Memories and Tetris

Volume 12 Issues 9 September, 2022 

The clock ticks down. You stare at the white paper sheet in front of you. It is empty, expecting lines of ink to be etched. Your wrack the shelves of your brain, praying some little tidbit of information is lying somewhere in the corner. You keep searching, with the preemptive dread filling you up as you know deep down, you are not gonna write this answer.

We’ve all been there. We’ve all wished for a photographic memory or an eidetic memory or what have you. The art of remembering seems to be an elusive quest that we have all been pursuing, always trying but never mastering. A strong memory is envied, and the perceivably weaker ones try various tricks and devices to achieve memory to the same extent. But is a strong memory really all that’s made out to be?

Let’s talk briefly about consolidation, the root of all memory. When we intake in new data from our surroundings, our Hippocampus takes up the task of keeping the important parts of it in store for quick retrieval later. Almost all our sensory information is considered junk, but a very little constituent of it is valuable, and that’s the part our Hippocampus metaphorically salivates over. It takes the short-term data and converts it into long-term memory, by way of synaptic pathways, the whole mechanism is a story for another day. But basically, it makes memories, and later when we need it, we can access it for our faculties. The hippocampus often has a tendency to make stronger memories of the things that have strong emotions attached. Like our first kiss, the guy we used to obsess over, that feeling of getting the first rank. Thus, emotions have a huge impact on the things we remember. But what if this mechanism backfires?

A classic example of this is PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A traumatic event is a huge problem for the body, both externally and internally. Coming to the mind, it faces extraordinarily impactful stimuli. Instead of the usual sorting out of data, the brain now has to deal with a large sense of emotions attached to the stimuli. What results next is formation of long term intrusive memories, often resulting in the sequelae of PTSD. A major chunk of life spent waking up to nightmares, phasing out in real life and thoughts shaped around your worst memories. Doesn’t sound that good now.

A few years ago, I had to face a traumatic event. I felt like curling up on the cold ground and stopping to function. To be stuck at that moment forever. But I didn’t do that. Instead I used some coping mechanisms. One of them was that I played Tetris, a sort of tool to distract myself. To becalm the thoughts running like a freight train on a sunny morning. And surprisingly, it actually turned out to be one of the best things I ever did. I found out that Tetris is a great tool to prevent long term trauma effects.

Why though? What’s with Tetris? It sounds ridiculous at first. A video game while undergoing a process of extreme grief and stress will help us stop it’s effects later? First of all, Tetris is not a substitute for professional help and medication. Anyone who feels the need should unavoidably seek guidance and therapy. Mental health experts are the best resources who can help with managing emotions and desires. The need often arises in situations of extreme grief and trauma, and help should positively be seeked. But we still need to talk about this wonderful arcade game. There is some compelling research to this.

Tetris has shown to help with intrusive thoughts often associated with PTSD. Intrusive thoughts are the consolidated memories that prod your brain at variable times of your daily functioning, often associated with visual flashbacks. They cause mental unrest, agitation and may even manifest physically.

So how do we stop this? By interrupting it at the root. Scientists hypothesised that the memories being formed after facing trauma can be disrupted by performing a visuo-spatial cognitive task. Your classic ‘hand-eye coordination’. Here comes our game. That’s the exact sort of thingamajig your brain does while playing Tetris. When you’re engaging in the activity, the brain gets actively engaged in the task. While focussing on it, the process where the ‘bad’ memories are consolidated into its strong repetitively intrusive form is decimated. The playing becomes a sort of ‘cognitive vaccine.’ In a research project, the participants were shown a movie with a lot of disturbingly traumatic scenes. Half of the participants were then asked to play Tetris while the other half acted as control. They were asked to report a week later about the number of times they had recurring memories and flashbacks from the film.

There was a significant reduction in the group that played Tetris. Isn’t that cool? The research is still emerging, and nothing concrete has been established yet. But the results are promising. I have come a long way now. With my mind in a dynamic state of good health, I shall engage in some active research of my own. For my own research studies, I will be playing World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. Lots of research ahead.