A new study suggests that virtual reality experiences designed to mimic psychedelic visual effects could safely boost creativity and flexibility in thinking -- without the use of drugs.
Researchers from Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan found that "cyberdelic" VR experiences -- computer-generated environments that simulate visual hallucinations -- can produce short-term psychological and emotional effects similar to those seen with psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin.
The findings were recently published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience by a team led by professor Giuseppe Riva, director of the university's Humane Technology Lab, along with Giulia Brizzi and Chiara Pupillo.
"We have demonstrated for the first time that virtual reality is capable of replicating some of the positive effects typically associated with the use of psychotropic substances," Riva said in a university news release.
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