A Series of Events: Tetris and PTSD

  • Researcher Begins Study

  • Traumatic event occurs

    Traumatic event occurs
    In psychology professor Emily Holmes' study, subjects were ER patients that just suffered a traumatic motor vehicle accident. EXAMPLE: At 11:46 p.m. on March 20, a victim named Jane who just suffered a car crash is taken to the hospital.
  • Researchers administer intervention

    Researchers administer intervention
    Half the victims in the study received the intervention from researchers, which consisted of briefly recalling the traumatic event and then playing Tetris within six hours of the accident. EXAMPLE: At 3:01 a.m., a little more than 3 hours after Jane had suffered her accident and reached the hospital, she is asked to briefly recall the car crash and then play Tetris for 20 minutes.
  • Frequency of Intrusive Memories Decrease

    Frequency of Intrusive Memories Decrease
    In the week immediately following
  • Researchers Hypothesis Validated

  • Study is Published in Molecular Psychiatry