Analysis of sensorimotor abilities and nervous system properties of players of different e-sports disciplines

The article presents the results of the study of the properties of the nervous system, the speed of simple and complex reactions, short-term visual memory of first-person shooter CS: GO and multiplayer battle arena DOTA 2. Relevance of the description of individual typological personality traits of participants relationships with indicators of gaming activity is associated with the possibility of creating psychodiagnostic tools to determine the propensity to certain disciplines of e-sports, the development of psychological foundations to improve the effectiveness of training and competitive activities of e-sportsmen based on their individuality, prevention of psychological risks of e-sports. Purpose: to identify and analyze individual sensorimotor abilities and properties of the nervous system of players who prefer different e-sports genres. Research methods: theoretical analysis of literature sources, pedagogical testing, methods of mathematical statistics. The study involved e-sports players Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (n = 18) and DOTA 2 (n = 10) aged 18-20 years. According to the playing experience, the number of playing hours per week, the regularity of participation in competitions and their level, these players were classified as amateurs. It is established that the main factors determining the effectiveness of e-sports are sensorimotor coordination, nervous system properties, cognitive properties, technical and tactical skills, social communication skills and more. In games of both genres, the speed of simple and complex reactions has been found to be important, but it is most effective in combination with a high level of technical and tactical training. Analysis of the results of the study showed that players in different e-sports disciplines have some differences in sensorimotor abilities, but at the level of amateurs guilt does not have a significant difference. At the same time, they have significant differences in the type of nervous system.

Moderating Effects of BDNF Genetic Variants and Smoking on Cognition in PTSD Veterans

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently associated with cognitive disturbances and high prevalence of smoking. This study evaluated cognition in war veterans with PTSD and control subjects, controlled for the effect of smoking and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) rs6265 and rs56164415 genotypes/alleles. Study included 643 male war veterans with combat related PTSD and 120 healthy controls. Genotyping was done by real time PCR. Cognitive disturbances were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) cognition subscale and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test scores. Diagnosis (p < 0.001), BDNF rs56164415 (p = 0.011) and smoking (p = 0.028) were significant predictors of the cognitive decline in subjects with PTSD. BDNF rs56164415 T alleles were more frequently found in subjects with PTSD, smokers and non-smokers, with impaired cognition, i.e., with the higher PANSS cognition subscale scores and with the lower ROCF immediate recall test scores. Presence of one or two BDNF rs56164415 T alleles was related to cognitive decline in PTSD. The T allele carriers with PTSD had advanced cognitive deterioration in smokers and nonsmokers with PTSD, and worse short-term visual memory function. Our findings emphasize the role of the BDNF rs56164415 T allele and smoking in cognitive dysfunction in war veterans with PTSD.

Quasiperiodic-Chaotic Neural Networks and Short-Term Analog Memory

A model of quasiperiodic-chaotic neural networks is proposed on the basis of chaotic neural networks. A quasiperiodic-chaotic neuron exhibits quasiperiodic dynamics that an original chaotic neuron does not have. Quasiperiodic and chaotic solutions are exclusively isolated in the parameter space. The chaotic domain can be identified by the presence of a folding structure of an invariant closed curve. Using the property that the influence of perturbation is conserved in the quasiperiodic solution, we demonstrate short-term visual memory in which real numbers are acceptable for representing colors. The quasiperiodic solution is sensitive to dynamical noise when images are restored. However, the quasiperiodic synchronization among neurons can reduce the influence of noise. Short-term analog memory using quasiperiodicity is important in that it can directly store analog quantities. The quasiperiodic-chaotic neural networks are shown to work as large-scale analog storage arrays. This type of analog memory has potential applications to analog computation such as deep learning.

Did you see it? Robust individual variance in the prioritization of contents to conscious awareness

Perceptual conscious experiences result from non-conscious processes that precede them. We document a new characteristic of the human cognitive system: the speed with which the non-conscious processes prioritize percepts to conscious experiences. In eight experiments (N=375) we find that an individual’s non-conscious prioritization speed (NPS) is ubiquitous across a wide variety of stimuli, and generalizes across tasks and time. We also find that variation in NPS is unique, in that it is not explained by variation in conscious cognitive speed, decision thresholds, short-term visual memory, and by the three networks of attention (alerting, orienting and executive). Finally, we find that NPS is correlated with self-reported differences in perceptual experience. We conclude by discussing the implications of variance in NPS for understanding individual variance in behavior and the neural substrates of consciousness.

AGE-RELATED FEATURES OF NEURODYNAMIC INDICATORS IN NATIVE ADOLESCENT FEMALES OF RUSSIA’S NORTHEAST

An increase in mental and emotional stress in modern school makes relevant the issue of preserving the psychophysiological health of northerners. Aim. The purpose of the article is to reveal the age-related features of neurodynamic indicators in 120 adolescent females aged from 12 to 15 years from the indigenous peoples of the Northeast of Russia. Materials and methods. Neurodynamic indicators were determined by the time parameters of sensorimotor reactions with the help of NS-PsychoTest (NeuroSoft, Ivanovo). The dynamics of attention was studied using proofreading method modified by VN Amatuni. Results. The study showed regular ontogenetic changes in strength, mobility and balance of nervous processes, differentiating inhibition, attention properties and short-term visual memory in females. When studying the attention, we observed an increase in the pace of work, improvement of quality and performance with age. The decrease in the functional asymmetry of attention also indicates positive trends in the change of attention as a result of growth and development of females. Conclusion. Native females of the Northeast of Russia aged from 12 to 15 years are characterized by a lower mobility and imbalance in the nervous system compared with the middle latitude values. This should be taken into account when choosing a strategy for the education of northern children in educational institutions.

Characteristics of psychophysiological indicators of students with different interhemispheric asymmetry

Abstact. Psychophysiological parameters (short-term visual memory, speed of successive addition of numbers in visual perception, indicators in the Raven progressive matrices test and the Stroop test) were investigated among left-handed and right- handed men (aged 19-25 years). It was found that the verbal stimuli perception in competition with the corresponding sensory perception of right-handers are more pronounced. At the same time, sense perception of the image and its indicating verbal stimuli associated to a greater extent for left-handed persons. The advantage of the left-handers in the test of the Raven progressive matrices test and the advantage of the right-handers in the sequential addition of single-valued numbers were noticed. All indicators of short-term visual memory demonstrated the advantage of left-handers. The use of factor analysis showed that right-handers have greater productivity in performing the proposed tests. This is mainly due to the functions of the left hemisphere - verbal thinking and consistent processing of information. The second important factor is visual spatial thinking. Productivity of left-handers is largely determined by the function of the right hemisphere: sensory perception and spatial thinking. The third most important factor is the interaction between figurative and verbal thinking and the attentional set-shifting. Thus, right-handers in a greater extent than left-handed people, have more success in intellectual activity because of the development of the functions of the dominant hemisphere.

Stimulation Programme for Development of Cognitive Functions of Pupils From Marginalized Romany Communities in Slovakia

Subject of the study is the issue of effectiveness improvement within the education of socially disadvantaged pupils originating from marginalized Romany communities in younger school age in Slovakia through the stimulation of deficit cognitive functions, in the process of development of their communicative and reading competence. Main objective of the paper is presentation of stimulation programme proposal for development of cognitive functions (sorting, sequential auditory memory, short-term visual memory, addition of sequential patterns, perspective taking, and verbal planning) based on the methodology of dynamic testing of cognitive functions according to diagnostic measure ACFS (Application of Cognitive Functions Scale, Czech version, Lidz, Jepsen, Krejčová, 2014), for work with the adaption of Romany literary text (folk-tale) Children of the Sun from D. Hivešová-Šilanová. Children protagonist from socially disadvantaged backgrounds – Roma boy Lavutaris very sensitively perceives social differences in the intentions of own, minority society, as well as in their co-existence with the major society, and thus the implementation of cognitive stimulation programme takes on significance not only in the process of communicative and reading competence of socially disadvantaged pupils in younger school age, but within the multicultural and emotional education of all the pupils in terms of school inclusion in Slovakia as well.