The Benefits of Playing Action-Like Video Games on Salience Processing

Abstract

Play is essential for sensorimotor, cognitive and social development, because it enhances the experience-based long-term plasticity, stimulating the optimal interplay between the stimulus-driven and goal-directed attentional control. However, the emotional, psychophysiological and neurocognitive mechanisms associated with a single game session are not fully understood. In a single-blind randomized-crossover experiment, we investigated the short-term effects upon emotional, psychophysiological and neurocognitive functioning after a short play session with Mario Kart and with a puzzle board game, in a sample of 60 young adult typical (n = 44) and poor readers (n = 16). By enhancing positive and reducing negative emotions, playing an action-like video game increased heart rate and salience processing in both typical and poor readers, whereas an improvement in reading speed was reported only in poor readers. The stimulation of the salience network by play-driven emotional, multisensory and sensorimotor activation, can transiently enhance the feed-forward functioning of the perception and action pathways.

Keywords:

• Game therapy
• sensorimotor learning
• selective attention
• perceptual-noise exclusion
• response inhibition
• neurodevelopmental disorders

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministero della Salute; Ateneo Research Project STaRs (Supporting Talented Researchers) azione 1 assegni di ricerca anno 2020 CUP F54I19000980001 a budget dell’Ateneo to S.B., Finalizzata Project by Italian Ministry of Health to S.B.,MUR PRIN Project CUP: F53D23004610006 – ID MUR: 2022772HTJ_01 for S.G.

Notes on contributors

Sandro Franceschini

Sandro Franceschini, SDG psychologist and psychotherapist. He teaches Methodology of Research at International School of Optics and Optometry (Florence) and Psychology of video games at the Sigmund Freud University (Milan). Main interests are neurodevelopmental disorders, effects of games and video games on cognitive functions.

Giovanna Puccio

Giovanna Puccio, psychologist and PhD candidate in Brain, Mind & Computer Science at the University of Padua. After graduating in psychology, she obtained a postgraduate degree in Learning Psychopathology. Her work focuses on visual attention in dyslexia, the use of games in clinical rehabilitation and the role of positive emotions in learning.

Sara Bertoni

Sara Bertoni is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Human and Social Science of the University of Bergamo. Her research focuses on developmental neuropsychology with particular attention to neurodevelopmental disorders and the implementation of specific neuropsychological rehabilitation programs.

Simone Gori

Simone Gori, Professor of Developmental Disorders, Methodology in Research and Basic Processes in Psychology at the University of Bergamo. His main psychobiological discoveries refer to the visual perception mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment disorders and to the use of perceptual learning programs based on video games.

Sara Mascheretti

Sara Mascheretti is Assistant Professor at the University of Pavia and Research Scientist at the Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea. Her research activity focuses on investigating the role of genetic and environmental risk factors underlying neurodevelopmental disorders and on unveiling the gene-to-behavior pathways by testing intermediate phenotypes

Francesca Fusina

Francesca Fusina is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padova. Her research focuses on the psychophysiology of emotional processing in association with various personality traits.

Alessandro Angrilli

Alessandro Angrilli is full professor at the University of Padova where he teaches Psychophysiology of Attention and Emotion, and Psychopharmacology. His research topics include brain plasticity and asymmetry, psychophysiological correlates of psychiatric and personality disorders, psychophysiology of emotion and empathy and their alteration.

Andrea Facoetti

Andrea Facoetti teaches Development Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation at the University of Padua. His main psychobiological discoveries refer to the central role played by attentional mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment disorders and to the use of specific neuropsychological rehabilitation programs based on games.