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Key Points:

• LVC Neuroscience major Dawson Boyer conducted research comparing reaction times between esports players and soccer athletes.
• The student-led project explored how different activities may influence reaction time and cognitive performance.
• The research was presented at LVC鈥檚 annual Inquiry Symposium.
• The experience highlights LVC鈥檚 emphasis on undergraduate research and faculty collaboration.

Student-faculty research covers numerous topics generated from course content, faculty expertise, and often, students鈥� personal interests.

Dawson Boyer 鈥�28, a Neuroscience major, participated in three research projects, and his most recent stemmed from his gaming experience as a member of LVC鈥檚 team. Boyer approached Dr. Stacy Goodman, Chair and Professor of Biology, about studying the reaction times of esports players. The pair developed a study to compare the hand, foot, auditory, and visual reaction times of esports players, soccer players, and non-athletes.

鈥淚 was most surprised to learn that we did not find a significant difference between the reaction times of athletes vs non-athletes,鈥� said Boyer. 鈥淗owever, if we could have recruited more participants for our study, we may have found a difference by collecting much more data.鈥�

Boyer added, 鈥淥ne point I want people to realize is that esports is still surprisingly relatively unknown to much of the public. It is a huge industry with so much research yet to be done, so I would encourage people to look into it. I am glad I contributed to the field of research regarding reaction times.鈥�

Boyer presented his esports research at the College鈥檚 annual Inquiry celebration that celebrates students鈥� academic and creative works. While Inquiry marked a new experience for Boyer, it was not his first LVC research opportunity. He started in Dr. Tim Peelen鈥檚 [Associate Professor of Chemistry] lab the summer before his first year through the College鈥檚 Research First Program for incoming students.

鈥淭he benefits of doing research so early allowed me to be a step ahead of others in classes with knowledge that I had learned from research,鈥� said Boyer. 鈥淭his was especially true in the labs I had to take for my science classes because I already had this hands-on experience.鈥�

Boyer completed another summer of research last year with Dr. Erica Unger, Director of Neuroscience and Associate Professor of Biology, related to alpha lipoic acid, which is found in certain foods and taken by some as a supplement. He plans to continue participating in research and values the support from his professors as he plans for a future in medicine.