A psychedelic experience without mind-altering drugs: that is what the Lowlands Science research by neuroscientist Michael van Elk and colleagues from Leiden University promises. They do that with virtual reality. In this way, the researchers hope to find out whether a virtual psychedelic experience has the same effects as real psychedelics. This may come in handy in the treatment of mental disorders.
What will the participant experience?
‘You take a seat in a comfortable chair and then get a virtual realitygoggles and soundproof headphones. You are completely cut off from the world around you. Then you will be taken on a psychedelic journey. You enter the wonderful world of plants and psychedelic molecules. What exactly does it look like? I can’t say too much about that. People just have to come and experience it for themselves. At the end you will be guided again to return to the normal world. The whole experience takes about fifteen minutes.’
Can anyone participate in the study?
In principle, anyone can participate. But it may not be wise for some people. That is why we do a screening in advance. For example, we advise people who are easily nauseous not to participate.’
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What exactly do you want to know?
‘On the one hand, we are curious whether certain personal factors influence the sensitivity to the virtual reality-experience, and on the other hand, the effect of the experience on the participants. We determine the former by having the participants answer questions about whether they have a strong imagination. For example, by asking how vividly they can imagine a mountain landscape. Sensitivity to hypnosis can also influence the experience. We can measure this by asking questions about how easily people go along with certain suggestions. We also want to know how intense the participants were virtual reality-experience against previous experience with real psychedelics, if they have any of course.
‘We measure the effect of the experience on the participants in two ways. First, we use electrodes to measure the heart rate of the participants during the experience. We will also measure the sweat response with a sensor on the finger. Both indicate to what extent someone is relaxed or excited. We want to link this information to what the participants themselves say they experience. During the experience, the participants have to indicate with a kind of volume button at certain times how intense they find the experience at that moment. In addition, they will complete a questionnaire afterwards about how they experienced the experience.’
What does the research contribute to in the long term?
‘A lot of research shows that a psychedelic experience can have numerous positive effects. For example, there are people who feel more connected to nature or to the people around them afterwards. But it can also reduce depression, addiction or anxiety. Despite these positive effects, there are many people who would never want to try psychedelics. If we see that these positive effects are also there after a virtual reality psychedelic experience, it could be used, for example, in the treatment of psychological disorders. But it could also just help people relax in a stressful environment by taking a break from the world.’
Why do you want to investigate this precisely at Lowlands?
‘At Lowlands we can do a more representative sample than at the university. This will help to generalize our research. And we can also measure at Lowlands whether the experience changes when people are under the influence of alcohol or other substances.’
Every year, scientific research takes place at the Lowlands music festival. New Scientist is a partner of Lowlands Science Lab and shares what will happen and what you can participate in as a festival visitor. Lowlands 2023 will take place on 18, 19 and 20 August 2023.
2023-07-07 08:06:05
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