Daphne Bavelier, associate professor of brain and cognitive
sciences at the University, and leader of the study, said: "Players
can process visual information more quickly and can track 30% more
objects than non-players," She added, "Several game players even
achieved perfect scores on tests barely do-able for non-game
players."
The study suggests that in addition to making game players more
aware of their surroundings while performing tasks such as driving,
action game playing might be a useful tool to rehabilitate visually
impaired patients or to train soldiers for combat.
Two experiments were carried out in the study. The first on 16
games fans – all of whom were male, as only a single fanatic female
gamer could be found on campus. The second experiment concerned 17
non-gamers, male and female.
Both groups were given a series of tests requiring the spotting
of an object shown on screen for 1/160th of a second; counting the
number of objects shown on screen at the same short period of time
and finally, identifying a white letter shown among a succession of
rapidly flashing black letters.
In all tests the gamers consistently demonstrated better visual
awareness.
The researchers then re-tested the non-gamers after they had
played a game for an hour a day over a two-week period. Half of the
group played Tetris, a puzzle oriented game, while the other half
played the action game Medal of Honour.
The researchers found that the action players showed a marked
increase in their test performances, which the Tetris players did
not.
"It's likely the sense of danger heightens awareness and trains
the visual response of the brain, but other aspects might also
contribute," said researcher Shawn Green. "On the other hand, the
Tetris players, while scoring low on our tests, might score well if
testing for ability to rotate and organise objects."
The Nature report suggests that if the brain can be trained to
have heightened visual attention by the playing of video games,
then it might be especially useful for helping patients with
neurological visual impairments to see more normally.
However Green and Bavelier point out that gaming is no
substitute for building other areas of the brain, and that
exercises that demand prolonged attention, such as reading or
solving math problems, are likely not helped at all by extensive
game-playing.
