Eye Movements during Dynamic Scene Viewing are Affected by Visual Attention Skills and Events of the Scene: Evidence from First-Person Shooter Gameplay Videos.

The role of individual differences during dynamic scene viewing was explored. Participants (N=38) watched a gameplay video of a first-person shooter (FPS) videogame while their eye movements were recorded. In addition, the participants' skills in three visual attention tasks (attentional blink, visual search, and multiple object tracking) were assessed. The results showed that individual differences in visual attention tasks were associated with eye movement patterns observed during viewing of the gameplay video. The differences were noted in four eye movement measures: number of fixations, fixation durations, saccade amplitudes and fixation distances from the center of the screen. The individual differences showed during specific events of the video as well as during the video as a whole. The results highlight that an unedited, fast-paced and cluttered dynamic scene can bring about individual differences in dynamic scene viewing.

Digital Gaming for Improving the Functioning of People With Traumatic Brain Injury: Randomized Clinical Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem that often requires intensive and long-term rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether rehabilitative digital gaming facilitates cognitive functioning and general well-being in people with TBI. METHODS: A total of 90 Finnish-speaking adults with TBI (18-65 years) were recruited from an outpatient neuroscience clinic. The participants were randomly allocated to one of the three groups: a rehabilitation gaming group (n=29, intervention), an entertainment gaming group (n=29, active control), or a passive control group (n=32). The gaming groups were instructed to engage in gaming for a minimum of 30 min per day for 8 weeks. Primary and secondary outcomes were measured at three time points: before the intervention, after the intervention, and 3 months following the intervention. The primary outcome was cognitive status measured by processing speed and visuomotor tasks (The Trail Making Test; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition, WAIS-IV, symbol search, coding, and cancellation tasks). Secondary outcomes were attention and executive functions (Simon task), working memory (WAIS-IV digit span and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, PASAT), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), self-efficacy (General Self-efficacy Scale), and executive functions (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version). Feasibility information was assessed (acceptability, measurement instruments filled, dropouts, adherence, usability, satisfaction, and possible future use). Cognitive measurements were conducted in face-to-face interviews by trained psychologists, and questionnaires were self-administered. RESULTS: The effects of rehabilitation gaming did not significantly differ from the effects of entertainment gaming or being in a passive control group. For primary outcomes and PASAT tests, the participants in all three groups showed overall improvement in test scores across the three measurement points. However, depression scores increased significantly between baseline and after 8 weeks and between baseline and after 3 months in the rehabilitative gaming group. No differences were found in patients' self-efficacy between the three measuring points in any of the groups. Participants did use the games (rehabilitation group: 93%, 27/29; entertainment group 100%, 29/29). Games were seen as a usable intervention (rehabilitation group: 70%, 14/29; entertainment group: 83%, 20/29). The rehabilitation group was less satisfied with the gaming intervention (68%, 13/29 vs 83%, 20/29), but they were more willing to use the game after the intervention period (76%, 16/29 vs 63%, 15/29). Total time spent on gaming during the intervention period was low (15.22 hour rehabilitation gaming group, 19.22 hour entertainment gaming group). CONCLUSIONS: We did not find differences between the groups in improvement in the outcome measures. The improvements in test performance by all three groups may reflect rehearsal effects. Entertainment gaming had elements that could be considered when rehabilitative games are designed for, implemented in, and assessed in larger clinical trials for persons with TBI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02425527; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02425527 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6esKI1uDH).

Who is afraid of the invisible snake? Subjective visual awareness modulates posterior brain activity for evolutionarily threatening stimuli.

Snakes were probably one of the earliest predators of primates, and snake images produce specific behavioral and electrophysiological reactions in humans. Pictures of snakes evoke enhanced activity over the occipital cortex, indexed by the "early posterior negativity" (EPN), as compared with pictures of other dangerous or non-dangerous animals. The present study investigated the possibility that the response to snake images is independent from visual awareness. The observers watched images of threatening and non-threatening animals presented in random order during rapid serial visual presentation. Four different masking conditions were used to manipulate awareness of the images. Electrophysiological results showed that the EPN was larger for snake images than for the other images employed in the unmasked condition. However, the difference disappeared when awareness of the stimuli decreased. Behavioral results on the effects of awareness did not show any advantage for snake images.

Digital Gaming for Improving the Functioning of People With Traumatic Brain Injury: Protocol of a Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical public health problem. The recovery process for people with TBI is typically slow and dependent on complex and intensive assisted rehabilitation programs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects and feasibility of digital games for cognitive functioning and general well-being among people with traumatic brain injury. METHODS: This is a single-site feasibility study conducted in Finland, which uses a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial with three arms, and will recruit patients from the Turku University Hospital, Division of Clinical Neurosciences in Finland. Participants must meet the following inclusion criteria: (1) a Finnish speaking adult, aged 18-65 years; (2) diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (diagnostic criteria ICD-10, S06.X, T90.5) in the University Hospital; (3) access to a TV, a computer, and the Internet at home; (4) not an active digital gamer (5 hours or less a week); (5) willing to participate in the study. Participants must have been discharged from the neurologic treatment period for traumatic brain injury for over 12 months before the commencement of the trial, and they may not have actively participated in cognitive rehabilitation during the 3 months prior to the trial. Written informed consent will be mandatory for acceptance into the trial. Exclusion criteria are as follows: (1) sensory, cognitive, or physical impairment (eg, severe cognitive impairment); (2) a deficiency restricting the use of computers or computer game control system unaided (eg, impairment in vision, severe astigmatism, hemiplegia, disorder in visuospatial perception, dysfunction of the central vestibular system); (3) apathy identified in previous neuropsychological evaluations; (4) diagnosed severe mental disorders (eg, schizophrenia or severe depressive disorders to be identified in medical records as the secondary diagnosis). RESULTS: The preparatory phase for the study is fulfilled. Recruitment started in June 2015 and finished November 2015. Results will be reported in 2016. CONCLUSIONS: The specific outcomes such as primary outcome measures were selected because they are widely used psychological tests and thought to be sensitive to changes in the cognitive functions related to TBI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02425527; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02425527 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6esKI1uDH).