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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Aug 16.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Neurosci. 2009 Mar 29;12(5):549–551. doi: 10.1038/nn.2296

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Improved CSF as a result of action video game experience. (a) The CSF was assessed at five different spatial frequencies (1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 12 cycles per degree) by using a two-interval forced-choice procedure in which subjects had to decide which of two intervals, each marked by the presence of four peripheral cross-hairs, contained a Gabor patch. Unlike in the typical clinical procedure, the size of the Gabor patch was scaled with frequency so that the space constant of the Gabor was equal to one period of the grating at all frequencies. A trial consisted of a 30-ms Gabor signal and a 30-ms blank screen, separated by an 800-ms interval. Participants were asked to indicate which 30-ms interval marked by the cross-hairs contained the Gabor signal11. Contrast of the Gabor was modulated in 0.1-log-unit steps following a 3-up–1-down staircase to find the 79% threshold. (b) Contrast sensitivity as a function of spatial frequency in VGPs (n = 10) versus NVGPs (n = 10) and in the action-trained (n = 6) and control-trained groups (n = 7) pre- and post-training. VGPs showed higher contrast sensitivity (plotted in log units) than NVGPs (group effect: F1,18 = 9.37, P = 0.007, partial eta squared (ηp2) = 0.34). This group difference was greater at intermediate and higher spatial frequencies (F4,72 = 2.48, P = 0.05, ηp2 = 0.12). In the training experiment, the action-trained group showed a significant improvement in contrast sensitivity as a result of training, whereas no such change was noted in the control-trained group (pre/post × group interaction: F1,11 = 5.65, P = 0.04, ηp2 = 0.34). Curves were obtained by smoothed interpolation between data points. Error brackets are s.e.m. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01.