Impact of Playing Action and Puzzle Videogames on Attention and Executive Function : A Comparative Study

Background: Video-game play has been shown to significantly affect visuo-spatial cognition, working memory, executive functions and information processing speed. However, scientific literature comparing the cognitive functions in players of different video-game genres is very limited. Objectives: Aim of the present study was to assess and compare the impact of playing action or puzzle video-games on response speed, sustained attention and executive functions in young adults. Materials & Methods: Fifty players each of action video-game (AVG) and puzzle video-game (PVG) were recruited from medical undergraduate batches of the Institute. Cognitive functions were assessed by using Letter cancellation test (LCT), Trail making test A and B (TMT-A&B) and Ruff figural fluency test (RFT). Results: Players of AVG took significantly less time (p<0.05) to complete both LCT and TMT-A as compared to players of PVG. However, they had significantly higher (p<0.05) LCT errors in comparison to puzzle videogamers, as their number of omissions and commissions were more. Performance of both the groups was comparable in TMT-B task. PVG players were able to draw significantly more (p<0.05) number of dissimilar patterns in RFT as compared to AVG players. Conclusion: Results indicate that playing action or puzzle video-games had a differential impact on cognitive functions of gamers. Response-speed was better in AVG players whereas, sustained attention and executive functions were better in PVG players. Given that both sustained attention and executive functioning skills underpins many areas of our lives including occupational, social and educational settings, future efforts aimed at improving these critical abilities through specific genres of video-game play can surely be explored. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2019; 63(2) : 122–129 *Corresponding author : Dr. Preeti Jain, Professor, Department of Physiology, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, Phone No. 9868259394, Email iddrpreetijain@gmail.com (Received on July 27, 2018) Introduction Cognition refers to the set of all mental abilities and processes involved in the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of information. It includes basic Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2019; 63(2) Attention and Executive Function of Action and Puzzle Video-gamers 123 cognitive processes like attention (both, focused and divided), as well as, higher cognitive abilities such as, executive functions, perception and information processing (1). Focused attention refers to the capacity to attend to only one source of information while ignor ing other incoming st imuli . I t also encompasses sustained attention, which is the ability to maintain a directed attentional focus over an extended period of time (2). Executive function represents a complex range of cognitive functions that are not only important for responding in an adaptive manner to novel situations, but also involves planning and selecting strategies that organize goaldirected actions. It consists of a family of top-down processes including updating of working memory, behavioral inhibition and task-switching (3). Video-gaming has become one of the most common pervasive recreational activity worldwide. Survey based studies in various countries from across the globe have found that, on an average, more than fifty percent of the population play video-games regularly (4). Recently our country has been ranked at 22nd position in the list of highest revenue-generating count r ies o f the wor ld f rom gam ingre la ted businesses. Several factors such as, increased availability of internet and low-cost smartphones in the country have played a significant role in this boom in gaming. Notably, more than half the mobile phone Indian gamers have been found to be below 24 years of age (5). This emerging trendhighlights the importance of exploring, not only the potential effects that video-gaming may have on psychosocial behavior, but also on the cognitive functions of an individual. There is increasing evidence to show significant effect of p laying act ion v ideo-game on both, bas ic perceptual skills as well as, higher levels of cognitive abilities. Improvements in specific cognitive domains like attention, visuo-spatial cognition (6), working memory, information processing, task-switching, and decision-making (7) have been linked to action videogame (AVG) play. Recently, few studies have put for th ev idence of improvem ents in cognit ive performance following training in non-action video games also. Enhancement in mental rotation skills in young children (8) and improved executive control abilities in older adults (9) after training in strategy video-games have been shown. However, inconsistent results in the occurrence and replication of positive impact of video-gaming on cognition have also been reported (10). For instance, in one of the previous researches, impact of all genres of video-games was studied together and it was reported that the total amount of time spent in video-game play predicted poorer attention of the subjects in the classroom (11). This indicates that not all genres of video-games are likely to affect the cognitive functions equally, nor are all the effects likely to be positive. Some researchers have raised another pertinent point that, not only the length of video-game experience but, also the nature of that experience could have a bearing on the manner in which different genres of video-games may influence the cognitive functions of an individual (12). This stems from the fact that different genres of videogame have considerable qualitative differences due to their inherent mechanics of game-play and the in-game tasks which a player must attend to, for achieving game-success (13). Despite the growing consensus amongst researchers regarding the possibility that video-game genre might influence cognitive abilities to a different extent, there is still limited availability of scientific literature in which the video-game genre has been compared (14) Present study was therefore, conducted with the aim to assess and compare the impact of playing action or puzzle video-game on response speed, sustained attention and executive functions in young adults. Materials and Methods This observational study was conducted in the department of Physiology, Maulan Azad Medical College, New Delhi. Approval of ethical committee of the institute was obtained prior to commencement of study.