Virtual Reality Schizophrenia Simulation

DrunkenTerror writes "NPR is reporting this story about a virtual reality schizophrenia simulation developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica, a company that makes a drug for schizophrenia. The simulation (seen through a VR HMD) lets the user experience the world through the eyes and ears of a person with schizophrenic illness. The rig was designed as an education tool for doctors and others who want a more visceral understanding of the illness. The voices in the RealAudio slideshow are really overwhelming. Janssen is said to be considering converting the VR content to DVD for wider release. Helloooooo, future of trip-hop!"

Comments

Nice toy.

[Anonymous Coward]

But I'm afraid us sane people, being quite aware that the simulation is just a simulation, will still have no clue what it's really like to have scizophrenia. Schizophrenics can't distinguish between reality and their hallucinations. Their voices are not "in their heads", they come from the outside world, or so it seems to them. They see people who don't exist, hear voices booming from the sky, see messages appear in perfect clarity in thin air, and on and on...

The central issue of schizophrenia isn't any wacked out psychedelic VR trip. It's more like a constant daydream, except that it's utterly impossible to distinguish between the dream and the real world. The hallucinations are idiosyncratic, coming from the psyche and experience of the individual in question... Frankly, I don't see what kind of value this research has to schizophrenic patients.

Re:Nice toy.

[Zen Mastuh]

Yours is probably the most insightful post in this article. This software is the result of a non-schizophrenic's insight into the world of schizophrenia, which he can only surmise from observations of patients as well as their own descriptions. At best it is a toy, just as you said.

This will have absolutely no research value, but will give non-schizophrenics comfort when they believe it allows them to "understand" what is happening in the mind of a schizophrenic patient.

I'm waiting for the anti-drug crowd to buy licenses for this product so they can "demonstrate" the effects of LSD and other drugs to fearful, impressionable parents.

More than a toy.

[robkill]

Yes, it is a simulation. It was developed with the help of schizophrenia patients, who tested it and gave feedback to the developer. One of the patients interviewed said it was realistic enough that he couldn't finish the simulation.

The goal of the simulation is to educate the families and physicians of schizophrenic patients, giving them a realistic impression of what the patients endure. It's not going to be perfect, obviously, but it raises awareness and understanding.

OK Simulation - Not Quite Right Though

[OverToasty]

It's a properly creepy simulation, but a few things are missing. 1 - Pharmacy people aren't all smiles and helpful as the actors in this video are, they're human too, and thus, they're prone to looking a little confused, frustrated etc - especially when dealing with a nonsensical schizo; unfortunately, what tends to feed a schizo is an extreme over interpretation of every little signal (a worried look by the pharmacist suddenly means "Oh, this is the person I'm supposed to kill, geez what a shame" ... as opposed to a simple smile tending to trigger that). There's plenty of simple minded types who believe that schizophrenia has absolutely NO bearing on reality what-so-ever, and when explaining to such types, it's perhaps best just to repeat the party line, since this is probably about as close as they'll ever get to understanding anyway, but for those looking for deeper insight (as I assume anybody who watched this video wants to do - unless of course, they're just going for the quickie freak-out), then it's possible to take the 'fractal' to the next level of resolution, and tell it more like it is, thus: yes schizophrenia often has a bearing on reality, but a very very twisted bearing on it ... and yes sometimes, it does in fact have none at all, in which case, even the simplest smile by a pharmacist really does mean "You're going to die". (note: chances are the video was stadged as such - with pharmacists looking absolutely perfect - to demonstrate clearly the disconnect from reality, which I suppose is ok to make that point, but it's not exactly accurate, which is mine) 2 - Panic, I like the way the video built things build up into an over-all sense of constant panic, which only makes the mind - of even a sane individual - race even more! When you're having problem interpreting input as it is, and suddenly there's even more panic thrown into the picture, making interpretation even more difficult, it's no wonder schizophrenics completely loose it in even slightly stressful situations. 3 - Wanna find out what Schizophrenia is like? Easy, do a whole lot of Acid ... for paranoid schozophrenia, do a whole lot of acid while crossing an international border while carrying a whole lot of acid - then, to get an even truer vibe, walk up to customs. Uh, then again, you might not want to know ... come to think of it, stick with the video.