Official News page 7

REAL LIFE NEWS: SEE, I TOLD YOU GAMES WERE GOOD FOR YOU

by Hazed

Playing computer games can be an effective treatment for depression, working at least as well as medication, if not better. That's the result of a recent clinical study carried out by East Carolina University's Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic.

We're not talking about spending hours playing Fed, or console games such as Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty Black Ops. Instead the study used "family friendly" casual games.

In the study, 59 subjects who all met "the criteria of clinical depression" were seated in front of a computer "in a room with minimal distractions (blank walls, no outside view, minimal noise)". A control group surfed a mental health website for half an hour, and the test subjects played a casual game for the same length of time.

Each subject was given a whole load of tests before, during and after - psychophysiology, biochemical and psychological tests - and according to the team, the game players "experienced an average reduction in depression symptoms of 57%". This lessening of symptoms wasn't just short-term but continued up to a month after playing.

Sounds encouraging, although there are a couple of problems with the study. For one thing, surfing a mental health website isn't actually a neutral activity. For another, the study was paid for by the developer of the three games used in the study. This doesn't mean the results are bogus but it's something to be aware of.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/07/popcap_study_shows_casual_games_reduce_depression/

Fed2 Star index Previous issues Fed 2 home page