1 CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology , Beijing, China .
2 Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, China .
Games Health J. 2017 Aug;6(4):237-248. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2017.0005. Epub 2017 Jun 13.
Previous studies found positive influences of videogame playing on cognition. However, the age-related and task-related effects of videogame experience across the adult life span are still unknown. The current study aimed to systematically investigate this question.
The current study used the cross-sectional approach. A total of 166 participants (84 videogame players [VGPs], 82 nonvideogame players [NVGPs]) at the age of 18-80 in the present study were recruited, including 62 young adults aged from 18 to 34 (35 VGPs, 27 NVGPs), 55 middle-aged adults aged between 35 and 59 (24 VGPs, 31 NVGPs), and 49 older adults aged between 60 and 80 (25 VGPs, 24 NVGPs). A series of neuropsychological tests from different cognitive domains, including processing speed, visuospatial, attention, memory, and executive function, were conducted on participants.
The age-related effects demonstrated that young and older adults benefited more from videogame experience than middle-aged adults. The task-related effects showed that VGPs benefited more from videogame experience in processing speed and visuospatial processing; next was executive function and attention, while no benefits in memory. The effect sizes suggested that the difference in extent between VGPs and NVGPs in processing speed and visuospatial processing is moderate, in attention and executive function is small, and in memory is negligible.
The current findings support the beneficial effects and transfer effects of videogame experience; however, the effects presented age-specific and task-specific characteristics. The results provide useful insights for future videogame intervention studies for healthy adults of different ages.
先前的研究发现，玩电子游戏对认知有积极影响。然而，电子游戏经验在整个成年期的年龄相关和任务相关效应仍不清楚。本研究旨在系统地探讨这个问题。
本研究采用横断面研究方法。共招募了 166 名参与者（84 名电子游戏玩家[VGPs]，82 名非电子游戏玩家[NVGPs]），年龄在 18-80 岁之间，包括 62 名 18-34 岁的年轻成年人（35 名 VGPs，27 名 NVGPs），55 名 35-59 岁的中年成年人（24 名 VGPs，31 名 NVGPs）和 49 名 60-80 岁的老年成年人（25 名 VGPs，24 名 NVGPs）。对参与者进行了一系列来自不同认知领域的神经心理学测试，包括加工速度、视空间、注意力、记忆和执行功能。
年龄相关效应表明，年轻和老年成年人比中年成年人从电子游戏经验中获益更多。任务相关效应表明，在加工速度和视空间处理方面，VGPs 从电子游戏经验中获益更多；其次是执行功能和注意力，而在记忆方面没有获益。效应大小表明，在加工速度和视空间处理方面，VGPs 和 NVGPs 之间的差异程度是中等的，在注意力和执行功能方面是较小的，在记忆方面是可以忽略不计的。
本研究结果支持电子游戏经验的有益影响和迁移效应，但这些效应具有年龄特异性和任务特异性的特征。研究结果为不同年龄健康成年人的未来电子游戏干预研究提供了有用的见解。
