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Inside the Mind of a Schizophrenic Through Virtual Reality

blottsie writes Viscira produces videos and technology simulations for the healthcare industry, and the project I tested called "Mindscape" was created for a pharmaceutical company that wanted to give potential clients insight into what some schizophrenic patients might feel like in a real-life scenario. Unlike audio tests or videos that show you a first-person perspective of schizophrenic experiences, Viscira's demonstration uses the Oculus Rift headset and is entirely immersive. You can look around at each individual's face, and up and down the hallway. Walk through the elevator, and hear voices that appear to be coming from both strangers and your own head.

93 comments

  1. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you for being a friend Traveled down the road and back again Your heart is true, you're a pal and a cosmonaut.

    And if you threw a party Invited everyone you knew You would see the biggest gift would be from me And the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.

    It's confidant, not cosmonaut. If you are going to quote this song each monday as a troll, at least get the lyrics right FFS.

  2. Impossible by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2, Informative

    No matter how hard you try, you cannot "get into the mind" of a schizophrenic. Even with the Oculus Rift.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      True, but short of inducing schizophrenia and then being able to cure it instantly, this might be close enough.

    2. Re:Impossible by tnk1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In the sense that a virtual reality that you can enter and exit any time you like is not going to be the same, I agree. Indeed, having to actually live with the experience, as opposed to temporarily subjecting yourself to it is the real issue.

      That said, anything that allows non-schizophrenic people to experience the same sort of inputs will be useful towards understanding.

    3. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but with technology like this they can recruit people who have had schizophrenic episodes to make it closer and closer to reality. The big issue though is one that the article mentions, if you put on this device, you are aware that none of this is real, so you can filter out some of it on your own. That's not something that's likely to be solvable without breaking numerous ethical guidelines. Still, it could be quite helpful for people trying to design environments that are more schizophrenic safe. Things like distorted dimensions do have an impact on how one uses a space.

      That being said, I'm sure that with a lot of study, something like this could be used therapeutically. Helping patients to distinguish what is and isn't real. Part of the problem with schizophrenia that most people don't realize is just how much faith it takes to ignore what ones senses are telling them and hope that the generally agreed upon reality is in fact real.

    4. Re:Impossible by mwissel · · Score: 4, Interesting

      No matter how hard you try, you cannot "get into the mind" of anyone*.

      *ftfy. - I think it is what they call the qualia problem.

      However it still might be useful in a similar sense as lenses that hamper your eyesight to resemble a cataract. It gives the researcher an idea how senses of such an individual are altering his/her perception of the world.

    5. Re:Impossible by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      But we might be able to *give* someone schizophrenia by immersing them in this type of VR experience. How cool would that be?

    6. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now why would you say that ?

      After all, you're making efforts to transform your body to the body of a woman, aren't you.

      Enough said.

    7. Re:Impossible by dj245 · · Score: 1

      No matter how hard you try, you cannot "get into the mind" of anyone*.

      *ftfy. - I think it is what they call the qualia problem.

      However it still might be useful in a similar sense as lenses that hamper your eyesight to resemble a cataract. It gives the researcher an idea how senses of such an individual are altering his/her perception of the world.

      The illusion would be more complete if they piped the 'voices in your head' through a bone anchored hearing system. Then the voices would actually be in your head. Probably not a lot of people would sign up for the implant procedure just for that though.

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    8. Re:Impossible by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It would be good to have an actual schizophrenic use the product and confirm if this is even remotely similar to what they really experience. Until then, its just what some think their experience is.

    9. Re:Impossible by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

      True, but short of inducing schizophrenia and then being able to cure it instantly, this might be close enough.

      Indeed. Just because the simulation is imperfect, that doesn't make it worthless. Schizophrenia affects more than two million Americans. It is the most common permanently debilitating mental disorder. The cost in treatment, foregone income, etc. is over $100B annually in America. It is a leading contributor to homelessness, criminality, and other social disorders. But is also deeply misunderstood. Many people confuse it with split personality disorder, which is unrelated and rare.

      So why does the average person need to understand schizophrenia? Because they can vote. Many of our policies toward homelessness and crime, are politically popular but totally misguided. Homeless is not caused by "lack of houses", and homeless shelters don't work well with disruptive people that shout back at the voices in their head. Our prisons are filled with people being "punished" who see no connection between their actions and the consequences.

      I had a cousin which schizophrenia. He told me that the best way to understand it was to think about waking from a vivid dream. For about 10 seconds, you are confused about what was the dream and what is reality. Then your mind clears, and you realize that the dream made no sense whatsoever, and it seems crazy that your mind ever considered it to be real. Except if you have schizophrenia, your mind doesn't clear, and the crazy dreams don't go away when you wake up. My cousin committed suicide when he was 29.

    10. Re:Impossible by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      I think that one point people are missing is that the wetware is different, and that usually this has been the case for an extended period of time. I don't think that using the Ocular Rift is going to be capable of helping people understand The schizophrenic programmer who built an os to talk to god. Same as there's no way to simulate PTSD or Major Depressive Disorder, OCD, Hypervigilance, or even panic attacks that are sparked by relatively innocuous events.

      If you want to get a realistic taste of what it's like, why not read through all those comments that demonstrated a total lack of understanding or empathy, and even outright hostility. Others reactions are a big part of the "experience", and you won't get that using an Oculus Rift.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    11. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No matter how hard you try, you cannot "get into the mind" of anyone*.

      *ftfy. - I think it is what they call the qualia problem.

      However it still might be useful in a similar sense as lenses that hamper your eyesight to resemble a cataract. It gives the researcher an idea how senses of such an individual are altering his/her perception of the world.

      The illusion would be more complete if they piped the 'voices in your head' through a bone anchored hearing system. Then the voices would actually be in your head. Probably not a lot of people would sign up for the implant procedure just for that though.

      I agree! While still not perfect this would at least be better.

      I took some medication for migraines about a year ago and they caused me to have a "minor" psychotic break.
      It was the scariest damn thing that has ever happened to me in my life!
      To be coding and have voices yelling at you about your code, yet the voices are in your head.
      Or have your code be part of some elaborate story, and each class you write goes towards helping the Voodoo Witch in your head put together a spell.
      You don't want to help her, but you have to get your work done, and part of you knows its not real as you come in-and-out of reality.

      I know it sounds funny, and you might even think it would be fun to experience, but when you are the one living it, and you have no control over it, and you are losing sense of what is real at times, its not funny at all!
      Its SCARY, SCARY, SHIT!

    12. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you constantly repeat that women earn 73 cents for every male dollar you show that you believe in a delusion - a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary - so no need for Oculus Rift

    13. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have positive schizophrenia which is high order deluisions.

      If I don't take the medicine, I have negative schizophrenia which is general, and severe cognitive impairment.

      I don't hear multiple people in my head, but I sometimes have a running dialogue "in tongues" when I'm exercising or not doing anything important. I hear knocking sounds that microphones can't pick up. But I think I have sensitive, trained hearing.

      -sbr

    14. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting. I'd heard a rumor several years ago about someone denied a high level clearance for a program because of the migraine medication he was taking. Your experience adds a little substance to it.

    15. Re:Impossible by tburkhol · · Score: 2

      Just because the simulation is imperfect, that doesn't make it worthless. Schizophrenia affects more than two million Americans. It is the most common permanently debilitating mental disorder.

      But putting out a 'schizophrenia simulator' that emphasizes perceptual hallucinations completely glosses over that mental disorders alter the processing of thoughts. There's no way to communicate the subjective experience of reality, and emphasizing the visual and auditory aspects risks turning a serious disorder into a fun-house ride. It suggests that you can just learn which experiences are real and filter out that which is not.

      Another example: it's quite common for people with stroke to draw clocks with all the numbers scrunched into one quadrant. They'll report that this looks just like the clock on the wall (or sometimes to know that there's something off about the drawing, without being able to say what). This is not a visual hallucination, but a disruption of the comparative processes and a disruption of spatial awareness. A VR system that distorts reality to match the drawings of stroke patients would be a terrible stroke simulator.

    16. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I disagree with your assumption that schizophrenia is the leading cause of homelessness, social disorders, etc. I think capitalism prevents these people from affording or obtaining homes, and I think man induces illness in other men at staggering rates from CIA and military abuse and experiments on citizens to other iatrogenic causes, from drugs and chemical exposure, childhood abuse, poverty, and more.. also part of the capitolism cause means schools and care for humanity is inadaquate because its essentially not profitable to provide, leading people to get kicked under a bus and down the schizophrenic route.

      Many who suffer from other problems including bad family structure or child hood abuse that never gets delt with end up mislabeled as schizophrenic or living with it for real, simply because they never got help as a child. Thanks to this shitty world wide system.

      Anyone targeted by the government, CIA, etc, normally ends up persecuted and falsely labeled a schizophrenic, and there exists hundreds of thousands of victims.

      Details on madinamerica.com and obamasweapon.com

      What if our government was one big cuck fest doing this to people? Not the persons condition itself?

    17. Re:Impossible by Mathinker · · Score: 1

      After reading "Queen of Angels" by Greg Bear, I don't even see why anyone would want to attempt to do this....

    18. Re:Impossible by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      I disagree with your assumption that schizophrenia is the leading cause of homelessness, social disorders, etc.

      Go volunteer for an overnight shift at a homeless shelter. It will change your viewpoint.

      I think capitalism prevents these people from affording or obtaining homes

      Sure. Right. Whatever. That must be why only capitalist countries have homelessness.

      Anyone targeted by the government, CIA, etc, normally ends up persecuted ...

      You need help.

    19. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been in homeless shelters and you cannot trace their history or cause of the homeless persons problems in many cases. Full blown bipolar disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenic like symptoms are induced by many causes. Often times pharmacuticles contribute due to the severe brain injury caused.

      A person who comes out and says, 'hey, the CIA/military/local place used me in an experiment, or did something to me,' they might have severe injuries from it, right? or not, just them telling the story is enough to get them flagged as a schizophrenic.

      if you look up iatrogenic disease you'll discover groups of people given illnesses through some sorts. iatrogenic disease mean it was given to someone, it's man made. meaning fully preventable, but society won't change their ways or give two shits.

      people who take antidepressants for example, may end up homicidal, suicidal, hearing voices, and suffering extreme bipolar like symptoms and fully disabled for the rest of their lives. observe, the book, 'anatomy of an epidemic,' where we learn that more people on disability today were actually put on it after becoming fully disabled from taking psych drugs. in the book they discuss how antidepressants lead to injuries that cause treatment resistive depression and bipolar mania that doesn't get better or respond to treatment.

      an affidavit by Dr. Grace E Jackson highlights how antipsychotics cause psychosis and dementia, and severe encephalopathy, which shows up in brain scans and after death exams, where one finds brain swelling, scar tissue build up, vein swelling, and fluid build up, and a shrinkage/reduction in brain mass between 3-10% occurs. just because the drug tears apart a persons brain and neurological function.

      overtime people become vegetables from pharma/other things done to them. http://www.oregonstatehospital.net/d/otherfiles/JacksonOnNLtoxicity.pdf

      want to hear about the CIA's fuck tard programs? please visit obamasweapon.com

      they experiment on the public, on people at bars, on entire towns, people in jails, prisons, mental institutions, and even people at major hospitals and universities, leading to what the public perceives as a delusional person when they go around talking about it or were seriously traumatized/harmed by it.

      look no further than the program MK Ultra, which discloses just the tip of the ice berg of these atrocities.

      people exposed to these programs end up in homeless shelters and the streets unable to care for themselves, unable to get themselves help.

    20. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The video seemed like it was from the perspective of a tweaker. Then again, most schizophrenics got that way from doing meth.

    21. Re:Impossible by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      most schizophrenics got that way from doing meth.

      Then how come schizophrenia existed long before meth?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    22. Re:Impossible by lucien86 · · Score: 1

      Sadly I don't think this will get us anywhere near to the reality of schizophrenia. The problem is that schizophrenia is inside a persons mind not outside it. Also it is not essentially a hallucination or delusion although those are very common side effects. Schizophrenia is a malfunction in the core of consciousness that seeds a separate 'voice' that then feeds the person information and lies and then isolates them from external society and people.
      At its core schizophrenia is an illness of sleep - its primary cause is in the sleep cycle. - Most schizophrenics only sleep for at most two or three hours a day - and most of their other symptoms come from that. About a week to ten days with no sleep at all is enough to induce schizophrenia in almost anyone.

      --
      Below the speed of light Special Relativity is one of the most accurate theories in physics - above the speed of light..
    23. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see you don't understand the meaning of the term "most". Go buy a dictionary and be amazed.

      Here's a clue. Schizophrenia was a very rare condition before the 19th century, the same century that meth was created.

    24. Re:Impossible by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      So schizophrenia existed long before meth. So what's your point? People throughout the ages have shown signs of what we today call schizophrenia. From Jesus to Joan of Arc ...

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    25. Re:Impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you illiterate or something? Schizophrenia was RARE before the creation of meth and most schizophrenics in modern times developed the condition due to drug abuse.

      Try reading the very posts that you respond to, dumbass.

    26. Re:Impossible by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1
      Just because we didn't call it schizophrenia centuries ago doesn't mean it didn't exist then, with other names. There is no evidence schizophrenia is caused by drug abuse. You have to already be at risk (genetic or developmental predisposition). The main triggers are not drugs.

      Triggers are things that can cause schizophrenia to develop in people who are at risk. These include:

      Stress

      The main psychological triggers of schizophrenia are stressful life events, such as a bereavement, losing your job or home, a divorce or the end of a relationship, or physical, sexual, emotional or racial abuse. These kinds of experiences, though stressful, do not cause schizophrenia, but can trigger its development in someone already vulnerable to it.

      Drug abuse

      Drugs do not directly cause schizophrenia, but studies have shown drug misuse increases the risk of developing schizophrenia or a similar illness.

      Certain drugs, particularly cannabis, cocaine, LSD or amphetamines, may trigger symptoms of schizophrenia in people who are susceptible. Using amphetamines or cocaine can lead to psychosis and can cause a relapse in people recovering from an earlier episode.

      Three major studies have shown teenagers under 15 who use cannabis regularly, especially ‘skunk’ and other more potent forms of the drug, are up to four times more likely to develop schizophrenia by the age of 26.

      Bereavement, losing your job or home, a divorce or the end of a relationship, or physical, sexual, emotional or racial abuse have all been around long before meth, and so has schizophrenia.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  3. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you for being a friend
    Traveled down the road and back again
    Your heart is true, you're a pal and a cosmonaut.

    And if you threw a party
    Invited everyone you knew
    You would see the biggest gift would be from me
    And the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.

    I find myself wishing that you are soon diagnosed with some horrible disease for which there is no cure.

  4. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 1

    Successful troll is successful.

    --
    "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
  5. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 1

    I find myself wishing that you are soon diagnosed with some horrible disease for which there is no cure.

    Birth.

    Done.

  6. I know the voices aren't real by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1
  7. What if... by MagickalMyst · · Score: 3, Funny

    What if there were beings or entities that existed just outside our range of perception, that we are not aware of?

    Much like a dog whistle, which humans cannot hear. What if some people were 'sensitive' to other energies - sounds, lights, etc. that were outside the normal realm of human perception?

    What if schizophrenic people weren't "hallucinating", so to speak, but were able to actually "perceive" these energies or beings?

    Ahh, what then?

    --
    Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
    1. Re:What if... by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      That sounds like... SCHIZO TALK! *Blam!* *Blam!*

    2. Re:What if... by MagickalMyst · · Score: 1

      The sparrows are flying again.

      --
      Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
    3. Re:What if... by Jawnn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What if schizophrenic people weren't "hallucinating", so to speak, but were able to actually "perceive" these energies or beings?

      More often than not, the "messages" are coming from God/Jesus or Satan, according to the patient. Mind you, my sample population is almost completely Judeo-Christian in orientation. It should be completely unsurprising that such perceptions are often ascribed to powerful supernatural entities from the patient's own psyche. If you want to argue that it's really Jesus calling, you're going to have to explain why He never calls the Muslim or Hindu schizophrenics.

      Mind you, I'm not trying to discount the possibility of the paranormal in general, but when it comes to the sensory experiences of those who suffer from certain disorders, this is well plowed ground. Peddle it someplace else.

    4. Re:What if... by MagickalMyst · · Score: 1

      I was not "peddling" anything. I just said 'what if'.

      --
      Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
    5. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if there were beings or entities that existed just outside our range of perception, that we are not aware of?

      Much like a dog whistle, which humans cannot hear. What if some people were 'sensitive' to other energies - sounds, lights, etc. that were outside the normal realm of human perception?

      OK, suppose that were true. Our perception is based on the physics of this universe. Meaning, if we can perceive it, there must be some physics based interaction going on: sound, electromagnetism, gravity, etc.

      Meaning, if we can perceive it, it must be measurable by one or more instruments, which use the same physics. These can pick up sounds, lights, etc in a much wider range than any human or animal can.

      And yet they never do. Sure they sometimes pick up static, that when reversed and played sped up remotely resembles some words or images, but if what people saw/heard was real, they should pick up faint but normal signals often and easily.

    6. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Come up with a way you think you could test this and publish it somewhere. What measurable thing would exist in that case but not if it were untrue? Even if you do not get funds to do the project yourself someone with the funding may read it someday.

    7. Re:What if... by halivar · · Score: 2

      I'm very close to a schizophrenic, and the "voices" are always int he form of either false memories or "code" in web pages or the crawling text on the news. They are not "perceiving" anything true. It is a mental disease.

    8. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Consider how mercy is viewed in each of those religions and the societies that were built upon them.

    9. Re:What if... by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      So how can someone without the condition measure it? The dog whistle, we know it is high frequency, so we can measure, and generate frequencies higher than normal perception. But we cannot seem to measure such an instance, nor we are unable to broadcast such message into a persons head (say someone who is already schizophrenic, and be able to send him other messages).

      Right now this idea is outside of what we can observe, the easier path is to state that it is an anomaly in the brain. In science the easiest solution that fits the model, is the one taken to be the one to use.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    10. Re:What if... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Come up with a way you think you could test this and publish it somewhere. What measurable thing would exist in that case but not if it were untrue?

      If schizophrenic people just had stronger or "extra" perceptions, that hypothesis could be tested:
      1. If several were in the same place, they should all perceive the same extra sensory occurrences at the same time.
      2. The extra information would likely be useful, so schizophrenic people would be more successful.
      3. There is no reason that the extra information should distort their interpretation of "normal" reality in harmful ways, just add to it.
      None of these are true.

    11. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      George Stark is coming....

    12. Re:What if... by Kargan · · Score: 1

      What's really interesting to me is that the messages change in tone and intent depending on where the person lives.

      In foreign (non-U.S.) cultures, the voices are often friendly, playful and may be perceived as coming from a relative:

      http://news.stanford.edu/news/...

      --
      Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
    13. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If several were in the same place, they should all perceive the same extra sensory occurrences at the same time."

      Epic Fail. If you put 100 non-schizophrenics in a room they won't all agree on what they perceive. Expecting that to change because the perceived element or activity is only observed by a subset of the population is truly absurd.
       
      Essentially you are saying that 100 people in a room won't agree on what they perceive, but the few who are really perceptive should all automagically agree 100%

    14. Re:What if... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      If you put 100 non-schizophrenics in a room they won't all agree on what they perceive.

      They will not agree on every detail, but most of them will mostly agree on what they see and hear. For schizophrenics, there is no evidence that their "extra" perceptions are correlated in any way. Hence, there is no reason to believe they are caused by events outside their own minds.

    15. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if... there was nothing "extra" about the perception? One (AFAIK currently the leading) academic model hypothesizes that because of the distorted dopamine chemistry in the brain, every external perception is greatly amplified.

      Sadly for the affected, this does not make them a potential super soldier. Because all their internal perceptions, thought processes, their "inner voice" so to say, are also greatly amplified. This is often perceived as "hearing voices".

      Most patients can't properly tell apart what is external vs internal. Apparently, this amplification can drown out rational thought, to the point that some patients consider the voices they are hearing to be of a supreme entity (i.e. "god").

      In absence of rational thought, the brain goes back to primordial instinctive behavior. I'll let you figure out the rest.

    16. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you are most certainly right.. something that hasn't been proven is still a possibility... we just don't have the right explanations for it yet...
      humans have signals in their brain like mini signals.... what if we were sensitive enough to pick up the hi frequency signals from the air...
      it sounds crazy but if you experience this... offcourse you can not make sense of it, it seems like a voice in your unconsiousness...
      strange is deemed crazy... then "helped", but we fail to look at explanations and call them needy until we understand....
      theres so many explanations we don't care about, because science didn't get to it or don't tell us ( trade secrets?)
      what if I took a high frequency sound andconverted it to micro power like is seen in the brain? if I could record this signal
      and send it on a unaudible band wich humans cant hear.... would we understand? what if we pick up radio signals... with our skulls
      im just saying this.. we should not call people who are different crazy because they can not understand them selves what they experience
      don't give up your out of the box thinking even though others label your comment as funny... YOU make the world come further....
      disbelievers.. who can not trust others... they need science to tell them before the can think WITH you instead of against your idea...
      cognitive dissonance is a bitch, I know, as someone with sometimes new ideas extrapolated from our current reality and understanding of " things"

    17. Re:What if... by Yo+Grark · · Score: 1

      You are making the assumption they are all tuned into the same frequencies.

      Imagine you get 100 people into a room and their teeth pick up radio signals, some AM, some FM. What one person hears will be different from the next one.

      Yes it's a mental disease, but like any other, there are reasons pro's/con's why it happens and how.

      - Yo Grark

      --
      Canadian Bred with American Buttering
    18. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's assuming that we even understand how schizophrenia occurs. We're not even there yet. Heck, there isn't even a solid definition of schizophrenia and it's been changed over and over in the DSM. The bottom line is that we can't read other people's thoughts and minds. It's not like you could actually observe/listen to that "extra information". All we can do is listen to what emotions are expressed, and work from there, which doesn't lend itself well to understanding all the functional components. From what I understand, the onset is completely arbitrary. It's very difficult to not have biases when we're trying to explain the unexplainable. We could go into the biases regarding what is perceived as successful/useful, biases regarding each individual's personal context, and how people perceive the environment. There's no uniformity in any of this, so the hypothesis can't be confirmed or denied.

    19. Re:What if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, those merciful Satan-wishpers and that hell-speak has to have some limits, don't you think?

  8. Theres already a version for linux! by nimbius · · Score: 1, Informative

    Anyone with a recent version of linux can experiece the mind of a schizophrenic with Systemd. Unlike audio tests or videos that show you a first-person perspective of schizophrenic experiences, Systemd allows you to experience the neurosis first hand!

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re: Theres already a version for linux! by Zeromous · · Score: 1

      I thought that was Pulseaudio that gave me the streaming voices that tell me to see systemd trolls everywhere.

      --
      ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
  9. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

    Already happened, it's called Slashdot beta.

    --
    I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
  10. First post! Yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Oh shoot. The other me got it.

    1. Re:First post! Yes! by Mathinker · · Score: 1

      "Overrated"? This is genius!

  11. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Timothy Leary and other researchers used LSD when it was still legal, to induce temporary psychosis in themselves and other clinicians.

    They did so to better understand the mindscape of psychotic patients. A schizophrenic is not psychotic all the time, but the brain's full tilt mode is reportedly really close to what can be achieved by consumption of LSD. Recreational consumers of LSD call this state a bad trip.

    Sadly, since LSD is one of the "bad" drugs that needs to have "war" waged against it, clinical experiments with it have all but ceased. Now, if you want to explore its potential as a pharmaceutical substance, you have to join the CIA (or other shady organization). I doubt they're working on helping schizophrenics though.

  12. why do schizophrenic surfers have all the fun? by turkeydance · · Score: 0

    how about "get into the mind" of anyone? porn first.

  13. Is this named after Mindscape movie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt17... Anna (2013) Mindscape (original title) A man with the ability to enter peoples' memories...

  14. No matter where you go... by zawarski · · Score: 1

    ...there you are.

  15. and it only costs $250 per play by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and it only costs $250 per play

  16. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Timothy Leary and other researchers used LSD when it was still legal, to induce temporary psychosis in themselves and other clinicians.

    This is not entirely accurate, the proper term is psychomimetic. Symptoms/effects are similar to psychosis, but it's not actually psychosis.

    Those psychomimetic effects aren't necessarily interpreted as a "bad trip". A bad trip, in my experience, is more like having a panic attack. Also, most LSD trips have both positive and negative components. It's quite unusual to experience only negative sensations while under the influence of the drug.

  17. Read this, then put on your tinfoil hat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Note that the term Schizophrenic is often wrongly applied to people who merely investigate corruption and have distrust in the powers that be.

    Take, for example, this declassified document which lists details of "non-lethal" directed energy weaponry, including the ability to transmit a voice into the head of another individual (V2K, voice to skull).
    It uses the microwave auditory effect:

    This Heat wave crowd control is maturation of tech listed in document above.

    Here we see the weapon fitted for use in LA County Jail.

    MEDUSA would apply microwave auditory effect instead of the heat wave.
    wiki link

    It's difficult to tell the difference between a schizophrenic and someone who is being targeted by government agents for uncovering misappropriation of funds, or evidence of a conspiracy. To dismiss individuals concerns and medicate them for such claims without hearing them out is heinous, yet that is what psychiatrists do. I mean, here's a patent for mind influencing device. Is it really that far fetched? Even when the citizenry has trans-cranial tech that can keep people from speaking? It's safe to assume the government has more advanced tech than this... right?

    Sure, there are probably more schizophrenic people than those targeted by their own governments, but I put it to you that it is no longer correct to assume by default that a person hearing voices, having strange sensations, and emotions, etc. is insane. At least LOOK for evidence of manipulation. Often these individuals attempt to present a video of a sweeping AM radio tuned to static which can detect EM interference signals along the nonlethal energy weapon beams (just as you get when you put the radio near a microwave). However, such evidence it is summarily dismissed out of hand and not sought in the least by our medical "professionals" despite the growing complaints and demonstrations of such technology's use. A massive disinformation campaign has been ongoing since the mid 70's to keep the use of such tech against the citizens under wraps, and it is now a widely used tool in anti-extremist / anti-protester response forces.

    Just like they were right about the government spying on everyone and even seeing through walls the conspiracy theorists were right about tinfoil hats. Yet, the average person still dismisses even the possibility that some people wearing them aren't crazy.

    Who's the one that's brainwashed by media? It just might be the psychiatrists.

    1. Re: Read this, then put on your tinfoil hat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good

  18. Anyone remember LSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When LSD was legal Sandoz Pharmaceuticals marketed it to Psychiatrists as a drug will causes "temporary psychosis".

    Seems like this VR technology is a a regression ... clearly much more effective technology has existed for this purpose for quite some time.

    This headset sounds like a gimmick.

  19. Re:Surely it's 'evil spirits' 'possessing' them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's funny how the "voices in their head" never seem to tell them to pay their taxes on time, donate to charity, adopt troubled foster children, obey the law, etc.

  20. Re:Surely it's 'evil spirits' 'possessing' them? by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    just like Tourettes. no "beautiful"or "marvelous" tics.

  21. Re:Impossible - This has been done by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Those psychomimetic effects aren't necessarily interpreted as a "bad trip".

    Many people with schizophrenia don't consider it a "bad trip" either. By the time they are diagnosed, many of them have already lost their friends, alienated their families, have no job, and little hope of having a meaningful life. For them, reality is shit. But inside their their own mind, they are the king of the world. So why should they go through the effort of conscientiously taking medication that converts them from a king to a lonely homeless loser? This is something that makes treating schizophrenia difficult: treatment makes things get worse, sometimes much worse, before things get better. It is explained in the book The Seduction of Madness.

  22. Predictive value by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 1

    Right now this idea is outside of what we can observe, the easier path is to state that it is an anomaly in the brain. In science the easiest solution that fits the model, is the one taken to be the one to use.

    You can ask whether the information has predictive value.

    The brain is an elaborate goal-setting mechanism coupled to a prediction engine. If the schizophrenic can use his extra information in some way that allows them to predict future actions or consequences, then we can say that the extra information is likely to be real.

    We do this all the time; for example, predicting that we will get run over if we step off the curb, based on information from our visible inputs about cars in the street.

    It's very easy to "get inside someone else's mind". If we step off the curb and someone says "watch out", we're effectively making use of their neural inputs as an adjunct to our own. Simply painting a picture in someone's mind through stories or college lectures is a form of mind sharing.

    Set up an experiment using schizophrenics as "sensor" - telling us what the voices are saying and/or what the people are doing - and see if that information has any predictive value. For example, ESP tests with information (card reading) hidden from the test subject.

    If the information is completely disjoint from our own universe and has no predictive value, it's indistinguishable from made-up fantasies.

  23. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stimulant Psychosis is much closer to real schizophrenia than LSD. The Pyrovalerone familly of stimulants would be the closest to what you would really be experiencing in schizophrenia. The more famous ones in that family(especially the one in particular, now schedule 1.) can replicate this mindset quite accurately when mishandled or misused.

  24. One show I saw displayed it in an interesting way by PPalmgren · · Score: 2

    About a decade ago, a one-shot FX series called Dirt came out. It was about the celebrity tabloid journalism industry, I thought it was pretty interesting even though I'm not into that kind of stuff. One of the more interesting parts of it was that there was a schizophrenic photographer, and they did a couple segments from his perspective during periods when he was on and off his meds. I have no idea if their portrayal is how it acutally is, but I thought it matched what we've been described to as the symptoms. When the show was through his perspective, it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't real sometimes.

  25. Re:Surely it's 'evil spirits' 'possessing' them? by moeinvt · · Score: 1

    Would you also argue that there is no such thing as epilepsy in people who have no discernible physical abnormalities in their brains?
    What would your "simple critical thinking skills" tell you if you observed someone having an epileptic seizure?

  26. Re:Happy Monday from The Golden Girls! by Mathinker · · Score: 1

    Your post is soooo meta. Even if the AC reply was really the troll himself (possibly quite likely, it's been a long, long time since I saw someone here fall for it), your post would have made itself be true.

  27. What's your ringtone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ringtone: Specific stimulus.

    Sure, we all hear it, but if its not ours, we mostly disregard it.

    So remind me again why we would all know everything the other people were perceiving?

  28. Re:Surely it's 'evil spirits' 'possessing' them? by sjames · · Score: 1

    Or perhaps that happens to a lot of people but since it isn't distressing, they just assume that's how it is for everyone or they count themselves lucky.

  29. Visceral Hallucinations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They need to include such simulations as living in a torture chamber while wearing a blindfold, while experiencing the sensations of being ripped apart from the inside-out by a bunch of razor blades; like living with an invisible assailant. Or the physical affects of schizo: skin wrinkling, a HEAVY mass that appears behind the abdominal wall, deteriorating vision, floaters, the perception that you weigh as much as an elephant. The sensation of a weakening heartbeat; your doctor’s nurse having to take your blood pressure on BOTH arms, because your blood pressure is lower than it should be. The hospitals reject you, your own doctor ridicules you, because of what you have; the REAL Schizophrenia. It seems as though no one in the area where I live knows anything about the REAL Schizophrenia. People seem afraid of my presence, like I’m the plague itself. You hear something about “Blueman” virus, slowly but surely turning you into a "sub-atomic shapeshifter”, that packs around a highly-maneuverable and weaponized “vessel” in its thoracic cavity. “Blueman” is just a projection of matter that emanates from this “vessel”. Supposedly, this whole “Blueman” virus is a product of God. IMNSHO, the entity known as God, is a very large-scale infrastructure controller and defense system. God is one nasty mother-fucker; God, Satan, they’re all one-in-the-same.

  30. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now, if you want to explore its potential as a pharmaceutical substance, you have to join the CIA (or other shady organization). I doubt they're working on helping schizophrenics though.

    Last time I checked, they were more interested of battlefield gasses which turn the targets gay. Happy people and women don't want to kill even at war, as far as they know. A good 50's soldier is a sad, serious man.

  31. Inside the Mind of a Schizophrenic by lippydude · · Score: 1

    Sounds like someone is having a waking dream. Has anyone ever considered these schizophrenic 'voices' are actually suppressed physiological impulses bubbling back to the surface as phantom voices. The subject and content of the 'voices' being a distraction from what ever really ails them. The reported flattening being fatigue caused by trying to not think about something.

  32. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OP here - You're talking about the battlefield. I was alluding to what "interrogation specialists" might be interested in, regarding the effects of psychotropic substances.

  33. Had to look hard, but finally found the video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I had to look hard, but it seems I found the video showing the perspective of a schizophrenic.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25zdFWGKyi0

  34. thundercats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, no, but there is "thundercats" which is pretty good, as tics go.

  35. First thought was that Amiga game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mind Walker by Bill Williams in 1986 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_Walker.

  36. I'm schizophrenic and this isn't going to mimic it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Writing as someone who has has paranoid schizophrenia for over 15 years, I see a few glaring shortfalls.

    Firstly, this is not going to be interactive with your thoughts - positive schizophrenic hallucinations are often manifestations of your subconscious, you may think of something, then hear voices (or sometimes see, hear, smell or feel things) related to that thought.. basically the hallucinations feed off your own mind. How is the software going to read the wearer's mind and start picking on their private thoughts? A common experience with schizophrenics is to relate that "the voices can see through my eyes and know what I'm thinking..." seeing through the schizophrenics eyes could be mimicked I guess, and would be better if eye-tracking hardware was used in the occulus rift to note what they are focusing on in the VR world, but to get a more "schizophrenic" experience, you would need to know what the wearer actually thinks, personally... otherwise, it's just going to be like walking through a crowd.

  37. HOSTS files by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Strange - it didn't mention including the need to repeatedly vomit spam on Slashdot regarding HOSTS files...

  38. Re:Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    True that. Except for the king of the world part. Nothing could be further from the truth, at least for me.

  39. I'm curious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what it would be like for a schizophrenic person to try this. Metaschizophrenia?

  40. Re:Impossible - This has been done by lucien86 · · Score: 1

    True except the only part you got wrong is that the drugs don't work. The drugs in a lot of cases actually make you worse, they crush your talents and your skill and leave you emotionally dead and broken. They can literally make the illness worse and cause damaging effects that are pretty much permanent. Psychiatrists don't really understand schizophrenia and they don't really understand the brain. They still think you can fix a neural network with chemicals alone... (or - ECT like trying to start a car, at least a little better than an ice pick to the frontal lobes.) Unfortunately there is no proper 'medical science' for curing mental illness yet...
    Its leaches and mercury poultices and blood letting, if you had cancer would you want leaches and mercury poultices or would you want chemotherapy?

    --
    Below the speed of light Special Relativity is one of the most accurate theories in physics - above the speed of light..
  41. Re: Impossible - This has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Treating mental illness needs the touch of artist. Most of tools work like an 8 pound sledge hammer.