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Plasticity
in the Visual System
The effect of video
games on visual attention
Investigators: C. Shawn Green, Rebecca Achtman,
Renjie Li, Matt Dye, and Mary Jo Maciejewski
Project
Overview
We have recently shown that playing first person point of
view, action video games affects several aspects of visual processing.
Video game players (VGPs) were found to outperform non-video game
players (NVGPs) on the localization of an eccentric target among
distractors, on the number of visual items they could apprehend
at once and on the fast temporal processing of visual information
(Green and Bavelier, submitted). We have hypothesized that changes
in visual attention contribute to these enhanced skills. The study
of VGPs therefore provides an efficient tool for determining which
visual skills can be altered by experience and for characterizing
the factors that favor transfer of learning.
Much remains to be done to characterize the effects of video game
playing on the visual system. First, it is not clear at this stage
which aspects of visual attention are modified. Second, although
our first studies have identified changes in visual attention, other
levels of processing may also be affected. Of particular interest
is the possibility that video game playing results in an enhancement
of sensory processing and/or an increased capacity in visual short-term
memory. Behavioral investigations will be combined with brain imaging
(fMRI) to allow a more direct characterization of the brain systems
that are modified by video game playing.
Web Demos
To view web-based demos of the tasks used in these experiments,
click
here.
Related Publications
- For related publications from our lab, please visit our Publications
page here.
Related Projects
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