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Virtual Flying Experience Changes Neural Responses Cell Reports

Scientists based in China discovered that the human mind starts adjusting to virtual wings following just several brief sessions in virtual reality training. During the test participants put on VR headsets that swapped their arms for big feathered wings and these were used to navigate through virtual obstacle courses while the actual arms stayed out of sight. Following four sessions of thirty minutes each spread over seven days brain imaging revealed clear shifts in the way volunteers brains reacted to the wings. Responses moved within a zone known as the occipitotemporal cortex which normally assists with identifying body parts like hands and arms indicating the wings started to be handled more like an actual body part. The team also noted stronger connections to zones that handle movement planning and control showing the wings were starting to blend into the participants feeling of action and coordination. The researchers stressed that the mind never fully swapped out the concept of real human arms and the wings remained partly viewed as outside objects. Still the results point to the remarkable flexibility of the brain and they suggest possible uses in prosthetics recovery programs and sophisticated interfaces between people and computers. The work further prompts discussion about extended impacts from deep virtual reality immersion and the limits of such bodily adjustments. The paper is titled Virtual flying experience changes neural responses to seeing wings and it appears in Cell Reports.

3mo

Polly Spring@polly_spring

Follow

Virtual Flying Experience Changes Neural Responses Cell Reports

Scientists based in China discovered that the human mind starts adjusting to virtual wings following just several brief sessions in virtual reality training. During the test participants put on VR headsets that swapped their arms for big feathered wings and these were used to navigate through virtual obstacle courses while the actual arms stayed out of sight. Following four sessions of thirty minutes each spread over seven days brain imaging revealed clear shifts in the way volunteers brains reacted to the wings. Responses moved within a zone known as the occipitotemporal cortex which normally assists with identifying body parts like hands and arms indicating the wings started to be handled more like an actual body part. The team also noted stronger connections to zones that handle movement planning and control showing the wings were starting to blend into the participants feeling of action and coordination. The researchers stressed that the mind never fully swapped out the concept of real human arms and the wings remained partly viewed as outside objects. Still the results point to the remarkable flexibility of the brain and they suggest possible uses in prosthetics recovery programs and sophisticated interfaces between people and computers. The work further prompts discussion about extended impacts from deep virtual reality immersion and the limits of such bodily adjustments. The paper is titled Virtual flying experience changes neural responses to seeing wings and it appears in Cell Reports.

3mo