Tag Archives: virtual reality experiment

Virtual Body Swap Experiment Maps Out-of-Body Illusion in the Brain – Potential for Empathy Training and Therapy

Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Cyberpsychology, Dissociation, Health, Identity, Out of Body Experiences, Presence, Self-Consciousness, Video Capture, Virtual Environments, Virtual Reality Therapy, , , , ,

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“Research projects like this one show how applications for the virtual experiences provided by headmounted displays may stretch beyond just entertainment to many different fields.

For the purposes of brain research, it allows scientists to more rigorously test how the brain responds to various real or illusory situations.

Beyond pure research, body swap illusions might put us in someone else’s shoes to increase our empathy towards them. Or they might be a useful therapy.”

BY JASON DORRIERON at Singularity Hub

Read more: http://singularityhub.com/2015/05/01/virtual-body-swap-experiment-maps-out-of-body-illusion-in-the-brain/

Research paper by Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm: http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150423/srep09831/full/srep09831.html#affil-auth

Invisibility Cloak Makes Social Anxiety Disappear

Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Cyberpsychology, Dissociation, Health, Identity, Out of Body Experiences, Presence, Self-Consciousness, Social Skills Training, Speech Therapy, Video Capture, Virtual Environments, Virtual Reality Therapy, ,

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“Is public speaking your biggest fear? Ever wish you could just disappear when you’re forced out in front of a crowd? Now you can.

A team of Swedish scientists has set up a virtual reality experiment that can trick people into feeling as if they were invisible. Then they set them up in front of a skeptical-looking crowd.

When people could see themselves in front of the audience, their heart rates and breathing went up —sure signs of anxiety. They also said they felt anxious. But when they wore the virtual reality headsets and felt invisible, they felt less anxious, Arvid Guterstam and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reported.”

BY MAGGIE FOX at NBC News

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/invisibility-cloak-makes-social-anxiety-disappear-n346996

Research paper by Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm – Illusory ownership of an invisible body reduces autonomic and subjective social anxiety responses: http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150423/srep09831/full/srep09831.html