Empowering Well-Being: Technology as an Ally Against Stress

Could Playing Tetris Alleviate PTSD Symptoms?

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:46:00 GMT

Could Playing Tetris Alleviate PTSD Symptoms? A Groundbreaking Study Investigates

Researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found promising results suggesting that playing the classic computer game, Tetris, might provide relief to individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This intriguing concept was driven by the persistent and involuntary recurrence of traumatic visual memories, a significant symptom of PTSD.

The Study's Backdrop:

Previous research by Professor Emily Holmes and her team indicated that playing Tetris shortly after watching a horror film could reduce flashbacks in healthy individuals.

The recent study aimed to determine if this effect extends to PTSD patients, who are haunted by traumatic memories, often from years ago.

Methodology:

20 inpatients diagnosed with complex PTSD participated in the study.

Along with regular therapy sessions, these patients engaged in a unique intervention. They penned down a traumatic memory, tore the paper (without discussing its content), and subsequently played Tetris for 25 minutes.

The patients tracked various flashbacks in a diary, targeting specific ones during each intervention week by week.

Findings:

The frequency of targeted flashbacks decreased in the days and weeks after the Tetris intervention. In contrast, the non-targeted ones remained largely unchanged.

The total number of targeted flashbacks reduced by an average of 64%, while those not targeted saw only an 11% decline.

16 out of 20 patients responded positively to the intervention.

The Science Behind It:

Researchers believe that visualizing traumatic memories activates visuospatial processing areas in the brain, similar areas activated when playing Tetris. When these two tasks overlap, interference happens. This interference might make the traumatic memory trace temporarily unstable, potentially weakening its subsequent storage and reducing flashbacks.

Next Steps and Limitations:

While the findings are promising, this is an early-stage study. Further research with larger sample sizes and control conditions is necessary to solidify the conclusions. Importantly, as Professor Kessler emphasizes, while this intervention might offer temporary relief from flashbacks, it is not a replacement for comprehensive trauma therapy.

Source: [Ruhr-University Bochum. (2019, January 8). Post-traumatic stress disorder: alleviating flashbacks by playing Tetris. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 8, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190108095114.htm]

Antibiotic levels measurable in breath

SL180688_20210514170718 — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 18:25:19 GMT

Antibiotic levels measurable in breath

Our team of engineers and biotechnologists at the University of Freiburg has for the first time shown in mammals that the concentration of antibiotics in the body can be determined using breath samples. The breath measurements also corresponded to the antibiotic concentrations in the blood.

The team's biosensor -- a multiplex chip that allows simultaneous measurement of several specimens and test substances -- will in future enable personalized dosing of medicines against infectious diseases on-site and help to minimize the development of resistant strains of bacteria.

[H. Ceren Ates, et all. Biosensor‐Enabled Multiplexed On‐Site Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Antibiotics. Advanced Materials, 2021]

ANIMAL STUDY LOOKS AT ANXIETY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FEMALES AND MALES.

SL180688_20210514170718 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 09:22:17 GMT

Anxiety differences between women and men

ANIMAL STUDY LOOKS AT ANXIETY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FEMALES AND MALES.

��‍��Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine recently studied the behaviors associated with anxiety -- published in Psychopharmacology -- examining how biological factors impact anxiety disorders, specifically in females. They found that anxiety in females intensifies when there's a specific, life-relevant condition.

��‍��The team, led by Thatiane De Oliveira Sergio, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Woody Hopf, PhD, professor of psychiatry and primary investigator at Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, studied male and female rodent models to better understand sex differences in biological responses related to anxiety.

��Anxiety disorders occur in twice as often in women than men, and social and cultural factors likely play an important role in the development of anxiety in females, De Oliveira said.

��‍♀️The COVID-19 pandemic heavily influenced anxiety in people. De Oliveira said the roles for many women have amplified during the pandemic -- working remotely, teaching children in virtual school, everyday tasks, errands. She said these life-relevant conditions could have increased their anxiety.

Through studying both male and female rodent models, they found that females and males were very different in their response to the most life-relevant aspects related to anxiety, Hopf said.

��‍⚕️Previous studies support the idea that anxiety in females is focused on the most life-relevant aspects of a situation, Hopf said, which aligned with their findings.

Journal Reference: [Thatiane De Oliveira Sergio, Leah Wetherill, Claudina Kwok, Farrah Khoyloo, Frederic W. Hopf. Sex differences in specific aspects of two animal tests of anxiety-like behavior. Psychopharmacology, 2021].

Page Reference: [ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 July 2021. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210708143929.htm].