Out-of-Body Experience in Virtual Reality Induces Acute Dissociation
Psychology of Consciousness December 1, 2018 Dalena van Heugten-van der Kloet, J. Cosgrave, Joram J. van Rheede et al.
A virtual reality setup simulating out-of-body experiences significantly increased acute dissociation, especially depersonalization, in 25 healthy participants. Participants wore an Oculus Rift headset connected to a camera showing their own body and surroundings, and completed exercises before and after the VR exposure. Dissociation was measured with the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale. The authors present this as the first study to use VR to induce acute dissociation and offer preliminary support for VR as a viable method to study dissociative states in healthy subjects.