Daniel / stock.adobe.com
Researchers have observed that a simple presence in virtual reality of an avatar displaying visible symptoms could trigger a defense response of the organism, such as a virus or a bacteria.
Imagine being quietly seated at your office when, suddenly, a colleague arrives, the exhausted air, the gray-green complexion, the drop in the nose. Immediately, your brain identifies: ” sick “. If it approaches too much, you will run the risk of being contaminated. But before you even had time to find an excuse to eclipse yourself, without you being able to realize it, your body has reacted. Seeing the sick potential approaching, and via the simple anticipation of being in turn, your immune system has triggered a real response, as if it were infected with a virus.
This is what a new study published in Nature Neuroscience, Led by researchers in Switzerland, with employees in Great Britain and Italy. Science had already shown that in the face of danger, a physically anchored survival instinct allowed our body to strengthen its muscles, energy and concentration. Faced with the detection of a threat, the amygdal …
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