Imagine an inoculation that a soldier could take within an hour or two of witnessing a particularly traumatic wartime event. If there was a drug to prevent flashbacks from occurring later on, most soldiers would probably take it. Call it an Anti-PTSD drug.
But what if that drug wasn’t a drug at all, but a simple computer game you could equip every military unit with on the front lines?
Yes, researchers who did an analogue study on 40 undergraduates suggest that the old computer game Tetris can actually help prevent future post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) flashbacks. Here’s their theory:
Our theory is based on two key findings:
1) Cognitive science suggests that the brain has selective resources with limited capacity;
2) The neurobiology of memory suggests a 6-hr window to disrupt memory consolidation.
The rationale for a ‘cognitive vaccine’ approach is as follows: Trauma flashbacks are sensory-perceptual, visuo-spatial mental images. Visuo-spatial cognitive tasks selectively compete for resources required to generate mental images. Thus, a visuo-spatial computer game (e.g. “Tetris”) will interfere with flashbacks.
Their findings?
After leaving the laboratory, participants then kept a daily diary in which they recorded their flashbacks to the trauma film over a period of 1-week. Crucially, we found that participants [who played 10 minutes of Tetris] experienced significantly fewer flashbacks over the week than those [who didn't]. Furthermore, at 1-week, participants returned to the laboratory and participants in the game condition had significantly lower scores on the measure of clinical symptomatology of trauma.
Playing Tetris appeared to interfere with the brain’s ability to form a significant visuo-spatial memory of the traumatic event. Such memories are an important component to flashbacks. No such memories means a reduced likelihood of future flashbacks.
The limitations of the study are many — undergrads, not real trauma (the students watched a 12 minute film), and only a 1 week followup. So it’s hard to say whether these findings would be robust enough to actually work on real trauma experienced firsthand by an individual, versus a movie watching in a college laboratory.
But if confirmed, the findings would suggest that we could help prevent (or perhaps at the very least, reduce) the likelihood of future flashbacks (and perhaps full-blown PTSD) by simply having soldiers play specific video games like Tetris as soon as they return to the safety of their camp.
This may possibly be a great prevention method for anyone exposed to a traumatic event if the findings hold up. A hospital ER could be equipped with computer terminals (or Nintendo DSs) with Tetris on them, with one possible treatment for psychological trauma victims being an emergency “course” of Tetris. It’ll be interesting to see if this research holds up under further study, as it would be a ground-breaking intervention for a preventative treatment for PTSD.
Read the full article: PLoS ONE: Can Playing the Computer Game “Tetris” Reduce the Build-Up of Flashbacks for Trauma? A Proposal from Cognitive Science
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Links to This Article
» Tetris Inoculation Against PTSD Flashbacks - World of Psychology »Free Games (1/8/2009)
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20 Comments to
“Tetris Inoculation Against PTSD Flashbacks”
Hmm, this subject is interesting. Tetris is like therapy for psychological problems. Thank you so much for all informations dear Dr. John Grohol
Well someone is being inventive. Never thought Tetris could be used for good.
I commented on a similar post at EMDRIA.org, the EMDR association website. I noted that after the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake I played a lot of computer solitaire in between client sessions, which of course were all about the earthquke. This is very interesting, and I’m going to link to this on my blog as well.
This would be a double edged sword for psychologists. The extremely high suicide rate (from dealing with everyone else’s trauma) in that particular occupation would drop, but patients expect them to remember every detail about how they were mistreated and neglected because they never got that pony as a kid.
Mmmm… you are saying Tetris interferes with visuo-spatial memory so they don’t form. I am just wondering when students goes to school and learn geometry, algebra, physics or anything that requires visuo-spatial memory, will it have the same effect? Interesting, no? Does Tetris also interfere with learning?
Thumbs down to Zero at 11:35 for callousness. Then there are kids with a parent that has a toxic personality, NPD, etc. Divorce, abandonment. I wonder if video game popularity among kids rises with living in an abusive/hostile home environment. Perhaps kids who seem addicted to games might be considered as self-medicating. In the ’70s, I had guitars; played in bands to escape. There’ll never be a cure for PTSD, only pain management. When bad stuff goes into the brain it’s indelible. IMHO. What’s Related below: Trauma of war hits troops years later, yeah trauma of divorce his kids years later too.
That would explain why I can’t remember so much of my childhood. I was addicted to tetris.
Either that or the pot…hmmmm.
Interesting post…
Having said that, I find it hard to picture soldiers, having been exposed to trauma, being able to sit down for a game of tetris within a few hours. One factor will be that they may well be dealing with more immediate injuries such as physical trauma and shock. Moreover a traumatic event leaves the mind in a very strange place; a few years back I was working in Africa when our jeep (carrying 11 people) skidded and rolled. Mercifully the only injuries were temporary (a couple of broken bones was as bad as it got), the idea of sitting down to play tetris after that would have been laughable, I simply could not have gotten myself to do it.
fun idea none the less
peace
so what if this.. traumatic event.. lasts longer than 6 hours … say in the event of.. say, war? where you are traumatized by everything you see for 48 hours at a time.. if youre lucky.
tetris is originally used as brain wash device maybe thats why…
Well this rocks because I adore playing Tetris!
@ Penfold:
Well, perhaps the act of forcing themselves to sit and play Tetris might help the soldiers deal with the trauma. Out of sight, out of mind?
Or it might not. Who knows. Merits more research, I think.
I love Tetris and I have been diagnosed with PTSD, so your saying that if they had video games like Tetris in the 60’s when my event happened I may not have suffered like I have? I don’t know that I can believe this.
At some point the mind has to release that bad, if you continue to block it, it will eat a hole in your soul.
I love Tetris as well, but what is the message? Tetris makes stupid? Tetris is dope? To talk about the reasons for war, the sense or nonsense of it, seems to be a better cure. Human beings are not Apes.
So, all you wise cracks. Tetris works because the brain has a limited processing capacity so to speak. We’ve always known that interference disrupts memory (yes, playing tetris after a geometry lesson may interfere with actually learning geometry). And, we’ve also known that opposing tasks will wipe out short term memory and therefore prevent consolidation. What the researchers have missed here is the highly emotional content of PTSD. If the post-battle tetris game was particularly engaging- There was a high stakes tournament going on. Then, yes, theoretically and now empirically, Tetris could wipe short term memory and prevent soldiers from consolidating the traumatic event. I doubt that it would truly get rid of PTSD, but theoretically, it could lessen the severity. Good Work!
fascinating article and comments!
I love Tetris too and find when I play my mind gets ‘numb’ so to speak.
I wonder if “bejeweled” has the same effect, as I feel the same way when I play it….
Pure malarkey
You’re basing the mentality of a soldier on grad students watching scary movies. I happen to be in Iraq right now for my second tour. I am a medic and trained in first line PTSD screening. Tetris will not do anything to help the feelings of guilt of surviving nor the fatigue due to being in a constant state of danger.
PTSD doesn’t come from seeing blown up people, it comes from seeing your friends blow up. The difference might seem semantic, but it is very far from it.
Excellent post, Clinton - Watching a trauma movie is NOT the same as being there in the middle of the action. I hope Dr. Grohol reads your post.
That’s interesting. I have noticed that if I surf on the computer before I go to bed and changing the pages very fast I “go to bed” with those images as well. If it’s positive I sleep well, but if not you can have nightmares. It depends on how sensitive you are.
Some companies used to have those “flashy” commercials - I think one of them was Coca-Cola - to trigger the same effect and I think now they are not allowed.
I like how everyone thinks this is a great treatment for PTSD when really what it’s suggesting is that we try to take all the awful things we make soldiers endure and try and get them to subconsciously associate it with a mindless task so they don’t have to think about their feelings
‘But what if that drug wasn’t a drug at all, but a simple computer game you could equip every military unit with on the front lines?’
what if it was a lobotomy?
who cares as long as they’re doin their job shooting and exploding things and not feeling guilty about it afterwards
you know the people who aren’t THERE don’t feel guilty… maybe its because we can play better games than tetris, ones that condition us to violence EVEN MORE
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 8 Jan 2009
