#FALLING FOR MADISON GAMEPLAY TRIAL#

As few as five days of meditation practice produced changes in an executive component of attention.

Longitudinal 10– 15, and cross-sectional studies 16 of meditation training, have shown that meditation can improve various aspects of attention and change the underlying brain substrates in adults (see 17 for review). Here, the first five images demonstrate correct taps, and the last image demonstrates an incorrect tap: a tap with two fingers on the first outbreath of a new cycle. Once a five-breath cycle is complete, a new five-breath cycle begins.Įxample timeline for Tenacity game: Players must tap with one finger on the first four outbreath and with two fingers on the fifth outbreath. Players must tap with one finger on the first four out-breaths, and with two fingers on the fifth out-breath. Specifically, the game involves tapping on an iPad screen with each out-breath.

Tenacity, which was designed after a laboratory task 9, affords players the opportunity to train focused attention by monitoring the breath (Fig. If meta-awareness is lost by being captured by a thought or an object, the meditator practices returning to the state of monitoring the environment and re-establishing meta-awareness. Open awareness meditation, on the other hand, involves attention to the environment as a whole - both internal and external - without focusing on a particular object, and without losing meta-awareness of the entire process. If attention drifts away from the chosen object, the meditator practices disengaging from the distractor and re-focusing attention on the object. Focused attention meditation involves sustained attention on an object or bodily sensation, often one’s breathing.

#FALLING FOR MADISON GAMEPLAY TRIAL#

We used a randomized controlled trial design with behavioral measure of attention and functional and structural measures of brain circuits underlying attention as outcome measures.Ī contemporary framework groups mindfulness meditation techniques into two broad categories: focused attention and open monitoring or open awareness 8. Here we developed a video game - Tenacity - that incorporates a simple mindfulness meditation technique into its game mechanics and then we assessed the game’s impact on attention in adolescents. It is especially in light of these data that we wished to explore whether we could develop a video game incorporating simple mindfulness practices that might actually improve attention. spatial imagery in Tetris 4 visual processes in Unreal Tournament 5), see 6 for review.Īt the same time there is a growing recognition of the potentially deleterious effects of video games, including problems in attention, particularly in adolescents 7. biological concepts in Virulent 3) or train cognitive processes (e.g. Research indicates that video games can facilitate acquisition of declarative knowledge (e.g. Although video games are typically developed and used for entertainment purposes, there has been a notable interest in their educational potential. Among adolescents, the number is even higher – 97% of American teenagers (age 12 to 17 years) play video games on a regular basis 2.

In the US alone, 134 million people (65% of the population) play video games regularly - three hours of more per week 1. Video gaming is prevalent in the modern world. Finally, changes in left dlPFC – IPC rs-FC correlated with the change in left SLF structural connectivity as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) in the Tenacity group only. Importantly, changes in left dlPFC – IPC rs-FC and changes in structural connectivity of the white matter tract that connects these regions –left superior longitudinal fasiculus (SLF) – were associated with changes in performance on an attention task. Rs-FC analysis showed greater connectivity between left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) in the Tenacity group. A combined analysis of resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) yielded convergent results – change in communication within the left fronto-parietal network after two weeks of playing Tenacity compared to a control game. Here, we created a video game, Tenacity, which models a specific mindfulness technique – focused attention on one’s breathing – and assessed its potential to train an attentional network in adolescents. Most mindfulness training programs involve a myriad of techniques, and it is difficult to attribute changes to any particular aspect of the program. Mindfulness training has been shown to improve attention and change the underlying brain substrates in adults.

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