Colin R. Gardner¹, Lisa Renzi-Hammond², Drew H. Abney¹, Cassandra M. Mesh¹, Jessica Lin¹, Billy R. Hammond¹; ¹University of Georgia - Department of Psychology, ²University of Georgia - Institute of Gerontology

Video games are a common feature of modern life with over 66% of Americans and 40% of the global population playing some form of video game in 2022. Visual-motor tasks, in general, have been shown to produce concomitant changes in key central nervous system structures. Action video games (AVGs) require a mix of cognitive (e.g., attention) and visual-spatial skills that seem particularly well suited to promote changes in neural fundamentals like visual processing speed (often quantified as critical flicker fusion thresholds, CFF). In this study, we compared the CFF values of action video gamers (AVGPs) to non-action video gamers (NAVGPs). CFF was measured using a circular, 1°, 660 nm (20 nm half bandpass) (Nichia Corp., Mountville, PA) stimulus that flickered at 100% modulation. The target stimulus was surrounded by a 5.5°, 660 nm surround (average luminance, 25 cd/m2). Participants viewed the stimulus through a 3-mm artificial pupil (controlling for luminance variation) while focusing on a central 5’ fixation point. Forty-four (22 in each matched group) young, healthy participants with normal vision were tested. CFF thresholds were derived from the averages obtained using the method of limits: 6 trials, 3 ascending and 3 descending. AVGPs (M = 28.72, SD = 1.92) had a significantly higher CFF than NAVGPs (M = 26.72, SD = 1.64), F(1, 42) = 13.82, p < .001. These results are consistent with the general hypothesis that AVG play leads to improved temporal processing speeds. This may prove useful for future interventions targeting neural pathologies that impact temporal processing ability. CFF is often considered fundamental to a number of other higher cognitive skills which may also be influenced by AVG play.