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Tetris as homework: does videogame training improve spatial anatomy comprehension? (725.4)
Author(s) -
Labranche Leah,
Johnson Marjorie,
Allman Brian,
Nguyen Ngan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.725.4
Subject(s) - comprehension , psychology , spatial ability , test (biology) , significant difference , medicine , cognition , computer science , neuroscience , biology , paleontology , programming language
Spatial ability, particularly spatial visualization (Vz), is a significant predictor of success in human anatomy. There is evidence that Vz can be improved through training with videogames, such as Tetris. The present study investigates the relationship between videogame training, Vz, and visuospatial anatomy comprehension. Participants (n=27) completed the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) and the Spatial Anatomy Task (SAT) in order to assess baseline levels of Vz and visuospatial anatomy comprehension, respectively. According to MRT scores, the participants were semi‐randomized into a Control (n=12) or Training (n=15) group, with both low‐ and high‐Vz individuals in each group. Participants in the Training group played five, one‐hour sessions of Tetris over five consecutive days. At least one week after baseline testing, all participants again performed the MRT and SAT. Participants in both the Control and Training groups showed significant improvements on their post‐MRT and SAT; however, contrary to our hypothesis, videogame training did not improve Vz and visuospatial anatomy comprehension beyond that observed in the Control group. Moreover, this improvement was independent of participant sex differences. Additional subjects are being recruited to help us further explore the potential utility of videogame training for anatomically‐demanding fields.