Tetris Gives You Thicker Brain Meats
A study conducted by neuroscientist Richard Haier has determined that performing a “challenging visuospatial task” like Tetris can actually alter the structure of your brain.
Or at least the brains of adolescent girls, who were the subject of the study, funded by Tetris marketer Blue Planet Software. Adolescent girls’ brains are still developing, as any adolescent boy can tell you, so their brains are more susceptible to the sort of change Haier was looking for, and change he indeed found. The girls were given MRI scans before and after three months of Tetris, and after the testing period it was found that certain areas (in blue above) showed greater efficiency, while others (in red) showed thicker cortexes, indicating more brain matter.
Future benefits of this study, says co-investigator Dr. Richard Haier, might be to “demonstrate that a player of Tetris does see lasting effects that generalize to other activity,” showing for example that engaging in activities like playing some games might help fight off the mental decline that occurs with aging.
The full study is being published in Thursday’s BMC Research Notes, but we get the general gist. Adolescent girls who play Tetris on a regular basis grow up to be completely awesome.
How Tetris Changes Your Brain [Wired]
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
maybe thats another reason why woman are better than men at Tetris
@excaleranth: I like the clear plastic ones that come in many colors. It's fun to look through them.
@Yossarian: Did you really just make a pathetic sexist joke where you related a womans brain to her desire to shop?
Grow up.
When I read the title I immediately thought of this...
hyperblackchi
*cough*Tetripong*cough*
I miss playing Tetris.
Kitty
at the expense of other areas.
mutedia
@FiendishMoogle: Also, they never mention a control. One interesting thing is just how much hormones affect brain plasticity. Get normal girls, and the results probably won't be anywhere near as striking (if they even were, these studies can be completely bogus).
HarlequinRiot
@Togala: only if it's the "Living Dead" zombies. if it's the Romero Dead zombies, or the modern day sprinter zombies, it won't really matter.
Covertghost
02:17 PM
Wait... Tetris Marketer?
What corner of the earth is left that is unaware of Tetris' awesomeness.
@Covertghost: Coca-Cola is pretty much known by every human being alive and it does have a marketer too.
@hobob: MMMM tripe.
/tetris attack will make brains explode. Especially in vs mode with an equally skilled player.
Nothing beats dumping giant pissed off looking blocks on your opponents screen.
@FiendishMoogle:
The brain, like the rest of the body, functions as a muscle. If you regularly exercise different parts of it, those parts get stronger. If presented with a different stimuli, your brain would do the same, but exercise separate parts.
@Salen: That was funny. :D
@Slothboy: That's part of the new PS3 "Does Everything" campaign.
@Monkeyfetus: The green spot is obviously the part of their brains that worries about having money to spend on clothes.
I'm just amazed it was such a small area.
@Monkeyfetus: You need to fill that spot with the right piece to make that line go away. It's also a TRIPE SCORE!
hobob
@Togala: Do you hear that? It sounds like... zombies.
ZeroJutsu is self-aware
Interesting, though I wonder: How much does this differ from the normal brain development in Adolescent girls? Was there a control group? Also, what's that green spot?
Monkeyfetus
@zgreenwell: yeah, I was wondering how much was just a function of the brain still developing, for precisely the reasons they chose the girls "Adolescent girls' brains are still developing...so their brains are more susceptible to the sort of change Haier was looking for.."
8-bittramp
I saw something on tv that showed that whatever it is that you do, your brain changes accordingly and thus you should simply practice and do whatever you need to do. Sure Tetris does something to your brain, but will it change your brain in a way that actually benefits you, or will you simply be better at things like Tetris?
I take issue with many facets of this investigation:
Most clearly, this could easily be nothing more than a transitory practice effect. Doing -anything- for 3 months with enough intensity can alter brain neural processing because it's a -plastic- system. Learning to play the piano for 3 months will alter your motor cortex, etc. The brain can adapt to be more efficient in performing prominent tasks. The effect is still interesting, but jumping to a conclusion of a life-long 'growing up awesome' effect is spurious.
It's also important to note that being better at a visual-spatial task is not equivalent to being 'smarter' in a general sense. This is a highly specialized form of processing which is only relevant to certain spatial tasks in everyday life (i.e. driving). When applying this to the elderly, it should be noted that most research on aging deficits suggests they are not deficient in more fundamental processes such as visual processing, but rather higher-order cognitive mechanisms such as attention. Some kind of 'Tetris training' would be largely ineffectual at mitigating this deficiency.
Finally, industry funded research is highly criticized in the scientific community and should be taken with a grain of salt due to an inherent bias in funding.
This research topic is essentially pop psychology at its worst.
@kainzero: Imagine what would have happened without the Tetris.
liquidnumb
I play Tetris every single day on my girlfriend´s DS and ocasionally on my old GB. It´s one of those games that never makes me tired, ever. I absolutely love it and it´s cool to see studies like this one.
@Bryan_: Hey, I love this idea a lot... :D I´d like to participate too!!
@Salen: The downside on girls getting brains is boys.. not getting... brains... cough...
kadjin
@Outkastprince: oh, is there really any question as to where the big long stick fits?
@Slothboy: they probably chose to only release the results for girls because the tests on boys went completely wrong. Their brains probably shrunk and they became mindless zombies in the quest for the high score...
kadjin
@Sonira - not a zombie!: I love big, firm, bouncing... brains.
@Sonira - not a zombie!: I met a few girls that played Tetris on a regular basis. They all were not completely awesome, most were not even fractionally awesome and deserved to have an I-piece shoved in their... well, you get the point.
@excaleranth: I hope we get slide rulers then.
@Dedwan / Deadpool:
AM I the only one that noticed that Ronald McDonald moves like a drunken boxer in that video?
The Swearing Gramps
@OW-Holmes--Upset with Polling: HA! Nice point out.
Darkly Dreaming svenhoek
The "Tetris Makes you Smarter" article right next to the ridiculous Tetris Haircut amuses me.
Apparently it doesn't develop the "make good life decisions" part of the brain.
OW-Holmes--Upset with Polling
@Sonira - not a zombie!: yes... large luscious man boobs... oh wait... thats a bad thing
stoneflysoldier
Interesting... maybe explains why I can beat all my friends without trying at Tetris DS?
@I Am Error: Also, adolescent girls after three months of cheeseburgers developed a truly enviable shape!
This is the doctor who made the research:
Dedwan / Deadpool
Those who play tetris will be the tastiest during the zombie apocalypse.
Togala
@Sonira - not a zombie!: We will have new rulers in our society.
excaleranth
"Adolescent girls who play Tetris on a regular basis grow up to be completely awesome."
This sentence amuses me so much.
@Slothboy: Play Tetris, Get Boobs!
That'd be an interesting ad campaign.
Lol TGM3 Shirase will definitely do this to your brain alright.
In the Groove probably has the same effect to a degree I would assume
Keashoto
What version is this? Did it use ARS or SRS?
SRS is for nooobs.
"... funded by Tetris marketer Blue Planet Software."
*RECORD SCRATCH*
So the research they funded cast their product in a positive light, eh? I'm surprised the study didn't also find that playing Tetris caused these same adolescent girls to develop huge breasts and become the prom queen.
Hmmm interesting. I wonder if playing a game like Dr. Mario also has as much an effect on your brain. I am a huge Dr. Mario fan. I am ranked pretty high in Dr. Mario rx.
CartesianDualist
9 out of 10 zombie doctors recommend that you play more Tetris. Go get that brain nice and big and juicy...
So THAT'S why my mom always beats me at Tetris.
Glames
@Bryan_: I'd actually participate. Nothing say cool kids then winning the Tetris Tournament.
Outkastprince
So, is there a control group in this study?
Give me Puyo Puyo Fever.
bkld18
Ah sweet. So next time I'm a bit hungry, get them to play tetris..I get it. Thanks Fahey!
"Adolescent girls' brains are still developing, as any adolescent boy can tell you.."
LOL..oh man.
The study was funded by Tetris marketer Blue Planet Software so I don't know if its findings are to be taking as a reliable scientific source; with that said one can add that many other studies agree that this kind of games in general do exercise the brain more than other games and if they are not making you smarter than at least they are not making you dumber.
Thicker brain matter do to playing this kinds of games is a new one to me though.
We already knew that girls who play games grow up to be completely awesome.
Slow news day? :P
Wahrheit
@Bryan_: God I love Tetrinet. That game was the cherry ontop of the Lan-party cake.
This is your brain.
This is your brain on Tetris.
This is your brain on Lumines.
Any questions?
Yes, tetris is a downer and lumines is an upper.
Insert photoshop of a brain made of Tetris blocks here...wait, brains are rounded.
I think we should all load up our Tetrinet clients and have a Kotaku Tetris Tournament.
I agree with the study. Years of trying to figure out where the big long stick fits has fucked up my brain.
This is your brain, This is your fucked up brains on Tetris. Any questions?
Outkastprince
I used to have Tetris on my TI-84... wonder if i still do....
-Skyline-: Voted Crecente 12'
either that or tetris gives you a fat head :D
exion
This is your brain.
This is your brain on Drugs.
Now this is your brain on Tetris.
@kainzero: That is because they didn't play enough Tetris.
Tetris and Dr. Mario. That's what I did at my dad's growing up. Mmm, nostalgia...
Selya