Editorial: progress in computer gaming and esports: neurocognitive and motor perspectives

This Research Topic covers the neurocognitive aspects of computer gaming and esports. Authors representing a broad spectrum of psychology and neuroscience have contributed, introducing empirical findings as well as conceptual and methodological innovations. In this Editorial we provide a thematic overview of the exciting and diverse contents of this Research Topic. Video games have become a cultural phenomenon over the past 50 years and are now one of the most prominently chosen past times (Wagner, 2006; Hamari and Sjöblom, 2017; Lokhman et al., 2018). The use of dynamic visual displays, the demand on flexible attention allocation and the requirement for precise time-constrained bimanual motor control, make video games a unique medium for studying both cognition and motor control Bera et al. Over the past 20 years, neurocognitive research has demonstrated that habitual competitive video game players appear to display some superior cognitive attributes when compared to their non-video gaming counterparts (Colzato et al., 2013; Bediou et al., 2018; Kowal et al., 2018). Along with the increased recognition of esports as a sporting activity alongside traditional athletic sports, the unique cognitive skillset possessed by elite gamers has earned them the moniker of “cognitive athletes” (Campbell et al., 2018). This notion has led to an increased appetite toward understanding the cognitive benefits conferred from, and demanded by, video games