Long-term memory
Can playing Tetris reduce intrusive memories of trauma?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Playing a visuospatial computer game like Tetris after reactivating a consolidated emotional memory significantly reduces the frequency of subsequent involuntary intrusions.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Consolidation stabilises a memory; it does not seal it.
A consolidated memory remains modifiable. When an analogue trauma memory was reactivated 24 hours after encoding and followed by a visuospatial task, later intrusive images were reduced (d = 1.14 against a no-task control), while recognition memory for the film was unchanged.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
The design's control conditions are the evidence: neither reminder nor task worked on its own.
The reactivation-plus-task combination, not either component, produced the effect. Only the group that saw reminder cues, waited, and then played Tetris reported fewer intrusive images over the following week (d = 1.14 versus no-task control; d = 0.84 versus Tetris alone and d = 1.11 versus reactivation alone in Experiment 2).
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Both studies moved how a memory felt while leaving what was remembered alone.
What changed was the involuntary, emotional component rather than the factual record. Recognition memory for the film was intact after the Tetris intervention, and unconsciously induced smiling during reactivation lowered the negative evaluation of a story without affecting recall of its details or general mood.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
These studies target the same outcome — fewer, less distressing intrusions — through incompatible mechanisms. The reconsolidation account requires the memory to be destabilised by reactivation and then updated; the suppression account requires ongoing prefrontal control over an unchanged memory. Neither study measures the other's mechanism, so the corpus cannot currently separate them.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
These studies target the same outcome — fewer, less distressing intrusions — through incompatible mechanisms. The reconsolidation account requires the memory to be destabilised by reactivation and then updated; the suppression account requires ongoing prefrontal control over an unchanged memory. Neither study measures the other's mechanism, so the corpus cannot currently separate them.
Discoveries this paper informs or conflicts with
- Intrusive memories can be reduced after they have already consolidated
This paper informs this development.
- An unconscious smile softened how a sad memory felt — without changing the facts
This paper informs this development.
Inspect source passages
Can playing Tetris reduce intrusive memories of trauma?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
Fifty-two participants in Experiment 1
Fifty-two participants (31 females, 21 males; age range = 18–51 years) were recruited from two local university campuses and from the general public via advertisements in an online newspaper and in the community.
24 hr delay before the intervention
The two sessions were conducted 24 hr apart to within 2 hr of the original testing time.
Key findings
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.
Methodology
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.
Limitations
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.
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