[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.58,0:00:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a brain scientist, and as a brain scientist,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.68,0:00:06.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm actually interested in how the brain learns,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.75,0:00:10.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm especially interested in a possibility of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.11,0:00:14.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making our brains smarter, better and faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.85,0:00:17.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is in this context I'm going to tell you
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.72,0:00:20.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about video games. When we say video games,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.47,0:00:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of you think about children.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.01,0:00:26.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's true. Ninety percent of children do play video games.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.99,0:00:29.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But let's be frank.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.91,0:00:34.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the kids are in bed, who is in front of the PlayStation?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.70,0:00:41.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of you. The average age of a gamer is 33 years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.18,0:00:44.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not eight years old, and in fact, if we look
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.19,0:00:47.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the projected demographics of video game play,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.90,0:00:50.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the video game players of tomorrow are
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.63,0:00:53.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,older adults. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.75,0:00:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So video [gaming] is pervasive throughout our society.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.00,0:01:02.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is clearly here to stay. It has an amazing impact
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.39,0:01:05.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on our everyday life. Consider these statistics
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.77,0:01:11.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,released by Activision. After one month of release
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.59,0:01:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the game "Call Of Duty: Black Ops," it had been played
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.08,0:01:19.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for 68,000 years
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.45,0:01:21.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,worldwide, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.32,0:01:24.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would any of you complain if this was the case
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.27,0:01:27.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about doing linear algebra?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.43,0:01:31.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we are asking in the lab is, how can we leverage that power?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.72,0:01:33.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I want to step back a bit.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.57,0:01:36.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know most of you have had the experience of coming back
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.81,0:01:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,home and finding your kids playing these kinds of games.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.53,0:01:43.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Shooting noises) The name of the game is to get
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.67,0:01:46.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after your enemy zombie bad guys
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.64,0:01:50.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before they get to you, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.23,0:01:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm almost sure most of you have thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.40,0:01:56.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, come on, can't you do something more intelligent
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.72,0:02:00.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than shooting at zombies?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.05,0:02:03.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd like you to put this kind of knee-jerk reaction
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.52,0:02:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the context of what you would have thought
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.02,0:02:09.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you had found your girl playing sudoku
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.52,0:02:13.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or your boy reading Shakespeare. Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.88,0:02:16.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most parents would find that great.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.61,0:02:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I'm not going to tell you that playing video games
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.96,0:02:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days in and days out is actually good for your health.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.92,0:02:26.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not, and binging is never good.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.12,0:02:30.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm going to argue that in reasonable doses,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.12,0:02:33.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually the very game I showed you at the beginning,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.08,0:02:35.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those action-packed shooter games
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.67,0:02:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have quite powerful effects and positive effects
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.44,0:02:43.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on many different aspects of our behavior.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.30,0:02:46.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's not one week that goes without some major
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.100,0:02:49.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,headlines in the media about whether video games are
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.77,0:02:54.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,good or bad for you, right? You're all bombarded with that.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.39,0:03:00.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd like to put this kind of Friday night bar discussion aside
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.08,0:03:03.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and get you to actually step into the lab.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.22,0:03:06.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we do in the lab is actually measure directly,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.09,0:03:08.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a quantitative fashion, what is the impact
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.86,0:03:11.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of video games on the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.63,0:03:14.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I'm going to take a few examples from our work.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.96,0:03:17.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One first saying that I'm sure you all have heard
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.56,0:03:19.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the fact that too much screen time
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.85,0:03:22.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes your eyesight worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.66,0:03:24.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a statement about vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.87,0:03:27.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There may be vision scientists among you.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.40,0:03:30.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We actually know how to test that statement.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.34,0:03:33.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can step into the lab and measure how good your vision is.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.78,0:03:37.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, guess what? People that don't play a lot
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.46,0:03:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of action games, that don't actually spend a lot of time
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.45,0:03:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in front of screens, have normal, or what we call
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.98,0:03:46.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,corrective-to-normal vision. That's okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.64,0:03:49.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The issue is what happens with these guys that actually
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.08,0:03:52.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indulge into playing video games like five hours per week,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.36,0:03:54.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,10 hours per week, 15 hours per week.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.24,0:03:57.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By that statement, their vision should be really bad, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.47,0:04:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Guess what? Their vision is really, really good.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.16,0:04:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's better than those that don't play.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.60,0:04:04.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's better in two different ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.88,0:04:07.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first way is that they're actually able to resolve
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.30,0:04:10.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,small detail in the context of clutter, and though that means
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.56,0:04:14.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being able to read the fine print on a prescription
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.36,0:04:18.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rather than using magnifier glasses, you can actually do it
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.98,0:04:20.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with just your eyesight.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.55,0:04:23.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other way that they are better is actually being able
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.36,0:04:26.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to resolve different levels of gray.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.27,0:04:29.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine you're driving in a fog. That makes a difference
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.44,0:04:31.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between seeing the car in front of you
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.92,0:04:35.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and avoiding the accident, or getting into an accident.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.67,0:04:38.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we're actually leveraging that work to develop games
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.68,0:04:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for patients with low vision, and to have an impact
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.16,0:04:46.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on retraining their brain to see better.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.49,0:04:50.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Clearly, when it comes to action video games,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.14,0:04:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,screen time doesn't make your eyesight worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.04,0:04:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another saying that I'm sure you have all heard around:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.02,0:05:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Video games lead to attention problems and greater distractability.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.40,0:05:05.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, we know how to measure attention in the lab.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.30,0:05:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm actually going to give you an example of how we do so.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.90,0:05:11.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to ask you to participate, so you're going to have
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.63,0:05:14.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to actually play the game with me. I'm going to show you
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.65,0:05:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,colored words. I want you to shout out the color of the ink.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.08,0:05:23.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right? So this is the first example.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.47,0:05:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Chair"]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.56,0:05:27.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Orange, good. ["Table"] Green.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.62,0:05:28.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Board"] Audience: Red.Daphne Bavelier: Red.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.100,0:05:30.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Horse"] DB: Yellow. Audience: Yellow.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.29,0:05:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Yellow"] DB: Red. Audience: Yellow.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.62,0:05:33.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Blue"] DB: Yellow.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.13,0:05:39.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, you get my point, right? (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.48,0:05:42.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're getting better, but it's hard. Why is it hard?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.82,0:05:46.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because I introduced a conflict between
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.77,0:05:49.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the word itself and its color.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.68,0:05:52.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How good your attention is determines actually how fast
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.72,0:05:55.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you resolve that conflict, so the young guys here
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.25,0:05:57.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the top of their game probably, like, did a little better
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.81,0:06:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than some of us that are older.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.36,0:06:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we can show is that when you do this kind of task
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.92,0:06:04.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with people that play a lot of action games,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.52,0:06:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they actually resolve the conflict faster.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.84,0:06:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So clearly playing those action games doesn't lead
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.05,0:06:13.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to attention problems.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.54,0:06:15.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, those action video game players have
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.51,0:06:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many other advantages in terms of attention, and one
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.82,0:06:20.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aspect of attention which is also improved for the better
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.72,0:06:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is our ability to track objects around in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.50,0:06:28.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is something we use all the time. When you're driving,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.04,0:06:31.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're tracking, keeping track of the cars around you.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.29,0:06:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're also keeping track of the pedestrian, the running dog,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.37,0:06:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's how you can actually be safe driving, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.42,0:06:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the lab, we get people to come to the lab,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.48,0:06:42.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sit in front of a computer screen, and we give them
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.56,0:06:45.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,little tasks that I'm going to get you to do again.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.46,0:06:48.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're going to see yellow happy faces
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.41,0:06:52.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a few sad blue faces. These are children
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.23,0:06:56.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the schoolyard in Geneva during a recess
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.05,0:07:00.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during the winter. Most kids are happy. It's actually recess.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.35,0:07:03.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a few kids are sad and blue because they've forgotten their coat.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.48,0:07:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everybody begins to move around, and your task
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.80,0:07:09.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to keep track of who had a coat at the beginning
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.92,0:07:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and who didn't. So I'm just going to show you an example
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.41,0:07:15.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where there is only one sad kid. It's easy because you can
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.24,0:07:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually track it with your eyes. You can track,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.58,0:07:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can track, and then when it stops, and there is
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.86,0:07:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a question mark, and I ask you, did this kid have a coat or not?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.79,0:07:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was it yellow initially or blue?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.62,0:07:30.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hear a few yellow. Good. So most of you have a brain. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.41,0:07:35.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm now going to ask you to do the task, but now with
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.21,0:07:37.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a little more challenging task. There are going to be
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.30,0:07:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,three of them that are blue. Don't move your eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.48,0:07:42.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please don't move your eyes. Keep your eyes fixated
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.73,0:07:45.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and expand, pull your attention. That's the only way
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.38,0:07:48.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can actually do it. If you move your eyes, you're doomed.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.23,0:07:49.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yellow or blue?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.69,0:07:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Audience: Yellow.DB: Good.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.34,0:07:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So your typical normal young adult
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.84,0:07:57.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can have a span of about three or four objects of attention.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.48,0:08:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what we just did. Your action video game player
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.24,0:08:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a span of about six to seven objects of attention,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.44,0:08:06.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is what is shown in this video here.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.41,0:08:09.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's for you guys, action video game players.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.89,0:08:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A bit more challenging, right? (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.77,0:08:15.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yellow or blue? Blue. We have some people
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.48,0:08:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are serious out there. Yeah. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.69,0:08:22.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Good. So in the same way that we actually see
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.29,0:08:25.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the effects of video games on people's behavior,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.77,0:08:28.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can use brain imaging and look at the impact
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.83,0:08:32.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of video games on the brain, and we do find many changes,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.62,0:08:35.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the main changes are actually to the brain networks
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.98,0:08:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that control attention. So one part is the parietal cortex
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.52,0:08:44.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is very well known to control the orientation of attention.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.24,0:08:46.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other one is the frontal lobe, which controls
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.67,0:08:49.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how we sustain attention, and another one
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.38,0:08:51.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the anterior cingulate, which controls how we allocate
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.95,0:08:55.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and regulate attention and resolve conflict.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.25,0:08:58.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, when we do brain imaging, we find that all three
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.11,0:09:01.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these networks are actually much more efficient
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.46,0:09:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in people that play action games.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.22,0:09:08.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This actually leads me to a rather counterintuitive finding
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.97,0:09:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the literature about technology and the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.41,0:09:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You all know about multitasking. You all have been faulty
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.86,0:09:19.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of multitasking when you're driving
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.07,0:09:23.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you pick up your cellphone. Bad idea. Very bad idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.76,0:09:27.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why? Because as your attention shifts to your cell phone,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.66,0:09:31.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you are actually losing the capacity to react swiftly
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.81,0:09:34.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the car braking in front of you, and so you're
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.26,0:09:39.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much more likely to get engaged into a car accident.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.83,0:09:42.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we can measure that kind of skills in the lab.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.71,0:09:45.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We obviously don't ask people to drive around and see
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.18,0:09:47.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how many car accidents they have. That would be a little
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.52,0:09:51.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,costly proposition. But we design tasks on the computer
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.07,0:09:54.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where we can measure, to millisecond accuracy,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.19,0:09:58.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how good they are at switching from one task to another.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.72,0:10:01.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we do that, we actually find that people
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.28,0:10:04.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that play a lot of action games are really, really good.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.37,0:10:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They switch really fast, very swiftly. They pay a very small cost.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.85,0:10:11.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I'd like you to remember that result, and put it
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.51,0:10:15.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the context of another group of technology users,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.24,0:10:17.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a group which is actually much revered by society,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.65,0:10:22.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are people that engage in multimedia-tasking.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.19,0:10:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is multimedia-tasking? It's the fact that most of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.84,0:10:29.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of our children, are engaged with listening to music
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.12,0:10:31.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the same time as they're doing search on the web
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.86,0:10:35.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the same time as they're chatting on Facebook with their friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.22,0:10:37.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a multimedia-tasker.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.56,0:10:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a first study done by colleagues at Stanford
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.12,0:10:43.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that we replicated that showed that
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.67,0:10:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those people that identify as being high multimedia-taskers
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.32,0:10:52.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are absolutely abysmal at multitasking.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.16,0:10:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we measure them in the lab, they're really bad.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.90,0:10:57.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right? So these kinds of results really
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.61,0:11:00.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes two main points.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.09,0:11:03.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first one is that not all media are created equal.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.28,0:11:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't compare the effect of multimedia-tasking
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.20,0:11:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the effect of playing action games. They have
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.84,0:11:13.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,totally different effects on different aspects of cognition,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.23,0:11:16.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perception and attention.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.35,0:11:19.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even within video games, I'm telling you right now
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.19,0:11:20.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about these action-packed video games.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.94,0:11:24.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Different video games have a different effect on your brains.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.28,0:11:26.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we actually need to step into the lab and really measure
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.96,0:11:29.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what is the effect of each video game.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.47,0:11:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other lesson is that general wisdom carries no weight.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.76,0:11:36.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I showed that to you already, like we looked at the fact that
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.81,0:11:39.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite a lot of screen time, those action gamers
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.26,0:11:43.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a lot of very good vision, etc.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.27,0:11:46.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here, what was really striking is that these undergraduates
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.58,0:11:49.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that actually report engaging in a lot of high
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.83,0:11:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,multimedia-tasking are convinced they aced the test.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.80,0:11:57.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you show them their data, you show them they are bad
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.09,0:11:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're like, "Not possible." You know, they have
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.78,0:12:03.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this sort of gut feeling that, really, they are doing really, really good.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.64,0:12:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's another argument for why we need to step into the lab
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.58,0:12:10.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and really measure the impact of technology on the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.17,0:12:14.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now in a sense, when we think about the effect
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.76,0:12:17.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of video games on the brain, it's very similar
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.24,0:12:21.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the effect of wine on the health.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.10,0:12:24.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are some very poor uses of wine. There are some
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.14,0:12:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very poor uses of video games. But when consumed
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.36,0:12:31.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in reasonable doses, and at the right age,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.84,0:12:35.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wine can be very good for health. There are actually
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.11,0:12:38.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specific molecules that have been identified
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.37,0:12:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in red wine as leading to greater life expectancy.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.20,0:12:47.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's the same way, like those action video games
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.48,0:12:49.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a number of ingredients that are actually really
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.14,0:12:53.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,powerful for brain plasticity, learning, attention,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.11,0:12:56.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,vision, etc., and so we need and we're working on
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.71,0:12:59.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understanding what are those active ingredients so that
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.47,0:13:03.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can really then leverage them to deliver better games,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.36,0:13:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either for education or for rehabilitation of patients.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.60,0:13:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now because we are interested in having an impact
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.38,0:13:13.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for education or rehabilitation of patients, we are actually
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.87,0:13:17.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not that interested in how those of you that choose
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.28,0:13:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to play video games for many hours on end perform.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.16,0:13:24.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm much more interested in taking any of you
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.98,0:13:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and showing that by forcing you to play an action game,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.76,0:13:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can actually change your vision for the better,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.62,0:13:33.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether you want to play that action game or not, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.95,0:13:36.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the point of rehabilitation or education.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.37,0:13:38.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of the kids don't go to school saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.30,0:13:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Great, two hours of math!"
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.04,0:13:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's really the crux of the research, and to do that,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.48,0:13:47.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to go one more step.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.94,0:13:50.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one more step is to do training studies.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.96,0:13:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let me illustrate that step with
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.36,0:13:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a task which is called mental rotation.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.93,0:14:02.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mental rotation is a task where I'm going to ask you,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:02.11,0:14:03.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and again you're going to do the task,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.99,0:14:07.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to look at this shape. Study it, it's a target shape,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.68,0:14:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm going to present to you four different shapes.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.93,0:14:13.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of these four different shapes is actually a rotated
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.77,0:14:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,version of this shape. I want you to tell me which one:
Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.07,0:14:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first one, second one, third one or fourth one?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.92,0:14:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, I'll help you. Fourth one.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.33,0:14:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One more. Get those brains working. Come on.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.86,0:14:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's our target shape.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.84,0:14:38.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Third. Good! This is hard, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.54,0:14:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, the reason that I asked you to do that is because
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.03,0:14:42.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you really feel your brain cringing, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:42.76,0:14:46.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't really feel like playing mindless action video games.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.19,0:14:48.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, what we do in these training studies is, people
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.90,0:14:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come to the lab, they do tasks like this one,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.51,0:14:55.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we then force them to play 10 hours of action games.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.84,0:14:58.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't play 10 hours of action games in a row.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:58.58,0:15:01.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They do distributed practice, so little shots of 40 minutes
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.69,0:15:05.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,several days over a period of two weeks.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.99,0:15:07.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, once they are done with the training, they come back
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.79,0:15:11.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a few days later and they are tested again on a similar type
Dialogue: 0,0:15:11.76,0:15:15.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of mental rotation task. So this is work from a colleague
Dialogue: 0,0:15:15.38,0:15:17.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Toronto. What they showed is that, initially,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.91,0:15:20.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, subjects perform where they are expected
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.11,0:15:25.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to perform given their age. After two weeks of training
Dialogue: 0,0:15:25.32,0:15:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on action video games, they actually perform better,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.18,0:15:34.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the improvement is still there five months after
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.53,0:15:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having done the training. That's really, really important.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.40,0:15:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why? Because I told you we want to use these games
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.88,0:15:43.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for education or for rehabilitation. We need to have effects
Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.08,0:15:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are going to be long-lasting.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.02,0:15:48.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, at this point, a number of you are probably wondering
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.87,0:15:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, what are you waiting for, to put on the market
Dialogue: 0,0:15:52.50,0:15:55.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a game that would be good for the attention
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.06,0:15:58.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of my grandmother and that she would actually enjoy,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.58,0:16:01.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a game that would be great to rehabilitate the vision
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.16,0:16:04.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of my grandson who has amblyopia, for example?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:04.97,0:16:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, we're working on it, but here is a challenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.45,0:16:11.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are brain scientists like me that are beginning
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.36,0:16:14.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to understand what are the good ingredients in games
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.62,0:16:17.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to promote positive effects, and that's what I'm going
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.72,0:16:21.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to call the broccoli side of the equation.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.29,0:16:25.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is an entertainment software industry
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.03,0:16:28.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is extremely deft at coming up with
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.50,0:16:32.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,appealing products that you can't resist.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:32.65,0:16:36.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the chocolate side of the equation.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:36.17,0:16:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The issue is we need to put the two together,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.20,0:16:41.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's a little bit like with food.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.45,0:16:45.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who really wants to eat chocolate-covered broccoli?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.10,0:16:47.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,None of you. (Laughter) And you probably have had
Dialogue: 0,0:16:47.35,0:16:49.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that feeling, right, picking up an education game
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.69,0:16:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sort of feeling, hmm, you know, it's not really fun,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.08,0:16:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's not really engaging. So what we need
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.50,0:16:58.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is really a new brand of chocolate, a brand of chocolate
Dialogue: 0,0:16:58.85,0:17:02.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is irresistible, that you really want to play,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:02.86,0:17:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that has all the ingredients, the good ingredients
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.84,0:17:09.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are extracted from the broccoli that you can't recognize
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.07,0:17:11.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but are still working on your brains. And we're working on it,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.91,0:17:16.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it takes brain scientists to come and to get together,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:16.38,0:17:19.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people that work in the entertainment software industry,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:19.35,0:17:22.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and publishers, so these are not people that usually
Dialogue: 0,0:17:22.09,0:17:24.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meet every day, but it's actually doable,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.42,0:17:27.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we are on the right track.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:27.07,0:17:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd like to leave you with that thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:28.85,0:17:32.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thank you for your attention. (Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.22,0:17:36.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)