Pac-Man Like Video Game Studies Body's Flight or Fight Response

People concerned over the increase in violence and decline of general ethics in our society will continue to blame them for problems, but researchers and scientists have successfully used them in research. A recent study that involved a Pac-Man like game delved into the process the mind goes through in panic situations and gave researchers further insight into the mechanisms that cause fear and the body's "fight or flight" response.

The role of the fight or flight response in the human body may not protect us from potential predators today as much as it did in pre-agricultural times, but it can still play a vital role when dealing with the dangers of modern life such as potential car wrecks, violent attacks from other people, or various disaster scenarios.

Volunteers played a game in which they maneuvered the sprite around a blue triangle around a two dimensional maze. A red dot that represented a predator followed the main character around and if the red dot caught up with the blue triangle, participants would receive a mild electric shock. The people playing the game were monitored through the use of MRI scanners connected which parts of their brain were receiving the highest flow of blood.

When the predator was farthest away from the triangle, blood flowed mostly the prefontal cortex area of the brain, but when the red dot came closer to the triangle, the flow of blood switched to the midbrain. The front of the brain controls anxiety and is more active when a strategic response to potential threats may be needed, but as the danger gets closer, the midbrain activates the body's fight or flight response when a more immediate decision is needed.

The study, which was published in the journal Science provided insight into the survival strategy of fear. Without it, animals or even us would not leave dangerous situations and our genes would be far less likely to be passed on to the next generation. In other words, from an evolutionary standpoint, being afraid of something makes sense.

However, since the prefrontal cortex of modern man evolved to be much larger than the prefrontal lobes of our primitive ancestors it is more likely that humanity became more adept at avoiding the situations and lessening the need for the more primitive fight or flight response.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6962242.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_or_flight