Koreans treating StarCraft addicts with anti-smoking drugs

StarCraft is a pretty addictive game, fair enough. Is it really addictive in the same was as say, nicotine, however? Psychiatrists in South Korea seem to think so and have been treating afflicted gamers with an antidepressant normally used to treat smoking addiction.

A study has been carried out by the Department of Psychiatry at Chung Ang University which measures the effectiveness of the antidepressant Buproprion on eleven participants who were described as being addicted to Starcraft. We realise that ‘addictive’ is an adjective often thrown about when referring to games but several of the participants in this study had suffered severe real-world consequences as a result of their obsessive gaming including expulsion from school and even divorce.

Buproprion is an antidepressant that is often used to treat nicotine cravings. After a trial period the gamers reportedly experienced fewer cravings to play their RTS of choice and playing time reduced by around 35%. Under an MRI scan, subjects also reacted ‘less strongly’ to pictures of Zerglings (a StarCraft troop unit) than before taking the drug.

This is just one study, of course, and there is also plenty of research that disputes the idea that video games are addictive in the sense described by these researchers.

Available new | £30 | Blizzard (via Wired)

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