Playing 'Tetris' computer game can help reduce trauma

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

Tetris

Tetris was used because playing it uses a large amount of the brain

Playing the computer game 'Tetris' can help reduce the symptoms of post traumatic stress, British scientists claim.

Researchers found playing the popular Nintendo video game shortly after viewing 'traumatic material' helped wipe out the bad memories and reduce distressing flashbacks.

The psychologists from Oxford University believe the discovery could lead to new treatments for accident victims in hospitals as well as those involved in war zones.

'This has implications for a novel avenue of preventative treatment development, much-needed as a crisis intervention for the aftermath of traumatic events,' they reported.

Study participants watched a film showing real scenes of injury and death, then half were given the game to play for 10 minutes half an hour later.

Players had fewer 'flashbacks', and the scientists believe the game may have helped disrupt the laying down of memories.

Lead researcher Dr Emily Holmes said:
'There is a lot to be done to translate this experimental science result into a potential treatment.'

However, she said there was the potential to create a 'cognitive vaccine' using the research.

Tetris was chosen because is requires players to move and fit coloured bricks together, using a large part of the brain.

Dr Holmes said: 'Tetris may work by competing for the brain's resources for sensory information. We suggest it specifically interferes with the way sensory memories are laid down in the period after trauma and thus reduces the number of flashbacks that are experienced afterwards.'

It is unclear whether other computer games would be as effective.

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