Playing Tetris Could Prevent Traumatic Memories From Forming - http://clapway.com/2015/07/09/playing-tetris-could-prevent-traumatic-memories-from-forming987/

Research is being done to help trauma victims who have painful flashbacks and memories. Scientists in the United Kingdom are investigating to see if a simple game like Tetris could be helpful.

Scientists based at the University of Cambridge, Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, and the University of Oxford examined subjects who have seen videos of actual traumatic events, including those that result in death, and then had some of them play Tetris as a way to help them rid their mind of those traumatic images.

THIS MIGHT HELP THOSE WITH PTSD

This Tetris treatment might be another avenue for those experience PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. This is most commonly associated with those who are in the military. For those who are experiencing PTSD, they go through all types of treatment such as lifestyle changes, therapy, and medication.

TETRIS MAY HELP REMOVE INVASIVE MEMORIES OF IMAGES

The goal of the researchers was to remove the invasive memories associated with the trauma. These memories can include paralyzing flashbacks that cannot be controlled. There were 56 people that were used in this study. In the experiment, in those people who played Tetris 24 hours after seeing a film containing disturbing video footage, reports showed that fewer of these memories occurred in the days after the initial viewing.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The researchers made a theory that playing the game Tetris reconfigured the visual memory because the brain focuses on both the visual game and the memory of the film.

Although the study admits that it was limited since seeing a traumatic image on TV is different from experiencing it, but the theory does show promise for those who experience traumatic events.

VISUAL TRAUMA IS NOT EXPERIENCED TRAUMA

Psychologists and trauma and crisis intervention specialists are skeptical of the correlation of the study to those who actually experience traumatic events. The comparison of a horror film trauma to the tangible or scent association of an experienced trauma is not there.

Although solid research will have to be done before the Tetris theory can be taken as a serious idea for dealing with post-trauma situations, it is an interesting hypothesis that shows promise nonetheless.

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Playing Tetris Could Prevent Traumatic Memories From Forming

MDMA for treating PTSD? - http://clapway.com/2015/06/28/controversial-study-evaluates-pure-form-of-ecstasy-as-ptsd-treatment-223/

War veterans and scientists have joined hands to fight for the illegal drug MDMA — a purer form of the street drug Ecstasy — to be allowed for medical use, after US research found it may be able to treat post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Research on MDMA clinical utility stopped when it entered the recreational drug scene but has slowly resurrected in the past decade.

WHAT IS PTSD?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), traumatic events and loss are common in people’s lives. Researchers found that an estimated 3.6% of the world’s population has suffers from PTSD; an emotional and behavioural disturbance that can occur after experiencing a very stressful, threatening or catastrophic event. The mental disorder is often associated with the military and combat veterans.

June is National PTSD Awareness month and Saturday was National PTSD Awareness Day.

MDMA: TRUTH OR DARE?

There is limited substantial research in the field and it is not a recommended treatment, but clinical trials with MDMA have shown promising results.

The non-profit organisation Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has conducted research in the controversial area of using the drug MDMA in alleviating PTSD in several test patients.

According to the latest pilot study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, 83% of the subjects receiving MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, no longer met the criteria for PTSD, and experienced significant recovery from symptoms.

The research, has found that those taking the drug in a supervised session, once a month, experienced lasting improvements. Patients reported progress in their general wellbeing three-and-a-half years after treatment, and 68 per cent reported fewer flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive memories.

The study’s authors believe that “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy can be administered to post-traumatic stress disorder patients without evidence of harm, and it may be useful in patients refractory to other treatments”.

DISTINGUISH MDMA FROM ECTASY

According to an article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry currently there is enough evidence for MDMA to be removed from its Schedule 1 status of ‘no medical use’ and be considered alongside other misused but useful medicines such as heroin and amphetamine.

Scientists urge policy makers to distinguish the clinical use of pure MDMA from the recreational use of ecstasy. The reservations about lasting neurophysiological damage, popularised in the 1990s, have since been challenged, gradually validating the low-risk use of moderate and infrequent medically supervised doses of the drug.

Although skepticism is still prevalent today, according to psychiatrists Ben Sessa and David Nutt, with dozens of individuals with post-combat treatment-resistant PTSD dying by suicide every day, “the massive social, financial and clinical burden of untreated PTSD is a far greater risk to society than the low risks associated with using MDMA in the clinical setting”.

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Controversial Study Evaluates Pure Form of Ecstasy as PTSD Treatment

Virtual Reality Systems Used to Treat PTSD and Other Illnesses - http://clapway.com/2015/06/11/virtual-reality-systems-used-to-treat-ptsd-and-other-illnesses-876/

In order to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers, an engineering student from the University of Pittsburgh has used an Oculus virtual reality headset to simulate environments. The researcher, Jennifer Patterson, hopes that therapists and doctors will learn more about how virtual reality can help people recover from PTSD.

 

How can virtual reality systems be used to treat PTSD?

 

Patterson’s research involves using software that creates virtual environments. For example, if a soldier is afraid of certain settings like a road in the desert or a city with Middle Eastern architecture, the headset can simulate those places. Hopefully, after some virtual time in synthetic environments, the soldier will stop avoiding similar ones in real life.

 

What other medical uses have been found for virtual reality headsets?

 

This is not the first use of virtual reality in medical treatment. In the past, researchers have used the Oculus headset in treatments and studies ranging from the treatment of glaucoma to easing pain in burn victims. One of the main advantages to the Oculus system is its affordability. Unlike medical headsets and simulators ranging from $30,000 to $300,000 in price, the Oculus headset is available for developers from $350 to $400. The medical headsets are still needed in certain studies due to their ability to accurately detect sensitive movements and be mounted on other places than a patient’s head. Yet, the Oculus Rift and other cheaper virtual reality headsets are still quickly taking the place of the more expensive medical units.

 

What does the future hold for virtual reality headsets?

 

Facebook has purchased Oculus for $2 billion last year in anticipation of the rise of virtual reality. Mark Zuckerberg thinks virtual reality is the next major computing platform, and he’s taking steps to ensure that. His company plans to make the headsets available in 2016, but developers have had access to prototypes since 2013 in order to stimulate app creation. In fact over, 100,000 headsets have already been distributed to developers. Other tech companies, such as Sony, Samsung Electronics, Microsoft, Google, and HTC are seeking to get in on the market. Some, like Sony’s system, will be solely for video games. Others, like the Oculus Rift, allow scientists and developers to make their own software. Future studies will pit headsets from different companies against each other and see how well they can aid research and recovery.

 

 

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Virtual Reality Systems Used to Treat PTSD and Other Illnesses