Top-notch Attention Skills

One of the most impressive mental capabilities of pro gamers is their exceptional focus. While this might not seem particularly noteworthy at first glance, attention is crucial for excelling in various cognitive tasks such as learning, memory retention, and effective planning.

Professional gamers exhibit a remarkable ability to selectively concentrate on specific stimuli, especially during high-pressure scenarios. They can tune out distractions and maintain focus on a single target for extended periods. This skill is especially prominent in first-person shooter games.

A comparison between amateur and professional players using eye-tracking technology revealed that pros maintained a more stable gaze, fixating on the center of the screen for longer durations. In contrast, amateur gamers displayed a more erratic gaze, often shifting their focus around the screen without clear purpose, typically only locking in during significant in-game events.

Different skill levels result in varied gaze patterns, but the consensus is clear: higher skill levels correlate with a more focused gaze. This was notably observed in players engaged in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where pros concentrate primarily on the screen's center while occasionally shifting their focus to other critical game elements.

The brain activity of esports athletes shows enhanced theta waves—linked to focused attention—during intense gameplay, particularly in action-heavy titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty.

Super-Fast Processing Capabilities

It may seem surprising to classify professional gamers as athletes, but their reaction times rival those of fighter pilots, showcasing extraordinary hand-eye coordination. This heightened processing speed often leads to early retirements, as maintaining such cognitive and motor performance becomes increasingly challenging with age.

Studies indicate that cognitive slowdowns begin in our mid-twenties, making it difficult to compete at high levels in esports after this point. For instance, a delay of just 150 milliseconds can significantly affect gameplay, putting older players at a distinct disadvantage.

In a National Geographic documentary, the skills of Korean pro gamers were highlighted. Notably, StarCraft champion Seo Ji-hoon demonstrated the ability to execute 370 keyboard or mouse actions per minute, vastly outperforming the average person, who typically manages around 100 actions per minute.

Capacity for Large Cognitive Overhead

When faced with challenging gameplay, professional gamers activate their cognitive resources differently than casual gamers. Their frontal brain regions—responsible for complex cognitive tasks like reasoning and decision-making—are less active, indicating that they exert less cognitive effort during intense gaming moments.

This efficiency allows them to switch tasks rapidly, executing sudden strategy changes or managing multiple game elements simultaneously. For example, world-class StarCraft player Choi “Polt” Seong Hun averages an astonishing 316 actions per minute, demonstrating remarkable task-switching abilities.

His prefrontal cortex, which controls focus and emotional responses, shows reduced activity during high-pressure situations, a phenomenon often associated with a state of flow in elite athletes. This allows him to maintain focus even while rapidly shifting tasks.

Enhanced Short-Term Memory

Professional gamers excel at retaining critical visual information, even in the absence of external cues. Typically, short-term memory can hold about seven chunks of information at once, but pro gamers tend to have superior memorization skills, enabling more efficient information retrieval.

Their quicker reaction times may stem from a more effective use of working memory, allowing them to store and utilize temporary information swiftly.

Bottom Line

The commitment of gamers to their craft for years leads to significant neurological adaptations. It's fascinating to see how intensive gaming can enhance cognitive functions:

• Their attention levels reach a state of unwavering focus, impervious to distractions.
• Their reaction times rival those of elite pilots, operating at speeds nearly four times faster than average individuals.
• The mental demands of gaming have led to a brain that operates efficiently with less energy expenditure during high-stakes situations.
• They skillfully manage multiple streams of information, facilitating rapid task-switching and improved memory retention.

While this discussion centers on professional gamers, it raises intriguing questions about the potential therapeutic applications of video games in enhancing or repairing cognitive functions for the broader population.