#workingmemory — Public Fediverse posts

DATE: May 17, 2026 at 07:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Scientists find cognitive differences between recreational gamers and those at risk of addiction

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

Video gaming often sparks debate over its potential harms and benefits. A new study reveals that cognitive difficulties are linked to problematic gaming habits rather than the act of gaming itself. While individuals at risk for gaming addiction show reduced working memory, those who play recreationally may actually exhibit enhanced attention. The research was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

The World Health Organization officially recognizes gaming disorder as a medical condition. This diagnosis describes a persistent inability to control gaming habits. For individuals with this condition, playing video games takes precedence over daily activities despite negative life consequences.

Psychologists often study behavioral addictions through a dual-system framework. This model suggests that human behavior is guided by a balance between a goal-directed system and a habitual system. The goal-directed system involves conscious planning and mental flexibility. The habitual system relies on automatic responses that often persist even when they conflict with a person’s goals.

Executive functions are the mental tools that support the goal-directed system. These functions allow people to hold information in their minds, switch between tasks, and suppress impulsive urges. On the other side of the equation is implicit sequence learning. This is an automatic process where the brain extracts patterns from the environment without conscious awareness.

Lead author Krisztina Berta and her colleagues at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary wanted to map how these two cognitive systems function in different types of gamers. They aimed to identify the mental mechanisms that separate healthy recreational gaming from addictive behavior.

“Video games are more popular than ever, and with that, concerns are growing about how too much gaming might affect how our brains work,” said study co-author Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, a researcher at Eötvös Loránd University. “However, not only mothers with gamer children are concerned about this issue, but in recent years, it has also attracted the attention of cognitive scientists.”

Pesthy explained that the researchers wanted to address a gap in the scientific literature.

“How are brain processes and cognitive functions, which underlie memory and decision-making, related to excessive gaming? Despite the countless studies conducted on related topics so far, the overall picture remains far from consistent,” she said. “We aimed to clarify this picture a bit and develop a more comprehensive overview of how excessive gaming is linked to cognitive functions.”

To do so, the researchers focused on the nature of the gaming habits rather than just their duration.

“Our main question was: what if, from the perspective of cognitive functioning, it is not the amount of gaming that matters, but whether someone becomes addicted to gaming?” Pesthy said. “That is, when video gaming starts to negatively affect work or school performance, the individual neglects their social relationships, health problems emerge, and symptoms of addiction appear, such as constant craving for gaming.”

Previous research has often blurred the lines between differing intensities of play.

“However, many studies do not clearly distinguish between intensive but recreational gaming—when individuals play frequently without showing signs of addiction—and gaming addiction,” she said. “This distinction may be important for understanding which cognitive characteristics are related to video gaming itself and which are associated with addiction. In our study, we aimed to establish complex profiles of different patterns of game use and compare them with individuals who do not play at all.”

To achieve this, the team designed an experiment to test both executive functions and automatic habit learning. The researchers recruited 114 participants and divided them into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of non-gamers who did not play video games at all. The second group consisted of recreational gamers who played at least 14 hours a week but did not report addiction symptoms.

The final group included individuals at risk for gaming disorder. These participants played heavily and scored high on a standardized screening questionnaire for gaming addiction. The researchers mathematically adjusted their data to account for the total weekly hours spent playing. This step ensured that any group differences were related to addiction severity rather than just the amount of time spent holding a controller.

Participants completed a series of computerized psychological tests. To measure simple working memory capacity, participants listened to sequences of numbers and tried to recall them in order. A second memory task required participants to count specific shapes on a screen and remember the final tallies.

The researchers also tested a different type of working memory called updating. In this assessment, participants watched letters flash on a screen one by one. They had to press a key when the current letter matched the one shown exactly one or two steps earlier.

To measure inhibitory control, the team used a rapid-fire response task. Participants were instructed to press the spacebar when a blue star was replaced by the letter P and to withhold their response when the letter R appeared. Another test measured cognitive flexibility by asking participants to categorize virtual cards according to rules that changed without warning.

Finally, the researchers evaluated automatic habit formation. Participants viewed four circles on a monitor and pressed corresponding keys as images of dog heads popped up. The images followed a hidden, alternating sequence. As participants subconsciously learned the pattern, their reaction times naturally sped up.

The testing revealed distinct cognitive profiles for the three groups. Individuals at risk for gaming disorder performed worse on the basic working memory tasks than both non-gamers and recreational gamers. They struggled to store and recall strings of numbers and shapes.

While the at-risk group showed normal overall performance on the memory updating task, they made more specific errors. They recorded a higher number of false alarms by pressing the button when they should have waited. This pattern points to increased impulsivity and a potential lack of behavioral control.

In contrast, recreational gamers showed signs of enhanced mental readiness. During the inhibitory control test, the recreational gamers successfully hit the spacebar in response to the target letters more often than the non-gamers. Because the researchers controlled for total playtime, this heightened attention seems uniquely linked to healthy gaming habits.

“Video gaming in itself doesn’t seem to be a problem—the real concern is addiction,” Pesthy told PsyPost. “In our sample, recreational gamers who spent a lot of time gaming but showed no signs of addiction actually performed better on some attention-related tasks than those who didn’t play at all. In contrast, among those whose gaming had become more dominant and showed signs of addiction, poorer memory processes could be observed.”

Results for the habit-learning assessment were not statistically significant among the specific groups. Non-gamers, recreational gamers, and at-risk individuals all learned the hidden dog patterns at roughly the same rate. This finding challenges the assumption that addictive behaviors are universally driven by an overactive habit-learning system.

The researchers also looked at how conscious control and automatic habits relate to one another. Across all participants, there was a negative relationship between inhibitory control and habit learning. When the brain exerts less conscious effort, automated habits predictably gain more influence over behavior.

There was also an unexpected positive relationship between basic working memory and habit learning for non-gamers and at-risk individuals. The researchers suspect that people in these two groups might use their working memory capacity to compensate for other cognitive gaps during automatic tasks. In contrast, recreational gamers did not show this overlapping relationship.

The study relied on a single observation period rather than tracking participants as they aged. This cross-sectional design means the research cannot reveal whether gaming disorder causes working memory deficits. It is equally possible that individuals with preexisting memory and attention challenges are simply more prone to developing gaming addictions. Longitudinal research will be needed to track how cognitive profiles shift over time.

The researchers also noted that their diagnostic categories relied on self-reported questionnaires. Some participants may have lacked self-awareness or answered in ways that made their habits seem less severe. Confirming these test results in clinical populations with formal diagnoses will help validate the conclusions.

Additionally, the cognitive tasks used basic shapes, numbers, and letters. Gamers might show different levels of focus or impulsivity if the tests featured sounds and visuals pulled directly from popular video games. Future experiments might use virtual reality environments to test how addiction-specific triggers alter cognitive performance in real time.

Overall, the research highlights that routine video game play is not inherently harmful to higher-level thinking. Cognitive struggles appear selectively in individuals who have lost control over their hobby. By understanding these mental blueprints, psychological professionals can design better interventions tailored to those dealing with behavioral addictions.

“These findings highlight the importance of how gaming fits into everyday life, as is the case with many other activities,” Pesthy concluded. “When it remains a balanced, recreational activity, it does not appear to pose a cognitive risk. However, when it becomes compulsive or starts to dominate daily functioning, it may be accompanied by less favorable cognitive patterns.”

The study, “Game on or gone too far? Executive functioning and implicit sequence learning in problematic vs. recreational gamers,” was authored by Krisztina Berta, Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, Teodóra Vékony, Bence Csaba Farkas, Orsolya Király, Zsolt Demetrovics, Dezső Németh, and Bernadette Kun.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

-------------------------------------------------

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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

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-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GamingAddiction #CognitiveDifferences #ExecutiveFunction #HabitLearning #RecreationalGaming #GamingDisorder #WorkingMemory #Attention #ImpulseControl #PsyPostStudy

DATE: May 17, 2026 at 07:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Scientists find cognitive differences between recreational gamers and those at risk of addiction

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

Video gaming often sparks debate over its potential harms and benefits. A new study reveals that cognitive difficulties are linked to problematic gaming habits rather than the act of gaming itself. While individuals at risk for gaming addiction show reduced working memory, those who play recreationally may actually exhibit enhanced attention. The research was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

The World Health Organization officially recognizes gaming disorder as a medical condition. This diagnosis describes a persistent inability to control gaming habits. For individuals with this condition, playing video games takes precedence over daily activities despite negative life consequences.

Psychologists often study behavioral addictions through a dual-system framework. This model suggests that human behavior is guided by a balance between a goal-directed system and a habitual system. The goal-directed system involves conscious planning and mental flexibility. The habitual system relies on automatic responses that often persist even when they conflict with a person’s goals.

Executive functions are the mental tools that support the goal-directed system. These functions allow people to hold information in their minds, switch between tasks, and suppress impulsive urges. On the other side of the equation is implicit sequence learning. This is an automatic process where the brain extracts patterns from the environment without conscious awareness.

Lead author Krisztina Berta and her colleagues at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary wanted to map how these two cognitive systems function in different types of gamers. They aimed to identify the mental mechanisms that separate healthy recreational gaming from addictive behavior.

“Video games are more popular than ever, and with that, concerns are growing about how too much gaming might affect how our brains work,” said study co-author Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, a researcher at Eötvös Loránd University. “However, not only mothers with gamer children are concerned about this issue, but in recent years, it has also attracted the attention of cognitive scientists.”

Pesthy explained that the researchers wanted to address a gap in the scientific literature.

“How are brain processes and cognitive functions, which underlie memory and decision-making, related to excessive gaming? Despite the countless studies conducted on related topics so far, the overall picture remains far from consistent,” she said. “We aimed to clarify this picture a bit and develop a more comprehensive overview of how excessive gaming is linked to cognitive functions.”

To do so, the researchers focused on the nature of the gaming habits rather than just their duration.

“Our main question was: what if, from the perspective of cognitive functioning, it is not the amount of gaming that matters, but whether someone becomes addicted to gaming?” Pesthy said. “That is, when video gaming starts to negatively affect work or school performance, the individual neglects their social relationships, health problems emerge, and symptoms of addiction appear, such as constant craving for gaming.”

Previous research has often blurred the lines between differing intensities of play.

“However, many studies do not clearly distinguish between intensive but recreational gaming—when individuals play frequently without showing signs of addiction—and gaming addiction,” she said. “This distinction may be important for understanding which cognitive characteristics are related to video gaming itself and which are associated with addiction. In our study, we aimed to establish complex profiles of different patterns of game use and compare them with individuals who do not play at all.”

To achieve this, the team designed an experiment to test both executive functions and automatic habit learning. The researchers recruited 114 participants and divided them into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of non-gamers who did not play video games at all. The second group consisted of recreational gamers who played at least 14 hours a week but did not report addiction symptoms.

The final group included individuals at risk for gaming disorder. These participants played heavily and scored high on a standardized screening questionnaire for gaming addiction. The researchers mathematically adjusted their data to account for the total weekly hours spent playing. This step ensured that any group differences were related to addiction severity rather than just the amount of time spent holding a controller.

Participants completed a series of computerized psychological tests. To measure simple working memory capacity, participants listened to sequences of numbers and tried to recall them in order. A second memory task required participants to count specific shapes on a screen and remember the final tallies.

The researchers also tested a different type of working memory called updating. In this assessment, participants watched letters flash on a screen one by one. They had to press a key when the current letter matched the one shown exactly one or two steps earlier.

To measure inhibitory control, the team used a rapid-fire response task. Participants were instructed to press the spacebar when a blue star was replaced by the letter P and to withhold their response when the letter R appeared. Another test measured cognitive flexibility by asking participants to categorize virtual cards according to rules that changed without warning.

Finally, the researchers evaluated automatic habit formation. Participants viewed four circles on a monitor and pressed corresponding keys as images of dog heads popped up. The images followed a hidden, alternating sequence. As participants subconsciously learned the pattern, their reaction times naturally sped up.

The testing revealed distinct cognitive profiles for the three groups. Individuals at risk for gaming disorder performed worse on the basic working memory tasks than both non-gamers and recreational gamers. They struggled to store and recall strings of numbers and shapes.

While the at-risk group showed normal overall performance on the memory updating task, they made more specific errors. They recorded a higher number of false alarms by pressing the button when they should have waited. This pattern points to increased impulsivity and a potential lack of behavioral control.

In contrast, recreational gamers showed signs of enhanced mental readiness. During the inhibitory control test, the recreational gamers successfully hit the spacebar in response to the target letters more often than the non-gamers. Because the researchers controlled for total playtime, this heightened attention seems uniquely linked to healthy gaming habits.

“Video gaming in itself doesn’t seem to be a problem—the real concern is addiction,” Pesthy told PsyPost. “In our sample, recreational gamers who spent a lot of time gaming but showed no signs of addiction actually performed better on some attention-related tasks than those who didn’t play at all. In contrast, among those whose gaming had become more dominant and showed signs of addiction, poorer memory processes could be observed.”

Results for the habit-learning assessment were not statistically significant among the specific groups. Non-gamers, recreational gamers, and at-risk individuals all learned the hidden dog patterns at roughly the same rate. This finding challenges the assumption that addictive behaviors are universally driven by an overactive habit-learning system.

The researchers also looked at how conscious control and automatic habits relate to one another. Across all participants, there was a negative relationship between inhibitory control and habit learning. When the brain exerts less conscious effort, automated habits predictably gain more influence over behavior.

There was also an unexpected positive relationship between basic working memory and habit learning for non-gamers and at-risk individuals. The researchers suspect that people in these two groups might use their working memory capacity to compensate for other cognitive gaps during automatic tasks. In contrast, recreational gamers did not show this overlapping relationship.

The study relied on a single observation period rather than tracking participants as they aged. This cross-sectional design means the research cannot reveal whether gaming disorder causes working memory deficits. It is equally possible that individuals with preexisting memory and attention challenges are simply more prone to developing gaming addictions. Longitudinal research will be needed to track how cognitive profiles shift over time.

The researchers also noted that their diagnostic categories relied on self-reported questionnaires. Some participants may have lacked self-awareness or answered in ways that made their habits seem less severe. Confirming these test results in clinical populations with formal diagnoses will help validate the conclusions.

Additionally, the cognitive tasks used basic shapes, numbers, and letters. Gamers might show different levels of focus or impulsivity if the tests featured sounds and visuals pulled directly from popular video games. Future experiments might use virtual reality environments to test how addiction-specific triggers alter cognitive performance in real time.

Overall, the research highlights that routine video game play is not inherently harmful to higher-level thinking. Cognitive struggles appear selectively in individuals who have lost control over their hobby. By understanding these mental blueprints, psychological professionals can design better interventions tailored to those dealing with behavioral addictions.

“These findings highlight the importance of how gaming fits into everyday life, as is the case with many other activities,” Pesthy concluded. “When it remains a balanced, recreational activity, it does not appear to pose a cognitive risk. However, when it becomes compulsive or starts to dominate daily functioning, it may be accompanied by less favorable cognitive patterns.”

The study, “Game on or gone too far? Executive functioning and implicit sequence learning in problematic vs. recreational gamers,” was authored by Krisztina Berta, Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, Teodóra Vékony, Bence Csaba Farkas, Orsolya Király, Zsolt Demetrovics, Dezső Németh, and Bernadette Kun.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

-------------------------------------------------

DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

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It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GamingAddiction #CognitiveDifferences #ExecutiveFunction #HabitLearning #RecreationalGaming #GamingDisorder #WorkingMemory #Attention #ImpulseControl #PsyPostStudy

DATE: May 17, 2026 at 07:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Scientists find cognitive differences between recreational gamers and those at risk of addiction

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

Video gaming often sparks debate over its potential harms and benefits. A new study reveals that cognitive difficulties are linked to problematic gaming habits rather than the act of gaming itself. While individuals at risk for gaming addiction show reduced working memory, those who play recreationally may actually exhibit enhanced attention. The research was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

The World Health Organization officially recognizes gaming disorder as a medical condition. This diagnosis describes a persistent inability to control gaming habits. For individuals with this condition, playing video games takes precedence over daily activities despite negative life consequences.

Psychologists often study behavioral addictions through a dual-system framework. This model suggests that human behavior is guided by a balance between a goal-directed system and a habitual system. The goal-directed system involves conscious planning and mental flexibility. The habitual system relies on automatic responses that often persist even when they conflict with a person’s goals.

Executive functions are the mental tools that support the goal-directed system. These functions allow people to hold information in their minds, switch between tasks, and suppress impulsive urges. On the other side of the equation is implicit sequence learning. This is an automatic process where the brain extracts patterns from the environment without conscious awareness.

Lead author Krisztina Berta and her colleagues at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary wanted to map how these two cognitive systems function in different types of gamers. They aimed to identify the mental mechanisms that separate healthy recreational gaming from addictive behavior.

“Video games are more popular than ever, and with that, concerns are growing about how too much gaming might affect how our brains work,” said study co-author Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, a researcher at Eötvös Loránd University. “However, not only mothers with gamer children are concerned about this issue, but in recent years, it has also attracted the attention of cognitive scientists.”

Pesthy explained that the researchers wanted to address a gap in the scientific literature.

“How are brain processes and cognitive functions, which underlie memory and decision-making, related to excessive gaming? Despite the countless studies conducted on related topics so far, the overall picture remains far from consistent,” she said. “We aimed to clarify this picture a bit and develop a more comprehensive overview of how excessive gaming is linked to cognitive functions.”

To do so, the researchers focused on the nature of the gaming habits rather than just their duration.

“Our main question was: what if, from the perspective of cognitive functioning, it is not the amount of gaming that matters, but whether someone becomes addicted to gaming?” Pesthy said. “That is, when video gaming starts to negatively affect work or school performance, the individual neglects their social relationships, health problems emerge, and symptoms of addiction appear, such as constant craving for gaming.”

Previous research has often blurred the lines between differing intensities of play.

“However, many studies do not clearly distinguish between intensive but recreational gaming—when individuals play frequently without showing signs of addiction—and gaming addiction,” she said. “This distinction may be important for understanding which cognitive characteristics are related to video gaming itself and which are associated with addiction. In our study, we aimed to establish complex profiles of different patterns of game use and compare them with individuals who do not play at all.”

To achieve this, the team designed an experiment to test both executive functions and automatic habit learning. The researchers recruited 114 participants and divided them into three distinct groups. The first group consisted of non-gamers who did not play video games at all. The second group consisted of recreational gamers who played at least 14 hours a week but did not report addiction symptoms.

The final group included individuals at risk for gaming disorder. These participants played heavily and scored high on a standardized screening questionnaire for gaming addiction. The researchers mathematically adjusted their data to account for the total weekly hours spent playing. This step ensured that any group differences were related to addiction severity rather than just the amount of time spent holding a controller.

Participants completed a series of computerized psychological tests. To measure simple working memory capacity, participants listened to sequences of numbers and tried to recall them in order. A second memory task required participants to count specific shapes on a screen and remember the final tallies.

The researchers also tested a different type of working memory called updating. In this assessment, participants watched letters flash on a screen one by one. They had to press a key when the current letter matched the one shown exactly one or two steps earlier.

To measure inhibitory control, the team used a rapid-fire response task. Participants were instructed to press the spacebar when a blue star was replaced by the letter P and to withhold their response when the letter R appeared. Another test measured cognitive flexibility by asking participants to categorize virtual cards according to rules that changed without warning.

Finally, the researchers evaluated automatic habit formation. Participants viewed four circles on a monitor and pressed corresponding keys as images of dog heads popped up. The images followed a hidden, alternating sequence. As participants subconsciously learned the pattern, their reaction times naturally sped up.

The testing revealed distinct cognitive profiles for the three groups. Individuals at risk for gaming disorder performed worse on the basic working memory tasks than both non-gamers and recreational gamers. They struggled to store and recall strings of numbers and shapes.

While the at-risk group showed normal overall performance on the memory updating task, they made more specific errors. They recorded a higher number of false alarms by pressing the button when they should have waited. This pattern points to increased impulsivity and a potential lack of behavioral control.

In contrast, recreational gamers showed signs of enhanced mental readiness. During the inhibitory control test, the recreational gamers successfully hit the spacebar in response to the target letters more often than the non-gamers. Because the researchers controlled for total playtime, this heightened attention seems uniquely linked to healthy gaming habits.

“Video gaming in itself doesn’t seem to be a problem—the real concern is addiction,” Pesthy told PsyPost. “In our sample, recreational gamers who spent a lot of time gaming but showed no signs of addiction actually performed better on some attention-related tasks than those who didn’t play at all. In contrast, among those whose gaming had become more dominant and showed signs of addiction, poorer memory processes could be observed.”

Results for the habit-learning assessment were not statistically significant among the specific groups. Non-gamers, recreational gamers, and at-risk individuals all learned the hidden dog patterns at roughly the same rate. This finding challenges the assumption that addictive behaviors are universally driven by an overactive habit-learning system.

The researchers also looked at how conscious control and automatic habits relate to one another. Across all participants, there was a negative relationship between inhibitory control and habit learning. When the brain exerts less conscious effort, automated habits predictably gain more influence over behavior.

There was also an unexpected positive relationship between basic working memory and habit learning for non-gamers and at-risk individuals. The researchers suspect that people in these two groups might use their working memory capacity to compensate for other cognitive gaps during automatic tasks. In contrast, recreational gamers did not show this overlapping relationship.

The study relied on a single observation period rather than tracking participants as they aged. This cross-sectional design means the research cannot reveal whether gaming disorder causes working memory deficits. It is equally possible that individuals with preexisting memory and attention challenges are simply more prone to developing gaming addictions. Longitudinal research will be needed to track how cognitive profiles shift over time.

The researchers also noted that their diagnostic categories relied on self-reported questionnaires. Some participants may have lacked self-awareness or answered in ways that made their habits seem less severe. Confirming these test results in clinical populations with formal diagnoses will help validate the conclusions.

Additionally, the cognitive tasks used basic shapes, numbers, and letters. Gamers might show different levels of focus or impulsivity if the tests featured sounds and visuals pulled directly from popular video games. Future experiments might use virtual reality environments to test how addiction-specific triggers alter cognitive performance in real time.

Overall, the research highlights that routine video game play is not inherently harmful to higher-level thinking. Cognitive struggles appear selectively in individuals who have lost control over their hobby. By understanding these mental blueprints, psychological professionals can design better interventions tailored to those dealing with behavioral addictions.

“These findings highlight the importance of how gaming fits into everyday life, as is the case with many other activities,” Pesthy concluded. “When it remains a balanced, recreational activity, it does not appear to pose a cognitive risk. However, when it becomes compulsive or starts to dominate daily functioning, it may be accompanied by less favorable cognitive patterns.”

The study, “Game on or gone too far? Executive functioning and implicit sequence learning in problematic vs. recreational gamers,” was authored by Krisztina Berta, Zsuzsanna Viktória Pesthy, Teodóra Vékony, Bence Csaba Farkas, Orsolya Király, Zsolt Demetrovics, Dezső Németh, and Bernadette Kun.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/how-video-gaming-habits-shape-our-cognitive-profiles/

-------------------------------------------------

DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org

It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GamingAddiction #CognitiveDifferences #ExecutiveFunction #HabitLearning #RecreationalGaming #GamingDisorder #WorkingMemory #Attention #ImpulseControl #PsyPostStudy

ADHD brains struggle with working memory load.

Nesting tasks three clicks deep creates cognitive friction.

You forget the steps before you even start.

Flat, visible systems reduce this barrier.

#ADHD #WorkingMemory #Productivity

ADHD brains struggle with working memory load.

Nesting tasks three clicks deep creates cognitive friction.

You forget the steps before you even start.

Flat, visible systems reduce this barrier.

#ADHD #WorkingMemory #Productivity

Struggling with invisible deadlines? Stop relying on mental schedules.

Under stress, the mind drops time-related tasks.

Draw a physical timeline. Make the abstract sequence concrete.

#WorkingMemory #ADHDTips #CognitiveLoad

Struggling with invisible deadlines? Stop relying on mental schedules.

Under stress, the mind drops time-related tasks.

Draw a physical timeline. Make the abstract sequence concrete.

#WorkingMemory #ADHDTips #CognitiveLoad

https://www.europesays.com/ie/425049/ Combined Body-Mind Exercise Reshapes the ADHD Brain #ADHD #CognitiveMotorTraining #Éire #Exercise #Fitness #Health #IE #InhibitoryControl #IntegratedExercise #Ireland #Neuroscience #WorkingMemory #WorldJournalOfPediatrics

https://www.europesays.com/uk/878788/ Combined Body-Mind Exercise Reshapes the ADHD Brain #ADHD #CognitiveMotorTraining #exercise #Fitness #Health #InhibitoryControl #IntegratedExercise #Neuroscience #UK #UnitedKingdom #WorkingMemory #WorldJournalOfPediatrics

Apple MacBook Neo 2 to receive touchscreen, performance and RAM upgrades

ⓘ Apple With the MacBook Neo, Apple offers a new entry-level laptop with a colorful aluminum body. The…
#NewsBeep #News #Technology #12GBRAM #12GB #AppleA18Pro #AppleA19Pro #AppleMacBookNeo2 #benchmarks #GB #graphicscard #laptop #Leak #Ming-ChiKo #netbook #notebook #processor #reports #review #Reviews #rumor #test #tests #UK #UnitedKingdom #workingmemory
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/465416/

🧠 New preprint by Zhong et al. proposes a #synaptic mechanism for #chunking in #WorkingMemory.

Using short-term #plasticity and synaptic augmentation, their model shows how items can be temporarily suppressed and later retrieved as chunks, increasing effective capacity w/o increasing simultaneous activity.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109538.1

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #SynapticPlasticity

🧠 New preprint by Zhong et al. proposes a #synaptic mechanism for #chunking in #WorkingMemory.

Using short-term #plasticity and synaptic augmentation, their model shows how items can be temporarily suppressed and later retrieved as chunks, increasing effective capacity w/o increasing simultaneous activity.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109538.1

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #SynapticPlasticity

🧠 New preprint by Zhong et al. proposes a #synaptic mechanism for #chunking in #WorkingMemory.

Using short-term #plasticity and synaptic augmentation, their model shows how items can be temporarily suppressed and later retrieved as chunks, increasing effective capacity w/o increasing simultaneous activity.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109538.1

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #SynapticPlasticity

🧠 New preprint by Zhong et al. proposes a #synaptic mechanism for #chunking in #WorkingMemory.

Using short-term #plasticity and synaptic augmentation, their model shows how items can be temporarily suppressed and later retrieved as chunks, increasing effective capacity w/o increasing simultaneous activity.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109538.1

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #SynapticPlasticity

🧠 New preprint by Zhong et al. proposes a #synaptic mechanism for #chunking in #WorkingMemory.

Using short-term #plasticity and synaptic augmentation, their model shows how items can be temporarily suppressed and later retrieved as chunks, increasing effective capacity w/o increasing simultaneous activity.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109538.1

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #SynapticPlasticity

🧠 New preprint by Shervani-Tabar, Brincat & @ekmiller on emergent #TravelingWaves in #RNN.

By aligning RNN dynamics to an empirically measured #NeuralManifold, they show that task-relevant TW can emerge through #learning, w/o hard-coding wave dynamics or connectivity. The cool thing here is that the waves are not imposed or engineered, but emerge naturally from learning under #BiologicallyPlausible constraints:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698281

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #NeuralDynamics #WorkingMemory

🧠 New preprint by Shervani-Tabar, Brincat & @ekmiller on emergent #TravelingWaves in #RNN.

By aligning RNN dynamics to an empirically measured #NeuralManifold, they show that task-relevant TW can emerge through #learning, w/o hard-coding wave dynamics or connectivity. The cool thing here is that the waves are not imposed or engineered, but emerge naturally from learning under #BiologicallyPlausible constraints:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698281

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #NeuralDynamics #WorkingMemory

🧠 New preprint by Shervani-Tabar, Brincat & @ekmiller on emergent #TravelingWaves in #RNN.

By aligning RNN dynamics to an empirically measured #NeuralManifold, they show that task-relevant TW can emerge through #learning, w/o hard-coding wave dynamics or connectivity. The cool thing here is that the waves are not imposed or engineered, but emerge naturally from learning under #BiologicallyPlausible constraints:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698281

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #NeuralDynamics #WorkingMemory

🧠 New preprint by Shervani-Tabar, Brincat & @ekmiller on emergent #TravelingWaves in #RNN.

By aligning RNN dynamics to an empirically measured #NeuralManifold, they show that task-relevant TW can emerge through #learning, w/o hard-coding wave dynamics or connectivity. The cool thing here is that the waves are not imposed or engineered, but emerge naturally from learning under #BiologicallyPlausible constraints:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698281

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #NeuralDynamics #WorkingMemory

🧠 New preprint by Shervani-Tabar, Brincat & @ekmiller on emergent #TravelingWaves in #RNN.

By aligning RNN dynamics to an empirically measured #NeuralManifold, they show that task-relevant TW can emerge through #learning, w/o hard-coding wave dynamics or connectivity. The cool thing here is that the waves are not imposed or engineered, but emerge naturally from learning under #BiologicallyPlausible constraints:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.08.698281

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #NeuralDynamics #WorkingMemory

ive heard for a long time that dual n-back exercises can improve working memory and just ran across this study that seems to point to it being particularly effective for people with adhd. i do them on and off (you can find free apps for it) but one thing i notice is that its extremely unpleasant. i wonder if this is just a me thing? its NEVER enjoyable as a task, and usually something i really don't want to do. link to study: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/998
#adhd #workingmemory

ive heard for a long time that dual n-back exercises can improve working memory and just ran across this study that seems to point to it being particularly effective for people with adhd. i do them on and off (you can find free apps for it) but one thing i notice is that its extremely unpleasant. i wonder if this is just a me thing? its NEVER enjoyable as a task, and usually something i really don't want to do. link to study: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/998
#adhd #workingmemory

ive heard for a long time that dual n-back exercises can improve working memory and just ran across this study that seems to point to it being particularly effective for people with adhd. i do them on and off (you can find free apps for it) but one thing i notice is that its extremely unpleasant. i wonder if this is just a me thing? its NEVER enjoyable as a task, and usually something i really don't want to do. link to study: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/998
#adhd #workingmemory

ive heard for a long time that dual n-back exercises can improve working memory and just ran across this study that seems to point to it being particularly effective for people with adhd. i do them on and off (you can find free apps for it) but one thing i notice is that its extremely unpleasant. i wonder if this is just a me thing? its NEVER enjoyable as a task, and usually something i really don't want to do. link to study: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/998
#adhd #workingmemory

ive heard for a long time that dual n-back exercises can improve working memory and just ran across this study that seems to point to it being particularly effective for people with adhd. i do them on and off (you can find free apps for it) but one thing i notice is that its extremely unpleasant. i wonder if this is just a me thing? its NEVER enjoyable as a task, and usually something i really don't want to do. link to study: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/9/998
#adhd #workingmemory

🧠 New paper by Deistler et al: #JAXLEY: differentiable #simulation for large-scale training of detailed #biophysical #models of #NeuralDynamics.

They present a #differentiable #GPU accelerated #simulator that trains #morphologically detailed biophysical #neuron models with #GradientDescent. JAXLEY fits intracellular #voltage and #calcium data, scales to 1000s of compartments, trains biophys. #RNNs on #WorkingMemory tasks & even solves #MNIST.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02895-w

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro

🧠 New paper by Deistler et al: #JAXLEY: differentiable #simulation for large-scale training of detailed #biophysical #models of #NeuralDynamics.

They present a #differentiable #GPU accelerated #simulator that trains #morphologically detailed biophysical #neuron models with #GradientDescent. JAXLEY fits intracellular #voltage and #calcium data, scales to 1000s of compartments, trains biophys. #RNNs on #WorkingMemory tasks & even solves #MNIST.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02895-w

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro

🧠 New paper by Deistler et al: #JAXLEY: differentiable #simulation for large-scale training of detailed #biophysical #models of #NeuralDynamics.

They present a #differentiable #GPU accelerated #simulator that trains #morphologically detailed biophysical #neuron models with #GradientDescent. JAXLEY fits intracellular #voltage and #calcium data, scales to 1000s of compartments, trains biophys. #RNNs on #WorkingMemory tasks & even solves #MNIST.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02895-w

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro

🧠 New paper by Deistler et al: #JAXLEY: differentiable #simulation for large-scale training of detailed #biophysical #models of #NeuralDynamics.

They present a #differentiable #GPU accelerated #simulator that trains #morphologically detailed biophysical #neuron models with #GradientDescent. JAXLEY fits intracellular #voltage and #calcium data, scales to 1000s of compartments, trains biophys. #RNNs on #WorkingMemory tasks & even solves #MNIST.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02895-w

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro

🧠 New paper by Deistler et al: #JAXLEY: differentiable #simulation for large-scale training of detailed #biophysical #models of #NeuralDynamics.

They present a #differentiable #GPU accelerated #simulator that trains #morphologically detailed biophysical #neuron models with #GradientDescent. JAXLEY fits intracellular #voltage and #calcium data, scales to 1000s of compartments, trains biophys. #RNNs on #WorkingMemory tasks & even solves #MNIST.

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02895-w

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro

Untangling the role of the two types of striatal #dopamine neurons in #WorkingMemory has been challenging. This study shows that D2R neurons primarily govern WM under low cognitive load, while D1R neurons take over when cognitive load increases @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4mfgx0s

Untangling the role of the two types of striatal #dopamine neurons in #WorkingMemory has been challenging. This study shows that D2R neurons primarily govern WM under low cognitive load, while D1R neurons take over when cognitive load increases @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4mfgx0s

Untangling the role of the two types of striatal #dopamine neurons in #WorkingMemory has been challenging. This study shows that D2R neurons primarily govern WM under low cognitive load, while D1R neurons take over when cognitive load increases @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4mfgx0s

Untangling the role of the two types of striatal #dopamine neurons in #WorkingMemory has been challenging. This study shows that D2R neurons primarily govern WM under low cognitive load, while D1R neurons take over when cognitive load increases @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4mfgx0s

Untangling the role of the two types of striatal #dopamine neurons in #WorkingMemory has been challenging. This study shows that D2R neurons primarily govern WM under low cognitive load, while D1R neurons take over when cognitive load increases @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4mfgx0s

#Attention modulates sensory contents of #WorkingMemory, but what about motor contents? @irenetxeberria &co show that brain representations of both sensory & motor contents of WM are modulated by attentional shifts, & are temporally uncoupled @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46bUrY8

#Attention modulates sensory contents of #WorkingMemory, but what about motor contents? @irenetxeberria &co show that brain representations of both sensory & motor contents of WM are modulated by attentional shifts, & are temporally uncoupled @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46bUrY8

#Attention modulates sensory contents of #WorkingMemory, but what about motor contents? @irenetxeberria &co show that brain representations of both sensory & motor contents of WM are modulated by attentional shifts, & are temporally uncoupled @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46bUrY8

#Attention modulates sensory contents of #WorkingMemory, but what about motor contents? @irenetxeberria &co show that brain representations of both sensory & motor contents of WM are modulated by attentional shifts, & are temporally uncoupled @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46bUrY8

#Attention modulates sensory contents of #WorkingMemory, but what about motor contents? @irenetxeberria &co show that brain representations of both sensory & motor contents of WM are modulated by attentional shifts, & are temporally uncoupled @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46bUrY8

Advocates for CLT argue that their evidence base is broad and robust. It is neither. Research findings are “cherry-picked” to support particular beliefs about the correct way to teach. #CogSci #CogSciSci #CognitiveLoadTheory #WorkingMemory #WM #LTM

I forgot how old I am again.

Was it 30 or 31....

#ADHD #memoryissues #workingmemory

I forgot how old I am again.

Was it 30 or 31....

#ADHD #memoryissues #workingmemory

I forgot how old I am again.

Was it 30 or 31....

#ADHD #memoryissues #workingmemory

Anyone who has a genuine interest in memory, cognition and the brain should have an interest in what COVID does to the brains of teachers and students. #CogSci #CogSciSci #WorkingMemory #WM #LTM #ClassicRock #CognitivePsychology #CogPsy www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15...

Another good indicator is “Do they make general claims?” Experts tend to have a very narrow focus. Specialisation, not generalisation. Non-experts are comfortable making general claims. Experts know their limits. Simply The Best (Tina Turner cover) #CogSci #WorkingMemory

Beyond Awareness: Exploring Your Autistic Profile and Identity – Part 2

About ClaireB

I am an autistic and physically disabled blogger with a particular interest in AAC, monotropism and education. I have written for Autistic Village and am currently writing for YoungMinds. I want other young people and adults like myself to develop positive autistic or disabled identities.

Keywords:

EF – executive functions

Monotropism/monotropic – our cognitive style. An autistic derived theory initially proposed by researchers  Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson in the early 1990’s. We as autistic people have an interest based nervous system focusing on a single or a few attention tunnels (as opposed to multiple)  leading to very immersive experiences.

Inertia – a result of being monotropic, difficulty starting, stopping or changing state. This can include difficulty thinking about something new. Being monotropic have huge implications for our mental health.

Welcome back to Part 2 of Beyond Awareness, for those of you who have not read Part 1 these blogs serve as an introductory guide to exploring your autistic profile. I am autistic too and I want to help you fellow neurokin to move beyond awareness of your profile and truly understand who you are as an autistic person. You deserve it! We learn best by sharing experiences so without further ado… let’s start!

Executive Functions

For those of you who are visual thinkers, it may be helpful to imagine the executive functions as senior staff responsible for managing a large company. Senior staff delegate and plan tasks for a business, in a similar way to how executive functioning skills enable us as individuals to plan, organise and ultimately carry out our day-to-day activities. EF skills include far more than planning and organising, some of which I will elaborate on below:

• Working memory – short term memory (helpful if you need to use information quickly). Many of us including myself have a great long term memory but a weak working memory. Maybe this is true for you? If so, that’s okay there are many apps and other tools available to help you with this skill.
• Task initiation – do you feel ‘stuck’ when transitioning between tasks? If so, you are not alone. This is often because we are monotropic.
• Monitoring – includes recognising emotional states, often difficult when in a flow state.
• Decision making – includes filtering key information.

Can you think of EF skills and strengths that you have?

Maybe you are a very thorough decision maker or a quick problem solver?

As autistic people, our executive functioning often looks different to non autistic people! Our periods of productivity may not be linear or predictable but instead be determined by our passions and current attention tunnels, regardless your productivity does not define your worth! 

Whether that’s accessing flow states for hours on end, needing more time to make decision or an abundance of post it notes to support your working memory – do what works for you!

Dedicated Interests and Being Monotropic

I have been able to write this blog thanks to periods of hyperfocus and the almost magnetic like attraction to my interests that enables flow states – it’s just me and my laptop; the rest of the world disappears! Does this resonate? If so, I am glad you gain joy from flow states too. 

Whatever your dedicated interests are if they make you happy that’s all that matters!

Do you have multiple dedicated interests or one long standing passion?

Do your passions cultivate autistic joy? Is it possible to organise your time around your passions?

You are probably aware that your interests are more than just hobbies, a convenient pastime, or a forgotten collectible hidden in the bottom drawer – they are often a huge source of autistic joy and purpose! But do you know why? If not, welcome to the world of monotropism!

Being monotropic  – our interests pull us in more strongly than most (polytropic) people and we often focus on a single or a few attention tunnels. This leads to very intense immersive experiences inside our current attention tunnel – meaning everything outside that exact moment can almost cease to exist. Earlier in the EF section, I mention feeling stuck in between tasks, well being monotropic might be why! Focusing on a single attention intensely means we may need more time to shift our processing resources on to new ideas or activities. ( Do you hate interruptions?)

Being monotropic has implications far beyond our passions if you begin to think about an interest as anything that can capture your attention – to put it simply fewer things capture our attention (but when they do, they do so intensely!) Let’s think about what that might mean for you (there are many examples, but here are just a few):

Do certain sounds feel incredibly irritating – are you unable to tune them out?

Do you seek details and patterns?

Do you have a need for routine or predictability? If so, this can reduce the need to switch attention tunnels at short notice.

Do you forget to eat, drink or go to the toilet when in a flow state? I know these signals are more than merely annoying when in flow but it’s really important to address them – maybe schedule key breaks and reminders to check these needs?

Do you feel emotions really intensely? Being monotropic is characterised by intensity of feeling wherever our current focus is and that includes our emotions. This may feel like big (autistic!) joy. If you resonate with this, I am glad you experience big joy too! Or alternatively being monotropic may mean an inability to switch our attention from negative feelings (inertia is a common result of being monotropic). 

Just to clarify, being monotropic doesn’t mean you will feel negatively but rather you may keep thinking about the same thing a lot.

 If you recognise that your attention gets hooked on negative feelings, it’s important to acknowledge that. Is there a way you can switch attention tunnels, if needed?

When explored through a monotropic lens, I think our experiences as autistic people begin to make sense. We can begin to ask ourselves why we have certain needs and not just be satisfied with knowing them but instead truly benefit from understanding our autistic experiences. I hope you feel similarly!

 I hope this 2-part series helps you to begin to explore, understand and ultimately appreciate your own autistic identity. If this is too much information all at once, you can use it as a resource to come back to and reflect on your own needs at your own pace.

After all, the Maori word for ‘autism’ is ‘takiwatanga’ meaning ‘in my own time and space!’

References

Monotropism – https://monotropism.org/

#executiveFunction #monotropism #workingMemory

#Hippocampus & #PFC interact to support spatial #WorkingMemory, but are dHPC & vHPC functionally redundant in this? This study shows that both regions contribute differentially to spatial WM & coding of spatial info by PFC @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cXyddO

#Hippocampus & #PFC interact to support spatial #WorkingMemory, but are dHPC & vHPC functionally redundant in this? This study shows that both regions contribute differentially to spatial WM & coding of spatial info by PFC @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cXyddO

#Hippocampus & #PFC interact to support spatial #WorkingMemory, but are dHPC & vHPC functionally redundant in this? This study shows that both regions contribute differentially to spatial WM & coding of spatial info by PFC @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cXyddO