A Video Game To Test Fear

By Christopher Nickson
August 27, 2007

A video game that delivers electric shocks is being used by researchers to see how we react to imminent danger.

Picture it…you’re playing a game that bears a resemblance to the classic Pac-Man. But if the read dot chasing your blue triangle catches you, you receive a mild electric shock. Not exactly your idea of a good time? It’s just what British researchers have been using to investigate the way the human brain reacts to imminent danger. The results have been published in the journal Science. Volunteers played the video game, with their brain activity monitored by an MRI scanner that showed which regions of the brain were receiving the highest flow of blood. When the predator was a comfortable distance away, blood flowed mostly strongly to the prefrontal cortex in the forebrain. When it moved near, blood flow moved to the midbrain. This is the brain’s primitive area, and it controls reflexes like fighting or fleeing. Researchers said the change in blood flow areas were vital for an animal's survival. “Without fear, animals would not react to threats,” said Dr Dean Mobbs of University College London and one of the authors of the paper. “This is a poor survival strategy and makes it more likely that the animal will be eaten and not pass on its genes. When a fast response is needed, the midbrain may inhibit the prefrontal cortex,” he said. Our prefrontoal cortex is much larger than that of our ancient ancestors, so researchers speculate that we might have become better at avoiding threatening situations.