What Happens in The Brain During Virtual Reality
Written by: Arik Yates PTA
In my previous posts I have spoken much on the physical properties and improvements I have seen during my treatments, but today I want to take the conversation into a different direction.
While participants in Virtual Reality are dodging bullets and swinging swords, or working on functional reaching with their affected extremity; the brain is reacting in a profound way. The brain structure you may see mentioned the most is the hippocampus, commonly called “The GPS” of the brain responsible for episodic and spatial memories. This means that parts of the hippocampus were found to be working towards remembering their surroundings, object placement (spatial memory) as well as keeping track of the emotions, actions, and details of the patrons time virtual reality. The hippocampus may explain why Virtually Reality has the potential to immerse one no matter how unfamiliar the landscape may be, however the brain does not stop there!
Have you ever found yourself preparing for a possible impact in stop and go traffic, an obvious jump scare in a horror movie, or greeting a loved one during a routine visit? This “mind/body preparation” is a brain mechanism called embodied simulation.
Embodied Simulation
Embodied simulation is the brain literally simulating the body in an environment to predict possible outcomes/actions/emotions and ready you for what may come.This prediction happens innately so your body is always effectively regulated without any conscious action required. Better yet, Virtual Reality, at its core, shares the same mechanism of embodied simulations studies show. The experiences or exercises simulate the body in an environment, predicting the possible sensations one may experience in the real world when performing the same actions, I.E shopping in a grocery store in Neuro Rehab VR’s Retail Therapy. The application game mechanics in each application is geared in a way that predicts the users sensory consequences thus simulating what the body would feel if performing the same thing in reality. So that means, Virtual Reality is literally simulating an action the brain naturally does in our day to day life which explains the effectiveness of this tool as a therapy solution. It is not forcing the brain into the unknown, but one could argue, the familiar.
Now that we have begun discussion regarding the brain’s response to virtual reality, I feel it really solidifies the efficacy of this tool. I remember thinking, before I began my journey of treating with this tool, that virtual reality would basically be placing your brain in a state of confusion due to it being the unknown, but now I know it's quite the opposite! As always, be sure to leave a comment with any questions or new topic ideas!
