Cure your migrane with videogames?

Eine Foto-Illustration zeigt eine Frau mit Kopfschmerzen. Migraene-Anfaelle sind haeufig vermeidbar, vor allem wenn die ausloesende Ursache eindeutig ist. Aber auch in nicht so klaren Faellen profitieren Patienten von geregelter Lebensfuehrung, schreibt das Fachblatt "Aerztliche Praxis". Migraene-Patienten sollten sorgsam nach den Ausloesern ihrer Kopfschmerz-Attacken forschen. Das koennen ein Glas Rotwein sein oder ein Stueck Kaese - aber auch Hunger, Schlafentzug, Wetterwechsel, Laerm, oder Hitze. (zu ddp-Text) Foto: Peter Endig/ddp

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Hmm, I don’t know. Most videogames I play these days give me a headache.

Dr. Deborah Stokes recommends a brain-controlled videogame to relieve migraines, and she says that 70 percent of her patients treated with this method have reduced or eliminated their medications. 

Before you get your hopes up, you should know that this isn’t some Call of Duty 4-type brain game;  the head-attached sensors let players use brain waves to move simple objects, like a spaceship around the screen. If brain patterns are irregular, the spaceship will also have irregular movement patterns. The goal is to even out wave patterns to move the ship back in place.

“It seems to give them some sort of stability so they don’t have migraines or meltdowns or whatever it is they’re having problems with,” said Stokes to NBC.

Stokes has no idea why it works, but it does. The best part is that this treatment is medication free.

This is interesting, but I think it will be awhile before we’re playing first-person shooters with brain waves. These would give new meaning to the term “head shot,” though. 


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