Trauma, treatment and Tetris: video gaming increases hippocampal volume in male patients with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder

Summary & key facts

In a small randomized study of 40 male military patients with combat-related PTSD, adding daily Tetris play to usual EMDR therapy was linked with increases in hippocampal volume after treatment. The Tetris group played 60 minutes per day for about 6 weeks in addition to EMDR. Increases in hippocampal volume in the Tetris group were associated with larger reductions in PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms between the end of therapy and a 6-month follow-up. The study could not tell whether effects came from Tetris interfering with traumatic memories or from general brain training, and results are limited by the small, all-male sample.

Key facts:

• The study randomly assigned 40 male inpatients with combat-related PTSD to two groups: 20 to EMDR plus daily Tetris and 20 to EMDR only.
• Participants in the Tetris group played Tetris for 60 minutes every day from the start to the end of therapy, about 6 weeks.
• All participants had MRI scans and questionnaires before and after therapy; questionnaires were repeated about 6 months later.
• Hippocampal volume increased after therapy in the Tetris group but did not increase in the EMDR-only control group.
• In the Tetris group, increases in hippocampal volume were correlated with reductions in PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms between the end of therapy and the 6-month follow-up; this correlation was not seen in the control group.
• Four participants did not complete the study: 2 from the Tetris group and 2 from the control group.
• All participants were screened to exclude current or past psychosis, substance abuse, use of psychotropic medication, history of concussion or traumatic brain injury, and MRI contraindications.
• The authors note a key limitation: the study could not distinguish whether Tetris worked by disrupting memory reconsolidation (cognitive interference) or by acting as a brain-training intervention.

Abstract

Tetris may be useful as an adjunct therapeutic intervention for PTSD. Tetris-related increases in hippocampal volume may ensure that therapeutic gains are maintained after completion of therapy.

Topics

Identity, Memory, and Therapy Memory and Neural Mechanisms Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Anxiety Clinical psychology Cognition Cognitive therapy Computer science Desensitization (medicine) Eating disorders Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing Hippocampal formation Internal medicine Medicine Multimedia Neuroscience Posttraumatic stress Psychiatry Psychology Receptor Video game

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety PTSD Anxiety or worry Sadness or low mood