May 3 , 2011 - Daphne Bavelier

Title: Action video games as exemplary learning tools

Abstract:
Technology, from chatting on the internet to playing video games, has invaded all aspects of our lives and, for better or for worse, is changing who we are.  Can we harness technology to effect more changes for the better? Yes we can, and not always in the way one might have expected. In a surprising twist, a mind-numbing activity such as playing action video games appears to lead to a variety of behavioral enhancements in young adults. Action video game players  outperform their non-action-game playing peers on various sensory, attentional and cognitive tasks. They search for a target in a cluttered environment more efficiently, are able to track more objects at once, process rapidly fleeting images more accurately and switch between tasks more flexibly. In addition, action gamers  manifest a large decrease in reaction time as compared to their non-action-game playing peers across many different  tasks, without paying a price in accuracy.  A training regimen whose benefits are so broad is unprecedented and provides a unique opportunity to identify factors that underlie generalization of learning and principles of brain plasticity.  We propose that a common mechanism is at the source of this wide range of skill improvement. In particular, improvement in performance following action video game play may result from greater attentional control with gamers focusing on signal and ignoring distraction more efficiently.  This in turn allows for enhanced integration of information during decision making with action gamers  making more informed decision about their environment.  We show how these processes may be be implemented by more faithful Bayesian inferences within neural networks consistent with the view that action gamers learn to learn.