The 1980s video game shows to produce a notable separateence with intrusive memories.
A recent study led by researchers at Uppsala University has uncovered promising results for a modest yet effective intervention in alleviating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research, unveiled in BMC Medicine, intensifyes on the employ of video games, particularly the well-understandn Tetris game that has been around for decades, to help reduce intrusive memories, a core and sometimes debilitating symptom of the condition.
PTSD is frequently labeled by intrusive, troubleing memories or flashbacks, where individuals vividly recall traumatic events as if reliving them. These flashbacks can be debilitating, impacting a person’s overall mental health, sleep, concentration, and ability to join in daily activities. Traditionpartner, treatments for PTSD include therapy sessions, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or expocertain therapy, frequently requiring multiple nominatements with a trained clinician. However, this novel research presents a modestr, much less pricey intervention that individuals can easily access at home.
The study included healthnurture toilers who had been exposed to traumatic stress while toiling on the frontlines during the COVID pandemic. The researchers were particularly interested in how a one session of directd treatment, including the game Tetris, could substantipartner reduce the frequency and cut offity of flashbacks.
Emily Holmes, a professor at Uppsala University and directer of the study, conveyed chooseimism about the discoverings, stating, “It is possible to reduce the frequency of unpleasant and intrusive memories of trauma, and thereby also mitigate other PTSD symptoms. With fair one directd treatment session, we saw chooseimistic effects that persisted after five weeks and even six months after treatment.”
The Tetris-based treatment leverages a concept understandn as “mental rotation,” a cognitive task central to the gamecarry out of Tetris. In the game, carry outers must menhighy rotate and manipurescheduleed separateent-shaped blocks to fit them into a grid. The visual joinment and mental task of manipulating these shapes need presentant cognitive resources, which, according to Holmes and her colleagues, “can disturb the brain’s ability to recarry out intrusive memories. This sidetrackion obstructs the trauma-rcontent flashbacks from becoming presentantly ingrained.”
To test their theory, the researchers recruited 164 participants. All of them were healthnurture professionals who had been exposed to traumatic experiences during the pandemic. The participants were splitd into two groups. Both groups were asked to watch their intrusive memories for one week, noting the frequency of flashbacks. Afterward, one group was asked to join in a visual task—carry outing Tetris—while the regulate group joind in a non-visual task, such as hearing to the radio.
The results were striking. At the commencening of the study, participants directd an unrelabelable of 15 flashbacks per week. Five weeks after the intervention, those in the regulate group, who had not joind in the visual task, still directd about five flashbacks per week. In contrast, the group that carry outed Tetris game inestablished an unrelabelable of fair one flashback per week. Even more astonishing, the profits of the treatment persisted for months. Six months rescheduleedr, the group that carry outed Tetris persistd to show a presentant reduction in the overall cut offity of PTSD symptoms. In contrast, the regulate group saw less betterment.
The effectiveness of the Tetris intervention was meacertaind using the PTSD Checkcatalog for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a expansively determined tool for appraiseing PTSD symptoms. The Tetris group showed almost half the PTSD symptoms appraised to the regulate group. This result points to the potential of such a inestablish intervention as a priceless tool for punctual treatment.
The study also presentd the concept of a “cognitive vaccine,” a tool that could be employd in the aftermath of trauma to obstruct the onset of more cut offe PTSD symptoms. Much enjoy how vaccines are employd to obstruct physical dismitigates, Holmes envisions a future where mental health tools, enjoy the Tetris-based intervention, could be deal withed after traumatic events to obstruct the increasement of PTSD.
This modest, creative approach presents novel hope for individuals struggling with PTSD, presenting that even inestablish, focemployd interventions can present nastyingful and lasting betterments.
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