メディエイゴ

In earlier laboratory work(1) the Oxford team showed that playing Tetris(2) after traumatic(3) events could reduce memory flashbacks(4) in healthy volunteers. These are a laboratory model(5) of the types of intrusive memories(6) associated with(7) post-traumatic stress disorder(8) (PTSD).

In this new experimental(9) study the researchers(10) compared the effectiveness(11) of Tetris at reducing flashbacks with Pub Quiz Machine 2008(12), a word-based(13) quiz game. They found that whilst(14) playing Tetris after viewing traumatic images reduced flashbacks by contrast(15) playing Pub Quiz increased the frequency(16) of flashbacks.

A report of the research is published in this week’s edition of the journal PLoS ONE(17).

In two separate experiments, the team showed a film to healthy volunteers that included traumatic images of injury from a variety of(18) sources, including adverts(19) highlighting(20) the dangers of drink driving(21) -- a recognised way to study the effects of trauma(22) in the laboratory.

In the first experiment, after waiting for 30 minutes, 20 volunteers played Tetris for 10 minutes, 20 played Pub Quiz, in which they had to select one of four on-screen(23) answers, for 10 minutes and 20 did nothing. Those who had played Tetris experienced significantly fewer flashbacks of the film than those who did nothing, whilst those who played Pub Quiz experienced significantly more flashbacks.

In the second experiment, this wait was extended to four hours, with 25 volunteers in each group. Those who played Tetris again had significantly fewer flashbacks that the other two groups. In both experiments, all groups were equally able to recall specific details of the film.