Treating Trauma With ‘Tetris’
Pacific Standard:
Memory reconsolidation—the method that involves re-exposing a patient to a past memory and then updating it while in this allegedly malleable state—has potentially major implications for people who suffer from PTSD flashbacks. But proposed methods for implementation haven’t been so sensitive to traumatized individuals. Clinical trials for propranolol have seen mixed results, and electro-convulsive therapy could potentially re-traumatize the very people it’s trying to treat.
But now, research appears to have landed on an effective, even enjoyable, reconsolidation regimen—playing Tetris. In a new study published in Psychological Science, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet present evidence that the ’80s-era tile game can diminish the frequency of traumatic flashbacks if played after re-experiencing original, traumatic memories.
Read the whole story: Pacific Standard
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