Virtual Reality Brings New Psychedelic Possibilities

Early thoughts on two fascinating worlds colliding.

Virtual reality (VR) is making waves in the field of mental health as emerging technologies have advanced in the last decade. Of particular interest is the potential role of VR in psychedelic experiences, both as a possible non-drug alternative as well as a companion to psychedelic therapy. An interactive form of group VR experiences, Isness-D, has demonstrated the ability to produce comparable effects to those of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin mushrooms. This development has piqued the interest of researchers who are also curious about its compatibility with psychedelic therapy, and its ability to perhaps prevent a bad trip – the primary potentially adverse effect of taking a psychedelic substance.

Inspired by a near-death experience resulting from falling over 30 meters on a mountain hike, David Glowacki, scientist, digital artist, and founder of the Intangible Realities Laboratory (IRL), developed Isness-D to recreate his life-altering experience. Glowacki specializes in scientific stimulation and visualization being recognized for his work on immersive applications with interactive multi-person VR.

His research demonstrated that certain group VR experiences can produce similar effects to that of psychedelics, such as the common subjective feeling of ego-dissolution, also known as ego-death, transcendence, or self-actualization. Experiencing an epiphany and feelings of connectedness as many often report after using psychedelics, was also achieved through interactive group VR. Granted, research of this sort remains in early stages and we still don’t know whether VR formats like Isness-D alone or combined with psychedelic therapy, can activate the same brain mechanisms that psychedelics do.

As psychedelic research continues to document the ability to reduce symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, and so on, the brain mechanisms that facilitate these changes are only partially understood. So far, the emerging understanding of how psychedelics work in the brain largely points to its ability to increase neuroplasticity — one's brain malleability, and entropy — one’s enhanced mental repertoire and information processing capacity achieved through states of disorder so to speak. This can bring a sense of expansion to the mind and the feeling of hitting a new and improved reset button.

According to psychologist Jeff Tarrant, Chief Science Officer for Healium, a VR program that combines meditation and neurofeedback, increasing entropy is achievable through virtual reality experiences as he observed using VR in a meditation context. At his NeuroMeditation Institute in Oregon, Tarrant offers psychedelic-assisted therapy along with other neurofeedback and VR-enhanced services. Tarrant doesn’t think VR will fully replace psychedelics, but he likes the idea of alternative approaches. He explains that a particular junction in the brain called the superior parietal lobule may be responsible for creating a "boundary between the self and other."

When this area of the brain shuts off as a result of injury or electrical stimulation, people become more empathic, spiritually oriented, and have transcendent experiences. Similar to the ego dissolution effect of psychedelics, "that's what may be happening with that Isness-D program, is that you're actually downshifting the normal functioning of that part of the brain," as Tarrant points out.

Research of this sort being so new, he notes it may be premature to start combining it with psychedelic therapy. Although early inquiry has suggested that VR could prove useful to optimize psychedelic sessions, more research is needed. Also, VR alone is not for the faint of heart. Like the dizziness many gamers experience when they first start using VR headsets, occasional wooziness among a small portion of participants were reported.

Aligned with research perspectives, Tarrant highlights how Isness-D could potentially be used in psychedelic therapy as a preparatory tool for those interested in slowly transitioning toward a complete substance-enabled psychedelic experience. At the same time, through an interactive group VR experience like Isness-D and with continued refinement, it may become possible that drugs won’t be necessary at all for those interested in a psychedelic-like experience.

This updated post was initially co-authored by Michelle Kim and Robert T. Muller Ph.D. originally published March 14, 2023