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Influence of actual and virtual chess on neurophysiology and cognition.
Abstract
This study reports on a single case study experiment to investigate effects of actual and virtual chess on neurophysiology and cognition. Quantitative and qualitative results indicated that, compared to virtual and rest conditions, actual chess play was associated with significantly more stress, as indicated by increased pulse, skin conductance, respiration and subjective report. Compared to rest, both actual and virtual chess play were also associated with accelerated electrophysiology as evidenced in increased sensory-motor region, beta and gamma activity, as required in the cognitive activity of planning and processing the consequences and sequels of alternative chess moves. Integrative findings have valuable implications for future neurophysiologic, neuropsychological and cognitive psychological assessment and training of players, clinicians and researchers.
... Adamus 2012;Jenny et al., 2017;Schaeperkoetter et al., 2017), a u kojoj meri ipak nalikuje na sportove koji se mnogo više oslanjaju na kognitivne, nego na motoričke sposobnosti (npr. šah, streljaštvo) i prepoznati su, čak, i kao olimpijski sportovi (Schwarz, Schächinger, Adler, & Goetz, 2003;Edwards, Edwards & Beale, 2012;Greenhill & Houghton, 2017). S druge strane, prema nekim procenama, profesionalni nivo igre u esportu zahteva najmanje oko šest sati dnevno promišljene esport prakse tokom nekoliko uzastopnih godina, ne računajući razne nenamerne oblike vežbanja koji mogu dostići isti vremenski period tokom dana (Kari & Karhulahti, 2016). ...
Despite the growing popularity of esport, few research can be found in the specific area of the competitive nature of playing video games. More precisely, the research is mostly still of a qualitative and exploratory character. Bearing in mind that esport has been systematically attracting players (and spectators) in Serbia for a decade, and so far there is no research in Serbian on this topic in the field of (sport) psychology, the aim of this paper is to provide a concise systematic overview of previous research, with reference to existing methodological limitations and relevant psychological variables. This would help to define more clearly the boundaries between esport players, traditional athletes, and problematic players.
Introduction: The virtual games when appropriately used can stimulate brain activity and excite the creative energy. Therefore, it is important to assess the implications of their use in pain perception in individuals with low back pain (LBP), a disease that affects about 80% of the world's population. Objective: was to evaluate the effects of virtual games combined with a physiotherapy program on the pain perception and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in people with LBP. Method: the participants were 21 adults with clinical diagnosis of LBP, aged 24-61 years, of both sexes, divided into two groups. Five weekly meetings were provided. Group 1 participated in a physical therapy program and group 2 participated in the same physical therapy program plus joint sessions with virtual games. The instruments used were a heart rate monitor; a tablet for games; a shortwave equipment; visual analogue scale (VAS); and McGill's Pain Questionnaire. The measurements were performed before and after the program. Results: Reduction in pain was observed in both groups, being higher in group 2, the one that used the games. Conclusion: There was a decrease in parasympathetic activity in group 2, which indicates that the distraction factor promoted by the games influenced the pain perception.
We have studied the physiological consequences of the tension caused by playing chess in 20 male chess players, by following heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiratory variables. We observed significant increase in the heart rate (75-86 beats/min), in the ratio low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) of heart rate variability (1.3-3.0) and also a decrease in mean heart rate variability with no changes in HF throughout the game. These results suggest a stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system with no changes in the parasympathetic system. The respiratory exchange ratio was rather elevated (over 0.89) at the start and significantly decreased during the game (0.75 at the end), indicating that energy expenditure progressively switched from carbohydrate to lipid oxidation. The changes in substrate oxidation and the sympathetic system seem to be due to high cognitive demands and bring new insight into adaptations to mental strain.
Playing chess requires problem-solving capacities in order to search through the chess problem space in an effective manner. Chess should thus require planning abilities for calculating many moves ahead. Therefore, we asked whether chess players are better problem solvers than non-chess players in a complex planning task. We compared planning performance between chess ( N=25) and non-chess players ( N=25) using a standard psychometric planning task, the Tower of London (ToL) test. We also assessed fluid intelligence (Raven Test), as well as verbal and visuospatial working memory. As expected, chess players showed better planning performance than non-chess players, an effect most strongly expressed in difficult problems. On the other hand, they showed longer planning and movement execution times, especially for incorrectly solved trials. No differences in fluid intelligence and verbal/visuospatial working memory were found between both groups. These findings indicate that better performance in chess players is associated with disproportionally longer solution times, although it remains to be investigated whether motivational or strategic differences account for this result.