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Using Virtual Reality to Ease Post-Battle Stress

by Evan Shamoon on June 21, 2007 at 04:08 PM

With one-third of Iraq War veterans returning home with nasty cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, scientists are working on advanced virtual experiences that replicate the battlegrounds of Iraq in order to help the veterans recover from their emotional and mental trauma.

Emory University is working on a study of 150 soldiers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and trying to prove that virtual reality can work better and faster when subjects take a drug (d-Cycloserine or DCS), which was once widely used to treat tuberculosis.

During the sessions, which involve wearing Darth Vader-like VR helmets, soldiers often get nervous; several have had to take off helmets for a break, while others have cried.

We can imagine what this means for the future of videogames, and it sounds intense.

From USA Today


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