After a distressing event, victims and witnesses frequently grapple with intrusive memories. These vivid and painful images seemingly emerge from nowhere in their minds. Such a symptom can endure for years following the triggering incident, and for many, it constitutes the most distressing aspect of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Unraveling the Mystery of Tetris and Intrusive Memories

Tetris and the Brain's Memory Consolidation

Scientists hold the belief that memories are formed during the initial few hours after any experience. During this crucial period, the brain endeavors to consolidate the information received from our senses into a retrievable form later on. Notably, numerous cognitive scientists propose that this process can be disrupted by introducing competing attention-grabbing visuals, similar to the game Tetris.Tetris, like many video games, compels players to focus on the screen and pay close attention to the rapidly moving elements. As each block descends from the top of the screen, we are compelled to quickly determine where it can fit and how to maneuver it into place.

The 2009 Research Study

In 2009, 40 participants were shown a 12-minute film depicting severe injuries and death to safely simulate a traumatic experience. After a 30-minute waiting period, half of the participants engaged in playing Tetris for 10 minutes, while the other half did nothing during those 10 minutes. All participants were then tasked with noting every time they experienced an intrusive memory of the film over the next week. At the week's end, the researchers meticulously tabulated the number of intrusive memories each group had.The findings were astonishing. In the week following the film viewing, those who played Tetris experienced less than half the number of intrusive memories compared to the group that did not play.

Voluntary Memory and Its Preservation

Although there was a significant difference in the frequency of intrusive memories between the two groups, the voluntary memory of the film remained intact. In other words, both groups were able to accurately answer questions about the movie at the week's end. This is of great significance as survivors sometimes need to be able to recall details of traumatic events, such as when discussing it with a therapist or testifying in court.

Follow-up Studies and Their Findings

Different authors have conducted follow-up studies that have validated these initial results. These studies employed similar methodologies and involved survivors of real trauma, including those in the hospital following a serious traffic accident and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of these studies yielded similar outcomes; playing a visually stimulating and attention-grabbing video game after a traumatic experience significantly reduced intrusive memories up to six months later.

Remaining Questions and Concerns

Despite these follow-up studies, several key questions still persist. Would other video games have a similar effect? Would other visual media be effective, such as solving a puzzle, watching a movie, drawing, or looking at a Where’s Waldo book? What would have happened if participants had played Tetris at different times? Would it have been effective if they had played the day after the experience or after a week? What is it about Tetris that might have caused this effect? Was it the requirement for visual attention as researchers suggested, or is there another variable at play? Were there any unintentional biases introduced by the researchers? These studies were not double-blind, meaning the researchers knew which participants were in which condition. This could be addressed, for example, by having all participants follow instructions in a sealed envelope. Do the results persist for long periods of time? There are no studies that have followed up with participants beyond six months.

The Implications and Future Research

Importantly, these studies do not suggest that playing Tetris can reduce existing symptoms of PTSD. At best, a video game can serve as a distraction from distress once symptoms have begun. However, this research does indicate that playing a video game like Tetris may be able to reduce future symptoms if done within a few hours of the traumatic event.More research is needed before recommending this to the public, but the results are promising. If future studies confirm these findings, we might have a cost-effective and widely available "vaccine" for PTSD. It may soon become standard practice for doctors to recommend their patients play games on their phones while in the hospital.