Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia have written a hallucination simulation software to allow psychiatrists to gain an understanding of their patients hallucinations.
The software creates a 3D environment modelled on a psychiatric ward, and as users navigate through the ward, hallucinations occur: they see an abyss where the floor should be, random flashes of light, their image in a mirror getting thinner and bleeding from the eyes, and an initially comforting but increasingly abusive Virgin Mary. They also hear abusive voices saying “you’re worthless” and “go and kill yourself”.
The researchers’ next step is to augment their library of hallucinations by interviewing more patients. The objective is to be able to re-create the hallucinations of a particular patient by simply piecing together those already existing in the library.
The software will be used this year as a part of teaching courses. If studies prove that virtual reality is helpful in cognitive behavioral therapy, a commercial tool could be ready within five years, and widely available in 20 years.