By Davide Momi, Carmelo Smeralda, Giulia Sprugnoli, Francesco Neri, Simone Rossi, Alessandro Rossi, Giorgio Di Lorenzo, and Emiliano Santarnecchi
Video games have been shown to enhance selective attention abilities of players (Momi et al., 1181).
Neurological effects of video game play have been shown to be much more evident in players who play professionally (Momi et al., 1181). Counter Strike: Global Offensive players who underwent relatively intense, but short-lived practice were shown to have undergone structural changes in the brain, which lasted up to three months after practice (Momi et al., 1188). These changes were specifically identified with selective attention (Momi et al., 1188).
Counter Strike players were positively correlated with reward-based action selection, spatial reference memory, reward prediction, and attention skills (Momi et al., 1189-1190). These same players were also more skilled at attentional blink and serial reaction time tasks (Momi et al., 1191).
Players were also more able to filter relevant information from irrelevant surroundings (Momi et al., 1191).
Momi, Davide, et al. “Thalamic Morphometric Changes Induced by First‐Person Action Videogame Training.” European Journal of Neuroscience, 2018, doi:10.1111/ejn.14272.
