Tetris Might Help Prevent PTSD Flashbacks

I am always amazed at the creativity of researchers and the questions they ask. Emily Holmes and her Oxford colleagues [1] followed a very interesting line of reasoning in their investigation of the use of Tetris in preventing PTSD flashbacks:

1. The brain has limited capacity for processing information within a given window of time.
2. Other research suggests a 6-hr. window for consolidating memory [2, 3].
3. Flashbacks of trauma involve sensation and perception, ergo…..
4. Competition with a sensory experience like playing Tetris might interfere with the consolidation necessary to produce flashbacks.

Participants Played Tetris After Watching a Traumatic Film

The Oxford group points out that other efforts to prevent flashbacks, such as propanolol administration in emergency rooms [4], raise ethical and practical issues, suggesting that the discovery of other methods would be helpful. This is especially significant as children are more susceptible than adults to PTSD, particularly following automobile accidents. I’m not sure I follow the authors’ argument about how propanolol has greater risk of interfering with memories necessary for effectively serving as a witness while the Tetris approach would leave those memories intact at the same time the sensory interference prevents flashbacks. Perhaps more exploratory research would be helpful in comparing and contrasting these two promising methods.

“Trauma” was initiated by watching films of injury and death, followed by random assignment to Tetris and alternate activity groups. One week later, the group that played Tetris reported fewer flashbacks related to the traumatic film. Although the film technique is argued to produce PTSD-like experiences, we also need to recognize that this isn’t exactly combat. Also, I would have liked the researchers to include another type of task as a control group, not just “no task.” If the idea is to use a visuospatial task like Tetris, perhaps listening to music with eyes closed would work.

Playing Tetris Reduced Frequency of Flashbacks

I have to confess that Tetris has always been one of my favorite computer games–so compelling that long ago I stopped loading it onto my computer. You know you’ve played too much Tetris when you walk around thinking about how the objects you see might fit together. I’m glad that this old stand-by has the potential to help prevent one of our more troubling disorders.

1.  Holmes, E.A., James, E.L., Coode-Bate, T., & Deeprose, C. (2009).  Can playing the computer game “Tetris” reduce build-up of flashbacks for trauma? A proposal from cognitive science. PLoS One, 4(1): e4153. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004153

2.  Nader, K. (2003). Memory traces unbound. Trends in Neurosciences, 26, 65–72.

3. Walker, M.P., Brakefield, T., Hobson, J.A., & Stickgold, R. (2003) Dissociable stages of human memory consolidation and reconsolidation. Nature, 425, 616–620.

4. Pitman, R.K., Sanders, K.M., Zusman, R.M., Healy, A.R., Cheema, F., et al. (2002). Pilot study of secondary prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder with propranolol. Biological Psychiatry, 51, 189–192.