Abstract
Reading difficulties (RD) affect more than 6.3 million people in the United Kingdom. Previous studies
have shown that 20 hours of visual training by video-gaming improves visual function in dyslexic
children (Franceschini et al, 2017 Sci Rep 7:5863), more so than a year of reading therapy. It is not
known whether adults may display the same improvements. We assessed the effects of video-game
training on visual function in adults (age 18+ years) with self-reported RD (SSRD) and without (non-SSRD), using psychophysical tests. Non-SRRD adults with previous video-gaming experience
('gamers‘, n=17) had generally higher contrast sensitivity (CS) compared to non-gamers (n=9). 120-
hour (n=4) or 40-hour (n=11) video-game training of non-gaming, non-SRRD participants using either
'action‘ or 'casual‘ games improved CS, which remained stable over at least 4 weeks (n=5). Finally, CS
improved in adults with self-reported RD (SRRD) after either 40 (n=4) and even only 20 (n=6) hours
of video-game training. In conclusion, visual training using video-gaming improved visual function in
adults with self-reported RD, which we hypothesise may be due to improved visual attention. Video
game play may serve as an accessible and inexpensive therapeutic tool in alleviating self-reported
RD in adults. Future research is required to assess whether visual training can improve daily reading
ability in adults with RD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 29 Mar 2021 |
| Event | Applied Vision Association Virtual Spring Meeting (2021) - Held Online Duration: 29 Mar 2021 → 29 Mar 2021 |
Conference
| Conference | Applied Vision Association Virtual Spring Meeting (2021) |
|---|---|
| Period | 29/03/21 → 29/03/21 |
Bibliographical note
Note: This work was supported by a Kingston University Postgraduate Studentship.Organising Body: Applied Vision Association
Keywords
- Allied health professions and studies