动作游戏迷们现在有了在屏幕前扎根的新借口。本期《自然——神经学》（Nature Neuroscience）所刊载的一项研究表明，动作类电子游戏有可能训练我们的视力，提高对比敏感度（CSF）。CSF是我们探知与背景不同色调与色彩的能力。罗彻斯特大学的Daphne Bavelier和同事们通过对比资深动作游戏玩家与其它游戏类型玩家的视力发现，仅有动作游戏可以增强CSF。

　　CSF贫弱会给驾驶、阅读以及其它很多方面带来困难。CSF与视觉清晰程度无关，与视觉光感相关，基于眼睛本身的能力以及神经组织对眼睛的感知所进行的解读。因此，在不改变基本视力的前提下，通过某种提高对比度知觉的方式训练大脑有可能改善CSF。

　　根据以往的临床工作，研究人员知道通过增加神经可塑性的方式影响大脑，可以改善视力。这让他们开始探寻电子游戏能否成为改善弱CSF的工具。

　　首先，他们发现并非所有电子游戏都能有效提高视力。相比其它类型游戏玩家，动作类电子游戏玩家有着更优越的CSF。虽然CSF与动作游戏水平存在着联系，但这并不能自动产生简单的因果关系——有可能只说明CSF最棒的人玩动作游戏更上手，更容易被这类游戏所吸引。

　　为了确定动作游戏确实可以增强CSF，研究人员为非动作游戏玩家制定了一个培训计划。他们训练玩家在九周内玩50小时，玩家分别玩动作游戏（虚幻竞技场2004和使命召唤2 ）或非动作游戏（模拟人生2）。所有受测者都是有着极佳视力的健康成人。

　　训练阶段结束后，动作游戏训练受测者的CSF比非动作游戏受测者提高了43%到58%。动作游戏玩家侦测视觉对比的速度也更快，约77%的动作游戏受测者反应时间有所缩短，只有22%的非动作游戏玩家表现出相似的进步。

　　这项研究表明，动作类电子游戏可以影响潜在的神经可塑性，以增强CSF。因此，研究人员写到电子游戏训练“可能会成为一种有用的眼校正技术——成为诊所的常规治疗方法，以改善视力。”但必须指出的是，实验仅针对有着良好视力的健康成人。因此，有必要进行进一步实验，看看动作类电子游戏是否适用于最需要帮助的人，比如弱视和白内障患者。

　　研究人员发现，只有动作类游戏在改善游戏方面值得进一步研究。明确动作类与非动作类游戏的关键差异有助于为视觉受损者发展更精确的疗法。

　　译文：

　　Fans of action video games have now been given a new excuse to spend hours in front of a screen. According to research published in today’s issue of Nature Neuroscience, action video games may train our eyesight so we have a better contrast sensitivity function （CSF）， which is our ability to detect shades and colors that differ from the background. Daphne Bavelier （from the University of Rochester） and her colleagues compared the eyesights of expert action and non-action gamers and found that only action games enhanced CSF.

　　Poor CSF makes it difficult for people to drive, read, and perform a variety of other functions. CSF isn't a matter of how clearly you see things; instead, it’s related to the brightness perception of your vision, and is based on both the capabilities of our eyes and the neural components that interpret what they perceive. Thus, it's possible to improve CSF without changing basic aspects of vision by training the brain in a way that heightens awareness of contrast.

　　Based on past clinical work, the authors knew that working the brain in a way that increases neural plasticity is beneficial to vision. This led them to ask if video gaming could be a helpful training tool for people with poor CSF.

　　First, they noticed that not all video games were created equal when it comes to vision enhancement. Action video gamers had superior CSF when compared to those who played non-action games. Although there was a correlation between better CSF and action video gaming, this didn’t automatically imply causation—it could just mean that people with top CSF did better at action games and gravitated towards them.

　　To establish that the actual act of action video gaming boosts CSF, the authors ran a training program for non-action video game players. They trained the players for 50 hours over a period of nine weeks on either action games （Unreal Tournament 2004 and Call of Duty 2） or a non-action one （The Sims 2）。 All the participants were healthy adults with excellent vision.

　　After the training period, the CSF of those who trained on action games had improved by 43 to 58 percent more than those who played the non-action games. The action gamers were also quicker at detecting visual contrasts. About 77 percent of action game participants displayed a shorter critical duration, while only 22 percent of non-action players showed a similar improvement.

　　This study shows that action video games can interact with our potential for neural plasticity to enhance our CSF, which lead the authors to write that video game training “may become a useful complement to eye-correction techniques that are routinely used in the clinic to improve eyesight.” However, it is important to note that all of their experiments were done on healthy adults with good vision, so further experiments are necessary to see if action video gaming can help people who need it the most, like those suffering from amblyopia and cataracts.

　　The researcher’s discovery that only action games improved vision is another avenue that deserves further investigation. Figuring out the key differences between action and non-action video games could help in the development of more precise therapies for visual impairment.