StarCraft addiction treated with drugs

StarCraft remained popular for years following its debut in 1998. It has been one of the top real-time strategy choices for extremely hardcore and professional gamers. These gamers take StarCraft very seriously. If you’ve seen videos of gamers engaged in an online match, you already know how incredibly focused they can be. Their fingers move so fast, you could swear the video was being sped up. However there is a problem with videogame addiction in Korea. Some gamers are known to literally play themselves to death. This prompted South Korean psychiatrists to figure out a way to treat videogame addiction.

The study involved eleven gamers who were labeled as sufferers of videogame addiction. The basis for their diagnosis was determined by how much time they played StarCraft everyday. They all played at least four hours daily, but more than half showcased bigger problems stemming from addiction. For example, some participants skipped school for two months, while the gaming habits of others led to divorce.

The treatment involved giving each gamer an antidepressant called Bupropion (also known as Wellbutrin) over the course of six weeks. They were also given help to stop their smoking habits over that same period of time. The study showed that following the treatment, the participant’s desire to play Starcraft dropped by 23.6 percent. The time they spent playing StarCraft dropped by 35.5 percent. Subsequent brain scans also showed a decrease in brain activity whenever the gamers were shown pictures of Zerglings.

Based on this study, it would seem this particular antidepressant does in fact help to quell videogame addiction. However as with any drug, Bupropion does contain potential side effects such as weight loss, nausea, headaches and in rare cases, mania. It’s a potentially expensive way to keep videogame addiction in check, but it is an option.

Read [Wired] Read [Electric Pig]