Digital hallucinations boost creativity - no drugs required

People have tried for centuries to see beyond ordinary reality. Shamans used plants; scientists used chemistry. Now technology has entered that space. Researchers in Milan have built digital hallucinations that feel psychedelic but use no drugs at all. It sounds strange, but it works.

The project is called Cyberdelics. It blends immersive virtual reality with artificial intelligence to simulate the effects of psychedelics. The experience tricks the brain into loosening up, thinking differently, and even calming down.

The study was led by Professor Giuseppe Riva, who directs the Humane Technology Lab at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

“We have demonstrated that virtual reality is capable of replicating some of the positive effects associated with the use of psychotropic substances,” said Professor Riva. “Among which, the increase in cognitive flexibility and creativity is particularly significant.”

Researchers must still confirm if these effects match psilocybin or LSD, though current evidence shows a promising path worth exploring further.

Inside the virtual mind trip

Fifty volunteers wore VR headsets and entered two 10-minute experiences. The first was The Secret Garden, a peaceful 3D garden meant for relaxation.

The second was the same garden – except it pulsed, rippled, and shimmered under an algorithm called DeepDream. The AI twisted shapes, colors, and movement until everything felt surreal. It looked like a lucid dream.

Participants reported strange shifts in emotion and thought. The hallucinatory version increased creativity and mental flexibility. It also lowered anxiety and slowed heart rate.

Yet, people described it as absorbing and demanding at once – a mix of calm and curiosity. The brain appeared to work harder, but not under stress.

Cyberdelics and the brain

Researchers noticed something interesting: the brain, when confronted with unpredictable visuals, stopped clinging to its usual patterns.

This matches the “entropic brain” idea – the theory that psychedelics boost mental openness by increasing randomness in brain activity. In the experiment, DeepDream appeared to do something similar without altering brain chemistry.

Language tests confirmed the shift. After the digital trip, participants came up with more original ideas when asked creative questions.

Scientists measured this using a machine learning model called BERT, which tracks how semantically different a person’s ideas are. Greater distance between words meant greater creativity.

The mind’s emotional workout

The emotional side of the study told another story. The virtual hallucinations boosted engagement but reduced fluency.

In simple terms, participants were deeply involved but had to work harder to make sense of what they saw. That trade-off resembled real psychedelic states – vivid, confusing, and thought-provoking at once.

Heart rate and stress levels dropped in both VR sessions, showing relaxation. Yet the hallucinatory version came with emotional complexity: moments of awe, tension, and curiosity all mixed together.

Psychologists call these “pivotal mental states” – periods when the mind becomes flexible enough to change how it sees itself and the world.

Rethinking psychedelic treatment

Cyberdelics might one day sit between therapy and technology. Psychedelic substances like psilocybin are showing success in treating depression and trauma, but they remain heavily regulated. Virtual hallucinations could offer a middle ground – safe, repeatable, and guided by therapists.

The idea also fits with the Predictive Coding theory. The brain constantly guesses what comes next based on past experience. Psychedelics, and perhaps cyberdelics, interrupt those guesses.

The REBUS model calls it “relaxed beliefs” – the mind lets go of rigid expectations and absorbs new information. In VR, the same thing may happen through surprising visuals rather than serotonin changes.

Measuring the lasting effects

The next step is clinical testing. The researchers want to see how cyberdelics work for people with anxiety or depression. Future studies will track how long the creative and calming effects last. They’ll also refine protocols to make these sessions part of psychotherapy.

“Digital psychedelic experiences are not intended to replace drugs,” the research team wrote. “But our aim is to exploit virtual reality and technologies to create a safe laboratory in which to explore altered states of consciousness and their therapeutic potential.”

“At the same time, they offer a digital alternative for those seeking the possible benefits of psychedelic experiences without resorting to recreational substance use, and for those who do not respond to traditional treatments.”

Digital hallucinations as therapy

This work opens a new route into the mind. It replaces chemistry with code. The headset becomes the new gateway. Users can test the limits of perception, learn how their thoughts shift, and return to normal life safely afterward.

Cyberdelics show that the future of mental exploration might not involve swallowing anything at all. Just putting on a headset could be enough to spark insight, calm the body, and stretch the imagination – all without a single drug.

The study is published in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience.

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