Tetris helps reduce post-traumatic stress
If only they'd had Game Boys in the trenches.
The BBC is reporting on a bizarre experiment at Oxford University which suggests that playing Tetris can help reduce the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Volunteers in the experiment were shown upsetting images - and then some of them were given Tetris to play half an hour later.
According to the PLoS One journal, the researchers found that Tetris players had fewer flashbacks, and theorised that playing the game disrupted the formation of memories. Or maybe all they could see was falling blocks.
"We wanted to find a way to dampen down flashbacks - the raw sensory images of trauma that are over-represented in the memories of those with PTSD," said Dr Emily Holmes.
"Tetris may work by competing for the brain's resources for sensory information."
Professor David Alexander from the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research begged to differ.
"It is ethically impossible to simulate an event which is so catastrophic as the type of incident which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder," he said, noting that post-traumatic stress is usually only detected weeks after an event, not half an hour afterwards.
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Comments (9) Latest comment 2 years ago
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"Fuck you, I'm on Mode B Level 9 Height 5, with one line to go. I don't even know what a Space Shuttle is since it hasn't been invented, but I have to see it."
Good to see a positive games report, though it's still a violent game (check out Awesome Teris by Egoraptor on NewGrounds for why)
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/wonders what that means in the real world...
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