Psychiatrists at the Chung Ang University, College of Medicine, in South Korea have been able to successfully treat StarCraft addicts using an anti-depressant known as Bupropion. Bupropion has also been used to help people quit smoking, and is one of the most prescribed anti-depressants in the US.
As it turns out, over a 6 week period, the drug was able to reduce StarCraft cravings by 23.6 percent, and playtime by 35.5 percent.
Apparently, using MRI scans, researchers found through monitoring the brain patterns of participants taking Bupropion, that they were far less responsive to images of Zerglings.
The study does raise the question; is gaming addiction actually a symptom of depression in some cases? Therefore, the treatment of the underlying, possibly undiagnosed depression, is what is causing addiction levels to decrease?
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