From EMDR to Tetris: could AI help prevent traumatic memories taking hold?

What if AI could be used to intervene in the hours or days after a frightening event, helping to prevent distressing memories from becoming entrenched?

Recently I have been reading about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), a therapy used to help treat PTSD and trauma. The concept is surprisingly simple: a patient recalls a difficult memory while following side-to-side eye movements or other forms of rhythmic stimulation, such as tapping. This appears to help the brain reprocess the memory until it becomes less emotionally overwhelming. Scientists still debate exactly why it works, but EMDR has become a well-established treatment for trauma [1].

Reading about this led me to an even stranger piece of research.

Imagine you're sitting by the side of the road after a car crash waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Someone (probably a medical professional rather than a random stranger, I imagine) walks over, hands you a games console and tells you to play Tetris.

It sounds absurd, but researchers have found that playing a visually demanding game such as Tetris shortly after a traumatic event can reduce later flashbacks [2-5]. The theory is that the brain has limited resources for processing visual information. If those resources are occupied arranging falling blocks, there may be fewer available for laying down the vivid visual memories that can later become intrusive flashbacks. The memory of the event remains, but some of its ability to repeatedly intrude may be reduced.

The common thread between EMDR and Tetris seems to be the idea that, when memories are formed and recalled, there may be opportunities to influence how they are stored within the brain and how emotionally powerful they become.

Naturally, I started wondering where AI fits into all this.

And it turns out researchers are already exploring the concept.

One particularly interesting area combines AI, eye tracking and virtual reality. Researchers have proposed systems that place patients in immersive VR environments while AI monitors eye movements and physiological responses [6]. The AI is then used to adjust the experience in real time, potentially tailoring therapeutic interventions to the individual while keeping a clinician in control.

Researchers are also exploring a range of generative AI tools to support PTSD treatment [7]. These include AI systems that guide cognitive reappraisal exercises, AI assistants that help patients complete therapy homework, tools that monitor whether therapy is being delivered in accordance with established treatment protocols, and AI-generated virtual patients that allow clinicians to practise trauma-focused therapy techniques before working with real patients.

AI can be a scary technology. But if it can help make effective trauma support available at home, at low cost, and before people feel they are "suffering enough" to seek professional help, it could open the door to something genuinely transformative. Instead of treating trauma after it becomes a problem, we might one day be able to reduce the chances of it taking hold in the first place.

References

[1] https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/eye-movement-reprocessing

[2] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004153

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/202502/how-tetris-might-help-prevent-ptsd

[4] https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/tetris-gameplay-treatment-helps-reduce-traumatic-flashbacks-for-frontline-healthcare-workers

[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7828932/

[6] https://www.techrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.36227/techrxiv.173894976.65408434/v1

[7] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12551617/