Frontiers Forum > Science Unlimited 2019 > Mavi Sánchez-Vives | IDIBAPS

Transforming lives with virtual reality

Our brain has a remarkable plasticity to accept virtual bodies as our "own" under certain conditions, becoming embodied-virtual bodies. Speaking at Science Unlimited 2019, Mavi Sánchez-Vives demonstrated how this powerful immersive virtual reality tool can help change people's behaviors – and even treat medical conditions.

Mavi Sánchez-Vives, Institute of Biomedical Research Augusto Pi y Suñer (IDIBAPS)

Mavi Sánchez-Vives uses VR to understand how the brain creates an internal representation of the world and of ourselves. Her lab combines immersion in virtual environments with behavioral and physiological measures to investigate how input from different sensory streams sculpts such representation – as well as how virtual environments can be used in medical and therapeutical applications. Mavi is ICREA Research Professor and head of the Systems Neuroscience group at the Institute of Biomedical Research Augusto Pi y Suñer (IDIBAPS). She is also Chief Editor of Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience and founder of Virtualbodyworks.com.