Using Variable Priority Training to Examine Video Game-Related Gains in Cognition

The current study aimed at identifying mechanisms associated with video game-related gains in cognitive functioning. Seventy-nine older adults (mean age = 72.72, SD = 7.16) participated in a pretest-posttest intervention study. A video game that required four cognitive abilities was developed. The game had two modes: (1) variable priority training (VPT) and (2) single priority training (SPT). After a pretest session, participants completed a battery of cognitive tasks and were randomly assigned to either the VPT (n = 42) or the SPT mode (n = 37) for an average of 15.94 (SD = 2.15) 1-h game play sessions. Posttesting was administered within 1 week after completion of training. Time (pretest/posttest) by game mode (VPT/SPT) interactions was examined using multivariate repeated measure ANOVAs. No significant multivariate training effects were observed. Results suggest that VPT may not be the underlying mechanism responsible for video game-related gains in cognition. Our results also cast doubts on whether playing video games could lead to cognitive enhancements in older adults.