Effect of gamification on activation of the prefrontal cortex in working memory task
Poster No:
628
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Hyeok Gyu Kwon1, Si Chan Park2
Institutions:
1Eulji university, Sungnam-si, Gyeonggi, 2Eulji University, Sungnam-si, Gyeonggi
First Author:
Co-Author:
Introduction:
Working memory (WM) is the ability to hold information temporarily and manipulate it so it is involved in various cognitive functions. On the other hand, general WM training is unable to stimulate motivation. Many studies have reported that gamification can improve cognitive functions during cognitive task training because gamification enhances motivation. Despite this, very little has been reported on the effects of gamification in terms of the mechanisms for brain activation during the WM task. Therefore, this study examined the effects of gamification on prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during the N-back test, which is working memory tasks, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Methods:
Twenty-two healthy subjects were recruited for this study. Our Institutional Review Board approved the study protocol. The subjects performed a gamification N-back test and a non-gamification N-back test once each, in a randomized order. NIRSIT Lite (OBELAB Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea), an fNIRS device, was used to measure PFC activation during the WM task. This device comprises 15 channels, each separated by 30 mm between pairs. For each task analysis segment, markers and task numbers could be set, allowing the PFC activation data acquired from the device to be stored as analyzable information for each segment. The changes in oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) in the PFC were measured in real time. The results were analyzed by calculating HbO2 using the modified Beer–Lambert law The oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) levels were recorded to assess brain activation using fNIRS.
Results:
A comparison of the HbO2 levels between the gamification and non-gamification conditions revealed channels 1 (right lateral Orbitofrontal cortex) and 9 (Frontopolar prefrontal cortex) in the gamification state to show significantly lower activation than the non-gamified condition (p<0.05). In addition, the average accuracy rate in the N-back test with gamification was significantly higher than that without gamification (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
fNIRS showed that gamification affected the improvement of the performance of the WM ability despite the decreased PFC activation during the WM task. These results suggest that gamification might increase the efficiency of PFC.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Reward and Punishment 1
Learning and Memory:
Working Memory
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Activation (eg. BOLD task-fMRI) 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
NIRS
Keywords:
Cognition
Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS)
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
·PFC activation in NGM: channel 1 (right lateral OFC) had the highest HbO2 value, and channel 8 (FPC) had the lowest HbO2 value. PFC activation in NGM: channel 2 (dorsolateral PFC) under the gamificati
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Provide references using APA citation style.
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