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Scientists Made a Phone Game That Can Detect Depression in About 3 Minutes, but Does It Actually Work?

The game measures how quickly players give up on collecting rewards, which may reveal symptoms linked to anhedonia.

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What if a video game could tell you if you were depressed? Technically, they already can if you spend 14 consecutive hours playing them while ignoring friends, family, and hygiene, though that usually requires either some self-awareness or a short conversation with a therapist.

But researchers at NYU Langone Health have now developed a depression-detecting game you can play on your phone, and according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it only takes about three minutes. Hat tip to Gizmodo for bringing this to our attention.

No word yet on whether there are achievements to unlock, but if researchers say it takes three........

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