Researchers from the University
of Sussex’s Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, have been studying a
fundamental scientific problem: the question of how consciousness happens. The
standard experimental setup of cognitive experiments used to involve seating
someone in a dark room, at a desk, and administering a computer-based test.
These experiments, although valid, are not what scientists call ecologically
valid.
Now, researchers use various
different experimental tools, ranging from strobe lights to psychedelic drugs. In
recent years, researchers have been experimenting with virtual reality. They
are using VR to manipulate the way we experience being ourselves, the
experience of embodiment and body ownership. The potential for VR in
neuroscience is enormous and is just getting going. In five years, it’s going
to be game changing.
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