Neural basis of superior performance of action videogame players in an attention-demanding task.
Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were recorded from action videogame players (VGPs) and from non-videogame players (NVGPs) during an attention-demanding task. Participants were presented with a multi-stimulus display consisting of rapid sequences of alphanumeric stimuli presented at rates of 8.6/12 Hz in the left/right peripheral visual fields, along with a central square at fixation flashing at 5.5 Hz and a letter sequence flashing at 15 Hz at an upper central location. Subjects were cued to attend to one of the peripheral or central stimulus sequences and detect occasional targets. Consistent with previous behavioral studies, VGPs detected targets with greater speed and accuracy than NVGPs. This behavioral advantage was associated with an increased suppression of SSVEP amplitudes to unattended peripheral sequences in VGPs relative to NVGPs, whereas the magnitude of the attended SSVEPs was equivalent in the two groups. Group differences were also observed in the event-related potentials to targets in the alphanumeric sequences, with the target-elicited P300 component being of larger amplitude in VGPS than NVGPs. These electrophysiological findings suggest that the superior target detection capabilities of the VGPs are attributable, at least in part, to enhanced suppression of distracting irrelevant information and more effective perceptual decision processes.
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158, USA. jyoti@gazzaleylab.ucsf.edu
Jyoti
J
Mishra
Marla
M
Zinni
Daphne
D
Bavelier
Steven A
SA
Hillyard
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004585:Electrooculography; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018910:Video Games; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
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