Influence on Habitual versus Goal-Directed Decision Making

Different systems for habitual versus goal-directed control are thought to underlie human decision-making. Working memory is known to shape these decision-making systems and their interplay, and is known to support goal- directed decision making even under stress. Here, we investigated if and how decision systems are differentially influenced by breaks filled with diverse everyday life activities known to modulate working memory performance. We used a within-subject design where young adults listened to music and played a video game during breaks interleaved with trials of a sequential two-step Markov decision task, designed to assess habitual as well as goal-directed decision making. Based on a neurocomputational model of task performance, we observed that for individuals with a rather limited working memory capacity video gaming as compared to music reduced reliance on the goal-directed decision-making system, while a rather large working memory capacity prevented such a decline. Our findings suggest differential effects of everyday activities on key decision-making processes

Short-term effects of video gaming on brain response during working memory performance

Breaks filled with different break activities often interrupt cognitive performance in everyday life. Previous studies have reported that both enhancing and deteriorating effects on challenging ongoing tasks such as working memory updating, depend on the type of break activity. However, neural mechanisms of these break-related alterations in working memory performance have not been studied, to date. Therefore, we conducted a brain imaging study to identify the neurobiological correlates of effects on the n-back working memory task related to different break activities. Before performing the n-back task in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, young adults were exposed to break activities in the MRI scanner involving (i) eyes-open resting, (ii) listening to music, and (iii) playing the video game “Angry Birds”. Heart rate was measured by a pulse oximeter during the experiment. We found that increased heart rate during gaming as well as decreased relaxation levels after a video gaming break was related to poorer n-back task performance, as compared to listening to music. On the neural level, video gaming reduced supplementary motor area activation during working memory performance. These results may indicate that video gaming during a break may affect working memory performance by interfering with arousal state and frontal cognitive control functions

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Atmosphere & Challenge: An Exploration of Dissonant Player Experiences

Dissonance means an unusual combination of any two things. Two dissonant experiences in video games which could lead to undesirable player states are thematic dissonance and difficulty dissonance. Thematic dissonance potentially annoys players by breaking the atmosphere, and difficulty dissonance by preventing players with low skill from progressing past unbalanced challenges, resulting in rage-quits. This thesis seeks to deepen the understanding of dissonant experiences in video games through two experiments measuring the player experience as affected by different audio and practice conditions respectively. Results indicate that the experience colloquially referred to as a rage-quit is directly affected by avatar death events and game-specific skill and is related to lower levels of heart rate variability (HRV) and higher levels of electrodermal activity (EDA), which implicates feelings of stress. This project successfully advances the definition of video game atmosphere as the level of subjective thematic fit or association between the audio and visual components of a game’s setting, and indicates that musical thematic dissonance may lead to higher intensity negative valence facial events

Does Video Game Use Exacerbate the Relation Between Neurophysiological Deficits and ADHD Symptoms in Children and Adolescents?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed based on behavioral symptoms but is thought to have a significant heritable neurological basis, and several brain structures have been implicated. Recent research has focused on the role of environmental factors that may influence the behavioral expression of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity in children and teens, particularly when a biological predisposition exists. This study sought to broaden the literature base by examining the extent to which one environmental factor—video game use—moderated the relation between neuropsychological deficits in attention and inhibition and the behavioral symptoms of ADHD. It was hypothesized that gaming frequency and duration as well as deficits in neuropsychological functioning would relate positively to ADHD symptoms. Twenty-five participants (age 10 to 17 years) recruited from the community were administered four neuropsychological tests of attention and behavioral disinhibition and reported on gaming habits while parents completed measures of ADHD symptoms and also reported on the child’s video gaming habits. Moderated multiple regression analyses were used to examine the moderating effects of gaming frequency and gaming duration on the association between neuropsychological deficits and ADHD symptom domains beyond control variables (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, family income, IQ). Gaming duration was significantly related to symptoms of inattention. Neuropsychological deficits were not significantly related to symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity. However, the interaction of gaming frequency and sustained attention deficits predicted significant variability in inattention, and the interaction of gaming frequency and set shifting deficits significantly predicted symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity. These findings underscore the importance of continued research on environmental factors, such as video game use, that may exacerbate a biological predisposition for ADHD symptoms in children. Masters thesis: http://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/238

Users' performance of accessible sound-only computer games

This work is conducted at two levels to meet the requirements of this research. The first objective is to develop a better understanding of how to design better sound-only games for a wide range of users. A new theoretical framework has been crafted to achieve this objective (Human Understanding Theory of Novel Games with Simplex, or the HUNGS theory). Such a theory aims to capture the current consensus about user requirements (as far as it is possible to do so) whilst understanding the principles and practices of interactive systems, namely the design of accessible sound-only games. The second objective is to understand better the psychology of intended users of such games. The importance of the present work is to test psychological concepts in the very different and very popular context of computer games. Implications found for users at work or working on serious tasks may not generalize to game players. To achieve the second requirement, a number of existing games were explored before a new game was designed (namely the Totally Lost game), using a range of methods. The Totally Lost game and different versions of the same game have been designed and evaluated based on user experiences

Standardization of Protocol Design for User Training in EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface

International audienceBrain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that enable a personto interact with a machine using only neural activity. Such interaction canbe non-intuitive for the user hence training methods are developed to increaseone’s understanding, confidence and motivation, which would in parallel increasesystem performance. To clearly address the current issues in the BCI usertraining protocol design, here it is divided intointroductoryperiod and BCIinteractionperiod. First, theintroductoryperiod (before BCI interaction) mustbe considered as equally important as the BCI interaction for user training. Tosupport this claim, a review of papers show that BCI performance can dependon the methodologies presented in such introductory period. To standardize itsdesign, the literature from human-computer interaction (HCI) is adjusted to theBCI context. Second, during the user-BCI interaction, the interface can takea large spectrum of forms (2D, 3D, size, color etc.) and modalities (visual,auditory or haptic etc.) without following any design standard or guidelines.Namely, studies that explore perceptual affordance on neural activity show thatmotor neurons can be triggered from a simple observation of certain objects, anddepending on objects’ properties (size, location etc.) neural reactions can varygreatly. Surprisingly, the effects of perceptual affordance were not investigatedin the BCI context. Both inconsistent introductions to BCI as well as variableinterface designs make it difficult to reproduce experiments, predict their outcomesand compare results between them. To address these issues, a protocol designstandardization for user training is proposed

Presence 2005: the eighth annual international workshop on presence, 21-23 September, 2005 University College London (Conference proceedings)

OVERVIEW (taken from the CALL FOR PAPERS) Academics and practitioners with an interest in the concept of (tele)presence are invited to submit their work for presentation at PRESENCE 2005 at University College London in London, England, September 21-23, 2005. The eighth in a series of highly successful international workshops, PRESENCE 2005 will provide an open discussion forum to share ideas regarding concepts and theories, measurement techniques, technology, and applications related to presence, the psychological state or subjective perception in which a person fails to accurately and completely acknowledge the role of technology in an experience, including the sense of 'being there' experienced by users of advanced media such as virtual reality. The concept of presence in virtual environments has been around for at least 15 years, and the earlier idea of telepresence at least since Minsky's seminal paper in 1980. Recently there has been a burst of funded research activity in this area for the first time with the European FET Presence Research initiative. What do we really know about presence and its determinants? How can presence be successfully delivered with today's technology? This conference invites papers that are based on empirical results from studies of presence and related issues and/or which contribute to the technology for the delivery of presence. Papers that make substantial advances in theoretical understanding of presence are also welcome. The interest is not solely in virtual environments but in mixed reality environments. Submissions will be reviewed more rigorously than in previous conferences. High quality papers are therefore sought which make substantial contributions to the field. Approximately 20 papers will be selected for two successive special issues for the journal Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments. PRESENCE 2005 takes place in London and is hosted by University College London. The conference is organized by ISPR, the International Society for Presence Research and is supported by the European Commission's FET Presence Research Initiative through the Presencia and IST OMNIPRES projects and by University College London

Effects and applications of video games and virtual environments

The widespread use of virtual environments in today’s society leads to the importance of researching how using these virtual environments affect us, as well as how we can best use them. Video games are a very commonly used type of virtual environment/application of virtual environments. Video game research is rife with conflicting results, from studies into training, effects on emotion, to effects on visual attention. Chapter 2 considers the impacts of playing video games on visual attention and shows that the effects depend on the type of attentional process measured, and the video game genres played. Chapter 3 looks at how studies measure video game experience, and suggests a more sophisticated measure, including video game genres and platforms. This chapter also considers to what extent different video game genres are linked to different cognitive skills. Chapter 4 covers research between video game playing, task switching, and impulsivity. Chapter 5 shows that home video game playing (i.e. on home console platforms) affects both implicit memory and explicit memory, but mobile video game playing does not. Recent technological advances allowed the development of a newer form of virtual environment, virtual reality. Virtual reality has become more popular over the last few years in manufacturing and entertainment industries. However, studies into applying virtual reality to educational settings are limited. Chapter 6 presents a study that tests the effects of virtual reality on learning. The results show increased motivation and engagement with learning materials, when xxiv compared to learning with textbook-style or video materials. Chapter 7 compares learning in virtual reality, mixed reality and traditional lecture style modalities, and finds that participants report higher levels of engagement in both Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality conditions, and higher levels of positive emotions in the Virtual Reality condition. Implications for how individuals are affected by both of these types of virtual environments is discussed, including how they can be applied to learning