Can playing Tetris reduce intrusive memories of trauma?
Playing a visuospatial computer game like Tetris after reactivating a consolidated emotional memory significantly reduces the frequency of subsequent involuntary intrusions.
Source
Computer Game Play Reduces Intrusive Memories of Experimental Trauma via Reconsolidation-Update Mechanisms
What they did
In Experiment 1, Fifty-two participants watched a trauma film and, 24 hr later, either completed a memory-reactivation task followed by playing Tetris (n = 26), or completed a control task (n = 26). In Experiment 2, we compared four experimental groups by splitting Seventy-two participants into groups where n = 18 in each (reactivation-plus-Tetris, Tetris-only, reactivation-only, and no-task control). In both experiments, participants recorded their spontaneous, involuntary visual memories of the film in a diary for 7 days.
What they found
In Experiment 1, the reactivation-plus-Tetris group had significantly fewer intrusive memories over the subsequent week compared to the control group, with a large effect size (d = 1.14). Experiment 2 replicated this effect, showing that the reactivation-plus-Tetris group had significantly fewer intrusions than the no-task control group (d = 1.00), the Tetris-only group (d = 0.84), and the reactivation-only group (d = 1.11). These results suggest that playing the game is only effective at reducing intrusions when the consolidated memory is actively reactivated first.
The limits
What it doesn't show
First, this study relied on an analogue trauma model using a distressing video, which does not fully replicate the clinical complexity, severity, or real-world environment of experiencing an actual life-threatening traumatic event. Second, the study did not compare Tetris with other types of games, leaving it unclear if the effect is specific to visuospatial tasks or if any highly engaging cognitive task (like a verbal game) would produce similar results. Finally, because recognition memory for the film remained fully intact, the intervention did not erase the memory itself, meaning the cognitive mechanism only prevents the memory from involuntarily intruding.
Key terms
- Reconsolidation
- The process whereby reactivation of a previously consolidated memory renders it malleable, requiring restabilization for the memory to persist.
- Intrusive memories
- Recurrent, involuntary, and distressing mental images of a traumatic event that appear spontaneously in a person's mind.
- Visuospatial task
- A cognitive activity that requires the processing and manipulation of visual and spatial information, such as mental rotation.
- Consolidation
- The time-dependent process through which newly acquired, fragile emotional memories are stabilized and integrated into long-term storage.
- Intrusion-provocation task (IPT)
- A laboratory measure where participants view blurred static images from a traumatic film to trigger and count resulting involuntary memories.
- Working memory
- A limited-capacity cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information needed for complex mental tasks.
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Common questions
Why did participants have to wait 24 hr before playing Tetris?
The 24 hr delay ensured that the traumatic memory was already fully consolidated and stable, allowing researchers to test if they could disrupt an established memory during its reconsolidation phase rather than just blocking its initial consolidation.
Did playing Tetris erase the participants' memory of the film?
No, the participants' deliberate, conscious recognition memory for the details of the film remained completely intact, showing that the intervention specifically targeted the involuntary, intrusive nature of the memories without erasing the facts of the event.
Can any video game reduce trauma intrusions, or does it have to be Tetris?
The study specifically used Tetris because it is a highly demanding visuospatial task that competes for the same sensory and working memory resources needed to form visual mental images; whether verbal or non-visuospatial games would work remains untested here.
How does memory reactivation trigger the vulnerability window?
Presenting reminder cues (like still images from the film) temporarily reactivates the consolidated memory, making it unstable and malleable again for a short period, during which a competing task can interfere with its restorage.
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