A study conducted by researchers in China involved 25 volunteers who experienced the sensation of "flying" in virtual reality, participating in four sessions over a week. During these half-hour experiences, participants observed their winged avatars in a virtual mirror while flapping their digital wings to dodge falling objects, hover above cliffs, and navigate through aerial rings. Prior to and following the experiment, the volunteers underwent brain MRI scans. After the week of virtual flights, the scientists noted changes in the occipito-temporal cortex, which is crucial for visual perception of body parts. This area exhibited increased activity in response to images of the wings, similar to the brain's response when observing actual human arms, particularly on the right side. "Participants started to perceive the wings as extensions of their own bodies," stated Yanchao Bi, a co-author of the study. Previous research involving tools and prosthetics indicated that the brain regarded them as separate entities. While the virtual wings did not stimulate the same level of neural response as real hands, the findings revealed a surprising degree of brain plasticity, suggesting that the mind can adapt to integrate limbs not originally anticipated by evolution.
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