The Hallucination Machine: A Deep-Dream VR platform for Studying the Phenomenology of Visual Hallucinations
bioRxiv Preprint Server November 3, 2017 Keisuke Suzuki, Warrick Roseboom, David J. Schwartzman et al. 2 citations preprint
A tool called the Hallucination Machine simulates visual hallucinatory experiences using deep convolutional neural networks and panoramic virtual reality videos of natural scenes. It induces visual phenomenology qualitatively similar to classical psychedelics, but does not evoke the temporal distortion commonly associated with altered states. This technique allows researchers to study altered consciousness without the confounding physiological and cognitive effects of psychoactive substances or psychopathological conditions, offering a valuable method for consciousness science and psychiatry.