Can Virtual Reality Technologies Emulate Psychedelic Experiences?

A team based at the University of Bristol recently conducted a study exploring if VR technologies can engender the same sort of mystical-type experiences that are at the heart of the psychedelic experience. The full paper is freely available here. From the abstract: Studies combining psychotherapy with psychedelic drugs (Ds) have demonstrated positive outcomes that are often associated with 'Ds' ability to induce 'mystical-type' experiences (MTEs) i.e., subjective experiences whose characteristics include a sense of connectedness, transcendence, and ineffability. We suggest that both PsiDs and virtual reality can be situated on a broader spectrum of psychedelic technologies. To test this hypothesis, we used concepts, methods, and analysis strategies from D research to design and evaluate 'Isness', a multi-person VR journey where participants experience the collective emergence, fluctuation, and dissipation of their bodies as energetic essences. A study (N=57) analyzing participant responses to a commonly used D experience questionnaire (MEQ30) indicates that Isness participants reported MTEs comparable to those reported in double-blind clinical studies after high doses of psilocybin and LSD. Within a supportive setting and conceptual framework, VR phenomenology can create the conditions for MTEs from which participants derive insight and meaning.