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PopCap Study Finds The Depressed Like PopCap Games
PopCap Games and East Carolina University have teamed up for a study that found that the effects of depression can be mitigated by playing PopCap casual games.
The study was comprised of almost 60 clinically depressed patients playing Bejewled 2, Peggle, and Bookworm Adventures, and 57% of the experimental group (50% of all the patients served as the control group) found an average reduction in their depression symptoms that lasted anywhere from half an hour to a full month.
“The results of this study clearly demonstrate the intrinsic value of certain casual games in terms of significant, positive effects on the moods and anxiety levels of people suffering from any level of depression,” said Dr. Carmen Russoniello, director of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU and professor who ran the study.
While it's funny that the study seems self-serving towards PopCap, playing video games to relieve depression sure beats some of the other treatment alternatives.
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