Broad-based visual benefits from training with an integrated perceptual-learning video game

Perception is the window through which we understand all information about our environment, and therefore deficits in perception due to disease, injury, stroke or aging can have significant negative impacts on individuals' lives. Research in the field of perceptual learning has demonstrated that vision can be improved in both normally seeing and visually impaired individuals, however, a limitation of most perceptual learning approaches is their emphasis on isolating particular mechanisms. In the current study, we adopted an integrative approach where the goal is not to achieve highly specific learning but instead to achieve general improvements to vision. We combined multiple perceptual learning approaches that have individually contributed to increasing the speed, magnitude and generality of learning into a perceptual-learning based video-game. Our results demonstrate broad-based benefits of vision in a healthy adult population. Transfer from the game includes; improvements in acuity (measured with self-paced standard eye-charts), improvement along the full contrast sensitivity function, and improvements in peripheral acuity and contrast thresholds. The use of this type of this custom video game framework built up from psychophysical approaches takes advantage of the benefits found from video game training while maintaining a tight link to psychophysical designs that enable understanding of mechanisms of perceptual learning and has great potential both as a scientific tool and as therapy to help improve vision

Improved vision and on-field performance in baseball through perceptual learning

SummaryOur visual abilities profoundly impact performance on an enormous range of tasks. Numerous studies examine mechanisms that can improve vision [1]. One limitation of published studies is that learning effects often fail to transfer beyond the trained task or to real world conditions. Here we report the results of a novel integrative perceptual learning program that combines multiple perceptual learning approaches: training with a diverse set of stimuli [2], optimized stimulus presentation [3], multisensory facilitation [4], and consistently reinforcing training stimuli [5], with the goal to generalize benefits to real world tasks. We applied this training program to the University of California Riverside (UCR) Baseball Team and assessed benefits using standard eye-charts and batting statistics. Trained players showed improved vision after training, had decreased strike-outs, and created more runs; and even accounting for maturational gains, these additional runs may have led to an additional four to five team wins. These results demonstrate real world transferable benefits of a vision-training program based on perceptual learning principles

Perceptual Learning Treatment of Amblyopia in Adults (.pdf)

Recently a perceptual learning-based video game (ULTIMEYES) has been developed for treatment of various low vision conditions. The game task involves the detection of low contrast sine gratings of varying spatial frequency, where contrast is controlled adaptively to maintain performance at threshold levels. This program has previously not been utilized for amblyopia

How to build better memory training games.

Can we create engaging training programs that improve working memory (WM) skills? While there are numerous procedures that attempt to do so, there is a great deal of controversy regarding their efficacy. Nonetheless, recent meta-analytic evidence shows consistent improvements across studies on lab-based tasks generalizing beyond the specific training effects (Au et al., 2014; Karbach and Verhaeghen, 2014), however, there is little research into how WM training aids participants in their daily life. Here we propose that incorporating design principles from the fields of Perceptual Learning (PL) and Computer Science might augment the efficacy of WM training, and ultimately lead to greater learning and transfer. In particular, the field of PL has identified numerous mechanisms (including attention, reinforcement, multisensory facilitation and multi-stimulus training) that promote brain plasticity. Also, computer science has made great progress in the scientific approach to game design that can be used to create engaging environments for learning. We suggest that approaches integrating knowledge across these fields may lead to a more effective WM interventions and better reflect real world conditions

Visual perceptual remediation for individuals with schizophrenia: Rationale, method, and three case studies.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have evaluated the effects of visual-remediation strategies in schizophrenia despite abundant evidence of visual-processing alterations in this condition. Here we report preliminary, case study-based evidence regarding the effects of visual remediation in this population. METHODS: We describe the implementation of a visual-perceptual training program called ULTIMEYES (UE) and initial results through three brief case studies of individuals with schizophrenia. UE targets broad-based visual function, including low-level processes (e.g., acuity, contrast sensitivity), as well as higher-level visual functions. Three inpatients, recruited from a research unit, participated in at least 38 sessions 3–4 times per week for approximately 25 minutes per session. Contrast sensitivity (a trained task), as well as acuity and perceptual organization (untrained tasks), were assessed before and after the intervention. Levels of progression through the task itself are also reported. RESULTS: UE was well-tolerated by the participants and led to improvements in contrast sensitivity, as well as more generalized gains in visual acuity in all three participants and perceptual organization in two participants. Symptom profiles were somewhat different for each participant, but all were actively symptomatic during the intervention. Despite this, they were able to focus on and benefit from the training. The adaptive nature of the training was well-suited to the slower progression of two participants. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: These case studies set the stage for further research, such as larger, randomized controlled trials of the intervention that include additional assessments of perceptual function and measures of cognition, social cognition, and functional outcomes

Visual Perceptual Remediation for Individuals With Schizophrenia: Rationale, Method, and Three Case Studies

ObjectiveFew studies have evaluated the effects of visual remediation strategies in schizophrenia despite abundant evidence of visual-processing alterations in this condition. We report preliminary, case-study-based evidence regarding the effects of visual remediation in this population.MethodWe describe implementation of a visual-perceptual training program called ULTIMEYES (UE) and initial results through 3 brief case studies of individuals with schizophrenia. UE targets broad-based visual function, including low-level processes (e.g., acuity, contrast sensitivity) as well as higher level visual functions. Three inpatients, recruited from a research unit, participated in at least 38 sessions 3 to 4 times per week for approximately 25 min per session. Contrast sensitivity (a trained task), as well as acuity and perceptual organization (untrained tasks), were assessed before and after the intervention. Levels of progression through the task are also reported.ResultsUE was well tolerated by the participants and led to improvements in contrast sensitivity, as well as more generalized gains in visual acuity in all 3 participants and perceptual organization in 2 participants. Symptom profiles were somewhat different for each participant, but all were symptomatic during the intervention. Despite this, they were able to focus on and benefit from training. The adaptive nature of the training was well suited to the slower progression of 2 participants.Conclusions and implications for practiceThese case studies set the stage for further research, such as larger, randomized controlled trials of the intervention that include additional assessments of perceptual function and measures of cognition, social cognition, and functional outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Recor

The Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Motivational Features to Boost Cognitive Training Outcome

In the current literature, there are a number of cognitive training studies that use N-back tasks as their training vehicle; however, the interventions are often bland, and many studies suffer from considerable attrition rates. An increasingly common approach to increase participant engagement has been the implementation of motivational features in training tasks; yet, the effects of such "gamification" on learning have been inconsistent. To shed more light on those issues, here, we report the results of a training study conducted at two Universities in Southern California. A total of 115 participants completed 4 weeks (20 sessions) of N-back training in the laboratory. We varied the amount of "gamification" and the motivational features that might make the training more engaging and, potentially, more effective. Thus, 47 participants trained on a basic color/identity N-back version with no motivational features, whereas 68 participants trained on a gamified version that translated the basic mechanics of the N-back task into an engaging 3D space-themed "collection" game (Deveau et al. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 8, 243, 2015). Both versions used similar adaptive algorithms to increase the difficulty level as participants became more proficient. Participants' self-reports indicated that the group who trained on the gamified version enjoyed the intervention more than the group who trained on the non-gamified version. Furthermore, the participants who trained on the gamified version exerted more effort and also improved more during training. However, despite the differential training effects, there were no significant group differences in any of the outcome measures at post-test, suggesting that the inclusion of motivational features neither substantially benefited nor hurt broader learning. Overall, our findings provide guidelines for task implementation to optimally target participants' interest and engagement to promote learning, which may lead to broader adoption and adherence of cognitive training