Researchers [have] crafted a “Pac-Man-like” game that boasts the added risk of electric shock. Apparently, volunteers play the game while an MRI scanner monitors them, moving a blue triangle through a 2D maze while trying to avoid a red dot “predator.” If that dot catches them, they receive an electric shock. As that danger neared , the researchers found that players stopped using their their prefrontal cortex in their forebrain and instead relied on their midbrain area, which controls “gut-level reflexes.” At least that’s what they’re saying. We have a sneaking suspicion it may all just be an elaborate trick the researchers play on freshman students.
We did this in college by programming Nibbles to generate an electric shock when you ran into a wall. No fancy MRI, just good old-fashioned observation. Upon receiving a jolt, the game player got pretty good pretty fast.
And yes, it was for hall rush (enticing freshman to live with us). I believe that was a very good year, and really, quite a step up from the traditional pickle electrocution. Weird how life repeats art in unexpected ways.
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