Virtual Reality ­sed to Transfer Men's Minds Into a Woman's Body

Barcelona University scientists recently conducted an experiment in which they used virtual reality to transfer men's minds into a woman's body. In the study, men wore a virtual reality headset that enabled them to see and hear the world as a female character, even changing how they saw their own body and clothes.

The researchers say the body-swapping effect was so convincing that the men's sense of self was transferred into the virtual woman, causing them to react reflexively to events in the virtual world in which they were immersed. The men reported feeling as though they occupied the woman's body and even gasped and flinched when the woman was slapped by another character in the virtual world.

"This work opens up another avenue for virtual reality, which is not just to transform your sense of place, but also your sense of self," says University College London's Mel Slater.

From Guardian (UK)
View Full Article

Abstracts Copyright © 2010 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA