Do you hear voices in your head, maybe music in the background, or sound effects after you've spent a copuple of hours playing your favorite computer game? Some people continue to hear blasts, speech and other sounds after they close a computer game. Let's find out why.
A survey, which involved 1,200 people, showed that about 12% of gamers get sound hallucinations related to the game. Some players can not even tell the imaginary sounds from the real ones. They hear horns of cars, lasers and bullets, blasts, swords, shouts, magic spells, coins, and more.
Auditory hallucinations appear in situations that resemble the plot of computer play.
"Objects and events simulated in the game have become what I like to call 'evocative objects' that trigger responses that have been conditioned, such as emotions, sensations, perceptions and involuntary body movements," said the study's lead author, Angelica Ortiz, of Nottingham Trent University in England. "The gamers' minds are completing the missing pieces in the puzzle, and they hear and see what they have expected to see due to the gameplay."
Scientists are studying the phenomenon of transferring real-life sensations from the very beginning of video games. In 1993, for example, a case of a woman who often heard the music of Super Mario Brothers was mentioned in scientific literature. Other cases describe visual hallucinations, including even seeing health indicators above people's heads.
Researchers found that hallucinations most often occur after prolonged play. The gamer can hear them while walking or while driving. Psychologists do not believe that these imaginary events can endanger the psychological state of humans. The recommend, in order to avoid these hallucinations, in most cases, it is enough simply to reduce the time spent gaming. - Sources: 1;2;3;4
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