經(jīng)歷過災(zāi)難的人往往會出現(xiàn)一些精神問題，比如：常常不由自主地回想起當(dāng)時的可怕場面。一項新的研究顯示，家喻戶曉的“俄羅斯方塊”游戲或許能幫上忙！因為這種游戲的畫面會與災(zāi)難畫面競爭大腦資源，從而抑制創(chuàng)傷所帶來的影響。看來，除了娛樂，“俄羅斯方塊”沒準(zhǔn)兒日后真能派上心理治療的用場呢！

By Sora Song

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In a follow-up study to their original 2009 research, Oxford University scientists found that playing Tetris after a traumatic event may help prevent flashbacks, the intrusive and unwanted memories of trauma that are the hallmark of post-traumatic stress disorder. They also found that this protective effect may be unique to Tetris; when another computer game was tested, it made people’s flashbacks worse.

In the first of two experiments, researchers had 60 adults (aged 18 to 60) with no history of mental health problems watch a 21-minute film containing traumatic content, like fatal traffic accidents and bloody scenes of human surgery. Such unsettling images—here, a stand-in for real trauma—can be haunting enough to produce mild flashbacks after viewing. Thirty minutes after the film, participants were randomly assigned to three 10-minute tasks: playing Tetris, playing another computer game called Pub Quiz, or just sitting quietly.

During the 10-minute intervention, the researchers found that people in the Tetris group reported fewer flashbacks of images from the film than people in the Pub Quiz and do-nothing groups (there was no difference between the latter two).

Over the following week, the volunteers were also asked to keep a flashback diary, recording when and what memories from the film intruded their thoughts. As the researchers expected, people who played Tetris were significantly less likely to flash back to the movie than people in the no-task group. But more interesting: the volunteers who played Pub Quiz had significantly more flashbacks than either those who did nothing or played Tetris.

The authors theorize that engaging in a visual task like Tetris can be protective after a traumatic event because it interferes with the brain’s ability to lay down visual memories—the same harrowing images that could later return as flashbacks.

The study’s second experiment was essentially the same as the first, except researchers extended the time between the movie and the computer-game task to four hours. Again, Tetris appeared to shield participants from flashbacks during the following week, even though they played the game hours instead of minutes after the traumatic event.

The researchers suggest that if further research bears out their findings, Tetris, or a task like it, could be developed as a kind of “cognitive vaccine” against flashbacks. It could be used as an alternative to other early interventions such as drug treatment and counseling, neither of which has shown much benefit.

Vocabulary

Tetris 俄羅斯方塊。它由俄羅斯人發(fā)明，是一款基于圖像的電子游戲。俄羅斯方塊的基本規(guī)則是移動、旋轉(zhuǎn)和擺放游戲自動輸出的各種方塊，使之排列成完整的一行或多行并且消除得分；由于上手簡單、老少皆宜，從而家喻戶曉、風(fēng)靡全世界

PTSD 創(chuàng)傷后應(yīng)激障礙，是Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder的縮寫，指突發(fā)性、威脅性或災(zāi)難性事件導(dǎo)致個體延遲出現(xiàn)和長期持續(xù)存在的精神障礙，其臨床表現(xiàn)為再度體驗

flashback （往事在記憶中的）突然重現(xiàn)

follow-up study 跟蹤調(diào)查，后續(xù)調(diào)查

traumatic 〈口〉使人不快的，令人痛苦而難忘的。下文出現(xiàn)的trauma是其名詞形式，意思是“（心理上、精神上的）創(chuàng)傷”

intrusive 侵入的，打擾的。下文出現(xiàn)的intrude是其動詞形式，意思是“侵入，打擾”

hallmark 標(biāo)志，特點

fatal 致命的

unsettling 使心緒不寧的，使人不安的

stand-in 代替物

haunting 不易忘懷的，縈繞于心的

mild 輕微的，不嚴(yán)重的

randomly 隨機(jī)地，任意選取地

assign 分配，指派

Pub Quiz 一種基于文字的解密智力游戲

intervention 介入，干預(yù)

theorize 作理論推定（或推測）

engage in 參與，從事

lay down 儲存

harrowing 令人痛苦的

extend 延長

shield 保護(hù)，保衛(wèi)

bear out 證明，證實

cognitive 認(rèn)知的

vaccine 疫苗。這里是比喻用法

alternative 供替代的選擇

counseling （對個人、社會以及心理等問題的）咨詢，咨詢服務(wù)

（來源：英語學(xué)習(xí)雜志）