From Wired:

Playing Tetris actually gives you more brain to work with, says a new study to be published later this week.

The study, funded by Tetris’ makers and authored by investigators at the Mind Research Network in New Mexico, shows that playing the classic puzzle game had two distinct effects on the brains of research subjects: some areas in the brain showed greater efficiency (the blue areas in the diagram above), and different areas showed thicker cortexes, which is a sign of more grey matter (red).

This, says the doctors who undertook the study, shows that focusing on a "challenging visuospatial task" like a videogame can actually alter the structure of the brain, not just increase brain activity.

From news.bbc.co.uk:

Volunteers were exposed to distressing images, with some given the game to play 30 minutes later, the PLoS One journal reported.

Players had fewer "flashbacks", perhaps because it helped disrupt the laying down of memories, said the scientists.

It is hoped the study could aid the development of new strategies for minimising the impact of trauma.

However, the researchers accept translating their findings into practical applications could prove difficult.

Source

From gigaom.com:

“Intel’s research blog has an intriguing post about technology that could let you play Tetris using your entire body — not just your thumbs — thanks to some real-time gesture recognition work and tons of extra processing power.

The Intel research team in Pittsburgh has come up with a way to capture a user’s gestures without expensive accessories:

Unlike typical approaches to gesture detection that employ props, special clothing/markers (motion capture systems) or a controlled environment (such as a blue screen), the Intel approach is designed to work in everyday environments and does not require users to be segmented from the background.”

Read more…

From multiplayerblog.mtv.com:

“You could have another use for that “Wii Fit” balance board gathering dust underneath the sofa when “Tetris Party” arrives later this year on WiiWare.

“Tetris Party” aims to provide “the ultimate ‘Tetris’ workout,” joked Tetris Online VP of marketing Casey Pelkey to MTV Multiplayer at Nintendo’s fall summit last week.

Incorporating the balance board into “Tetris Party” wasn’t originally part of the plan for Tetris Online or developer Hudson Soft., but “Wii Fit”’s success started planting ideas in their head.”

Read more…