Well scanning various stories today on Kotaku I came across this new research in the field of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. An Oxford University research group took a group of volunteers and exposed them to video depicting various forms of traumatic events. After thirty minutes half the group played the video game Tetris, and the other half did nothing. The study showed significant reduction of traumatic experience in the volunteers who played Tetris.How does it work? The left side of our brain is responsible for taking in data, this data is held for a short period until the brain amalgamates these senses together to make a long term memory and moves the data to the right side of our brain. By playing Tetris within six hours of the event the patients mind becomes overloaded and unable to retain all the details from the trauma reducing its affects.
Could video games be hidden solutions for other mental health conditions?
for further details see..
Oxford Study
I love it! Do you think other video games, like the online RPG's, would have the same effect though? There's just something so simple and focusing about Tetris..
ReplyDeleteThe combination of the repeating motion/colors/puzzle solving style of Tetris is what makes it effective. Rather then RPG's which wouldn't stimulate that many portions of the brain.
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