CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) correlates with visual performance. We tested 94 players ranging from beginners to experts with a battery of visual paradigms, such as visual acuity and contrast detection. In addition, we assessed performance in specific gaming skills, such as shooting and tracking, and administered personality traits. All measures together explained about 70% of the variance of the players’ rank. In particular, regression models showed that a few visual abilities, such as visual acuity in the periphery and the susceptibility to the Honeycomb illusion, were strongly associated with the players’ rank. Although the causality of the effect remains unknown, our results show that high-rank players perform better in certain visual skills compared to low-rank players.

Breaking up prolonged sitting with a 6 min walk improves executive function in women and men esports players: a randomised trial

Objective

The effect of prolonged sitting on executive function and performance in competitive esports players are unknown. This study aimed to evaluate executive function following a 6 min bout of walking or rest during prolonged gaming in competitive esports players.

Methods

12 men and 9 women completed three separate 2-hour gaming session days assigned in randomised order consisting of a 6 min walk break, 6 min rest break and continuous before and after each session. Postintervention participant exit survey data were also collected.

Results

The walk condition produced a significantly faster mean solution time (7613.6±3060.5 min, p=0.02) and planning time (5369.0±2802.09, p=0.04) compared with the resting condition (9477±3547.4; 6924±3247.7) and continuous play (8200.0±3031.6; 5862.7±2860.7). The rest condition resulted in the slowest mean solution time (9477.0±3547.4) and planning time (6924.0±3247.7), with the continuous play resulting in a faster mean solution time (8200.1±3031.6) and planning time (5862.7±2860.7) than the rest condition. There was no impact on game performance in any of the conditions. However, over 70% of participants felt that the walk break improved esports performance.

Conclusions

Reducing sit time and breaking up prolonged sitting have acute and chronic health benefits. This study provides evidence that a 6 min walking break in the middle of 2 hours of gameplay allows gamers to have these health benefits while improving processing speed and executive function.

Trial registration number

NCT04674436.

Gaming Your Mental Health: A Narrative Review on Mitigating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Using Commercial Video Games

Globally, depression and anxiety are the two most prevalent mental health disorders. They occur both acutely and chronically, with various symptoms commonly expressed subclinically. The treatment gap and stigma associated with such mental health disorders are common issues encountered worldwide. Given the economic and health care service burden of mental illnesses, there is a heightened demand for accessible and cost-effective methods that prevent occurrence of mental health illnesses and facilitate coping with mental health illnesses. This demand has been exacerbated post the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increase in incidence of mental health disorders. To address these demands, a growing body of research is exploring alternative solutions to traditional mental health treatment methods. Commercial video games have been shown to impart cognitive benefits to those playing regularly (ie, attention control, cognitive flexibility, and information processing). In this paper, we specifically focus on the mental health benefits associated with playing commercial video games to address symptoms of depression and anxiety. In light of the current research, we conclude that commercial video games show great promise as inexpensive, readily accessible, internationally available, effective, and stigma-free resources for the mitigation of some mental health issues in the absence of, or in addition to, traditional therapeutic treatments.

Validation of the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL): An Immersive Virtual Reality Neuropsychological Battery with Enhanced Ecological Validity

OBJECTIVE

The assessment of cognitive functions such as prospective memory, episodic memory, attention, and executive functions benefits from an ecologically valid approach to better understand how performance outcomes generalize to everyday life. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is considered capable of simulating real-life situations to enhance ecological validity. The present study attempted to validate the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL), an immersive VR neuropsychological battery, against an extensive paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery.

METHODS

Forty-one participants (21 females) were recruited: 18 gamers and 23 non-gamers who attended both an immersive VR and a paper-and-pencil testing session. Bayesian Pearson's correlation analyses were conducted to assess construct and convergent validity of the VR-EAL. Bayesian t-tests were performed to compare VR and paper-and-pencil testing in terms of administration time, similarity to real-life tasks (i.e., ecological validity), and pleasantness.

RESULTS

VR-EAL scores were significantly correlated with their equivalent scores on the paper-and-pencil tests. The participants' reports indicated that the VR-EAL tasks were significantly more ecologically valid and pleasant than the paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The VR-EAL battery also had a shorter administration time.

CONCLUSION

The VR-EAL appears as an effective neuropsychological tool for the assessment of everyday cognitive functions, which has enhanced ecological validity, a highly pleasant testing experience, and does not induce cybersickness.

Converging Evidence Supporting the Cognitive Link between Exercise and Esport Performance: A Dual Systematic Review

(1) Background: Research into action video games (AVG) has surged with the popularity of esports over the past three decades. Specifically, evidence is mounting regarding the importance of enhanced cognitive abilities for successful esports performance. However, due to the sedentary nature in which AVGs are played, concerns are growing with the increased engagement young adults have with AVGs. While evidence exists supporting the benefits of exercise for cognition generally in older adult, children and clinical populations, little to no work has synthesized the existing knowledge regarding the effect of exercise specifically on the cognitive abilities required for optimal esports performance in young adults. (2) Method: We conducted a dual-systematic review to identify the cognitive abilities integral to esports performance (Phase 1) and the efficacy of exercise to enhance said cognitive abilities (Phase 2). (3) Results: We demonstrate the importance of four specific cognitive abilities for AVG play (attention, task-switching, information processing, and memory abilities) and the effect that different types and durations of physical exercise has on each. (4) Conclusion: Together, these results highlight the role that exercise can have on not only combating the sedentary nature of gaming, but also its potential role in facilitating the cognitive aspects of gaming performance.

Physiological and Cognitive Functions Following a Discrete Session of Competitive Esports Gaming

Competitive organized electronic video gaming, termed “esports,” has become an international industry. The physiological and cognitive health results of prolonged esport practice and competition have not been adequately studied. The current study examined physiological and cognitive changes after a session of esport gameplay for two types of games, first-person shooter and multiplayer online battle arena games. Increases in systolic blood pressure, increases in speed, and decreases in accuracy and inhibitory processes were found for esport gamers overall. For peak heart rate change, first-person shooter games elicited a larger change than did multiplayer online battle arena games. These results have implications for the management of esport player cognitive and physical health as well as for the optimization of performance in competitive esport tournaments.

Time for a true display of skill: Top players in League of Legends have better executive control

Research into the effects of action video gaming on cognition has largely relied on self-reported action video game experience and extended video game training. Only a few studies have focused on participants' actual gaming skills. However, whether superior players and average players have different executive control is still not fully demonstrated. This study had top-ranking League of Legends players (global top 0.17%; N = 35) and average-ranking League of Legends players (N = 35) perform two cognitive tasks that aimed to measure three aspects of executive functioning: cognitive flexibility, interference control, and impulsive control. We controlled self-reported gaming experience, so that top-ranking players and average-ranking players had similar years of play and hours of play per week. We found that compared to a group of average players, top players showed smaller task-switching costs and smaller response-congruency effects in a Stroop-switching test. In a continuous performance test, top players indicated higher hit rates and lower false alarm rates as compared to average players. These findings suggest that top players have better cognitive flexibility and more accurate control of interference in the context of task-switching. Moreover, top players exhibit better impulsive control. The present study provides evidence that players' gaming skills rather than gaming experience are related to cognitive abilities, which may explain why previous studies on self-reported gaming experience and those assessing supervised training and cognitive performance have shown inconsistent results.

The Color-Word Stroop Task Does Not Differentiate Cognitive Inhibition Ability Among Esports Gamers of Varying Expertise

This study set out for the first time to identify whether gamers of low, intermediate, and elite skill level in a prominent esports game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, demonstrated increasingly superior performance on a test of a specific cognitive skill (cognitive inhibition). Here we tested low, intermediate, and high ranked gamers and compared their performance on a color-word Stroop Task and also compared the performance of players in each gaming rank group to non-gamers. Contrary to our hypothesis, the Stroop Task did not differentiate significantly gamers of varying expertise. Although, we found that when considering both accuracy and response times, elite gamers performed significantly better than both intermediate and low ranked gamers on the simple choice reaction time condition and both elite and novice gamers performed significantly better than intermediate ranked gamers on the incongruent condition (a measure of cognitive inhibitory ability).

Reduced Lateralization of Attention in Action Video Game Players

There is increasing evidence that action video game players (AVGPs) possess superior performance in various tasks, especially those measuring attentional abilities. The current study aimed to examine the lateralization of attentional components in AVGPs. Twenty-nine AVGPs and twenty-six non-AVG players (NAVGPs) were recruited based on their frequency and intensity of playing action video games in the last 6 months. A lateralized attentional network test was used to measure the lateralization of attentional components in the two groups. The results showed that AVGPs exhibited comparable performance in the left and right hemispheres for reorienting and executive components. However, NAVGPs exhibited a significant difference between the two hemispheres for the two components. The findings indicate that AVG playing is closely associated with reduced lateralization of attentional networks.