Tetris training for Amblyopia

The age old question – Are video games bad for my eyes?  Well one recent study says no, at least if used under specific conditions.

A recent study published in Current Biology showed that amblyopia can be reduced in adults using training with the video game Tetris.  Amblyopia affects up to 5% of the population and occurs when the connections from the eye to the brain do not develop as well in one eye.

Traditionally, patching the good eye and viewing images monocularly has been the treatment for amblyopia in children.  This treatment is effective in children but does not seem to be as effective in adults.  This recent study shows that when Tetris was played with diochoptically (one eye viewing the stationary objects and the other viewing the moving objects) 3D vision and vision in the weaker eye improved, compared to just playing the game monocularly.

Michael Nelson, OD  Waverley Eye Care Centre