As anyone who’s played it knows, ‘Tetris’ is a compelling video game. And it’s not just good fun to play; it also has medical benefits. According to research presented at the British Psychology Society Annual Conference some time ago, focusing on a highly engaging visual-spatial task, such as playing video games, may significantly reduce the occurrence of flashbacks, the mental images concerning the trauma that intrude on the sufferer afterward. Reducing the occurrence of flashbacks could relieve post-traumatic suffering. Researchers at Oxford asked a group to view a disturbing film — a simulation of real trauma. Within six hours of viewing this film, the period during which memories are thought to be consolidated for long-term storage, the subjects were randomly assigned to one of three tasks: Answering trivia, playing ‘Tetris’, a 1980s video game that involves optimising visual-spatial cues; or engaging in nothing in particular. Over the following week, those who had played ‘Tetris’ reported experiencing significantly fewer flashbacks of the film than the others did. When played immediately following exposure to trauma, “The Tetris game had a protective effect,” said lead researcher Emily Holmes, a professor at Oxford. She and colleagues believe that the visual-spatial demands of ‘Tetris’ disrupt the formation of the mental imagery involved in flashbacks and that Tetris Therapy could lessen the psychological impact of traumatic events. “Our findings suggest that if you engage in very visually demanding tasks soon after a trauma, this can help block or disrupt the memory being stored in an overly vivid way,” she said.
It seems that only 20 minutes of play, undertaken within around six hours of the event, provides a sufficient distraction to prevent disturbing memories being formed. And the benefits aren’t limited to PTSD; ‘Tetris’ has also been shown to help reduce cravings and treat a lazy eye.
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