Immersive virtual reality visual hallucinations simulate the effects of psychedelic substances

Immersive Virtual Reality experiences reproducing visual hallucinations effects, miming those induced by the use of psychedelic substances, albeit without the actual use of substances.

This is the result of an experimental study published in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience and conducted by a team of researchers coordinated by Professor Giuseppe Riva, director of the Humane Technology Lab at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan campus. The study – called Cyberdelics - was led by Dr. Giulia Brizzi and Dr. Chiara Pupillo in order to explore the psychological effects of simulated visual hallucination in immersive virtual reality scenarios on cognitive and emotional functioning.

The results show that these types of experiences have a significant effect on various cognitive and emotional processes, altering psychophysiological activation and emotional state, as well as leading to greater cognitive flexibility and creativity with effects that are potentially comparable to psychedelic substances.

“We have demonstrated for the first time that virtual reality is capable of replicating some of the positive effects typically associated with the use of psychotropic substances,” Professor Riva explains, "among which the increase in cognitive flexibility and creativity is particularly significant. However, it is important to verify whether these effects are truly comparable, on a neurobiological level, to those produced by compounds such as psilocybin or LSD. The data collected, however, suggest that the path taken is promising and deserves further investigation."

BACKGROUND

Scientific interest in cyberdelics is part of the broader debate on the use of psychedelics in psychiatry. Currently, these substances are not legally approved for routine therapeutic use, Professor Riva points out. However, in countries such as the United States and Switzerland, they are already being used by authorized clinics and/or within experimental protocols. In particular, they are used for patients with conditions such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that do not benefit from traditional forms of therapy. Obviously, the use of these substances is part of structured psychotherapeutic treatment programs, as an additional and supportive element. Following the positive data, something has also started to happen in Italy: this August (2025), the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) authorized the first clinical trial on psilocybin for the treatment of resistant depression.

In this scenario, cyberdelics offers itself as a digital and non-pharmacological alternative that exploits the benefits associated with the use of psychoactive hallucinogenic substances, while avoiding the risks associated with their consumption.

THE STUDY

Cyberdelics environments are designed using specific visualization techniques based on artificial intelligence. In the present study, for example, researchers processed a relaxation video produced by the company Become, feeding it into Google's DeepDream algorithm, which transformed the video into an immersive experience enriched with hallucinatory visual effects.

The researchers involved 50 healthy volunteers who took part to two 10-minute immersive virtual reality experiences: “The Secret Garden” and its “Hallucinatory” version. The aim of the study was to see changes in psychophysical and cognitive terms following exposure to the different videos compared to the initial state. Compared to the control video, the hallucinatory version triggered several cognitive changes in participants in the short period of time following the experience.

Although it is safer than psychedelic substances, virtual reality is not without risks, experts warn. Some users may experience cybersickness or motion sickness, with symptoms such as nausea, visual fatigue, and/or disorientation. For this reason, it is necessary to present this type of experience in a controlled environment, following ethical guidelines and under the supervision of a properly trained facilitator or therapist.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

The work opens up promising scenarios for clinical research: cyberdelics could become an integrative tool in therapeutic protocols, acting as a “bridge” between traditional psychotherapy and new frontiers in psychiatry. The next steps include controlled clinical studies on samples of patients with different psychopathological conditions, the use of physiological and neurobiological measures to characterize the underlying mechanisms, effects, and their duration, and the definition of standardized protocols for the integration of cyberdelics in clinical and rehabilitation contexts.

“Digital psychedelic experiences are not intended to replace drugs,” the researchers conclude, “but our aim is to exploit virtual reality and technologies to create a safe laboratory in which to explore altered states of consciousness and their therapeutic potential. At the same time, they offer a digital alternative for those seeking the possible benefits of psychedelic experiences without resorting to recreational substance use, and for those who do not respond to traditional treatments.”