Your body reacts to dangers you spot from a VR headset, scientists say. — Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
GENEVA: Even while we're using virtual reality (VR), our immune system still responds to germ-related dangers we perceive, new research has found.
If you're wearing a VR headset and see a sneeze or cough or some other potential source of infection, your body's defences will activate just as they would in the real world, scientists say after studying people's brain activity.
The research highlights the possibility of real physical impacts from experiencing a so-called "metaverse", a virtual space that Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg believes will one day replace the internet of today.
The researchers monitored 250 people looking at avatars with human-like faces through a camera headset. Some avatars showed signs of infection such as rashes or coughing.
Participants reacted more strongly when sick-looking avatars approached them closely in VR environments, suggesting their brains were on high alert.
When avatars showing signs of infection neared the 250 participants, their brain activity differed compared to when the figures were distant or when avatars without signs of illness approached.
Blood samples from participants exposed to sick-looking avatars also showed increased activity of certain immune system cells known as ILCs (innate lymphoid cells).
This means our brains can initiate an early response to a potential infection even before pathogens are present in the body, say scientists from the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva.
The finding highlights the sensitivity of the immune system to indications of infectious diseases, said the team led by Camilla Jandus and Andrea Serino, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. – dpa
