All things in moderation, even gaming: Study shows one hour can improve visual attention, ability to focus

( Natural News ) Playing video games is not bad for you, as long as it is in moderation . In fact, one hour of gaming can enhance the ability of a person to focus , according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience . The study was carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and the University of Arkansas in the U.S. For the research, the authors looked at the effect an hour of gaming session had on brain activity and visual selective attention. Twenty-nine male subjects were observed. These participants were divided according to their video game expertise. Participants who had a minimum of two years of experience playing action video games and belonged to the top seven percent of League of Legends players were identified as experts; those who had less than six months of experience and ranked in the lowest 11 percent of players were identified as non-experts. The research team measured the participants’ visual selective attention before and after an hour of a gaming session. At the same time, the researchers observed brain activity linked to attention with the use of an electroencephalograpy (EEG). Visual selective attention is the ability of the brain to focus on relevant visual information while inhibiting less relevant information. Individuals with better visual selective attention are using their brains more efficiently. This means that they can focus more on relevant information and block out distractions. To do this, the researchers briefly presented a square in the center of a computer screen to each participant. Then, they showed another square in a different part of the screen. The participant then identified the position of the second square relative to the first. Get more news like this […]

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