Lowlands as lab: virtual trips in the name of science
While tens of thousands of visitors dance to deafening music, a team of Leiden psychologists are trying to collect data for their research at Lowlands. How do festivalgoers experience a virtual trip? And what role do factors such as too little sleep and whether they have experience with psychedelics play?
Hour after hour dozens of participants eagerly offer their services as test subjects in the Leiden container at Lowlands Science. The area is close to Alpha, the biggest festival tent, so at times the researchers have to shout to be understood before they place a noise-cancelling VR headset on the participants. ‘It’s challenging to do research in such a hot and noisy environment, but the number of participants is above expectations’, says psychologist Michiel van Elk. With various labs from different universities and hospitals, Lowlands Science is popular at this sun-drenched edition. Visitors to the neighbouring Leyden Academy container experience how it is to be much older and with researchers from Rotterdam they discover what works better as a painkiller: heavy metal or classical music.
Experiencing a VR trip
In the Leiden container a VR headset transports the test participants to a hallucinatory world of plants that gradually turn into intriguing patterns to the accompaniment of jungle-like sounds. The VR trip was developed by artists' collective PlantFictions and is based on experiences of psychedelic trips. ‘We are researching how participants experience this virtual trip’, says psychologist Josi Marschall from the research team. ‘To what extent do the sounds and images mentally and physically affect the participants and do they momentarily enter a different state? We are measuring this with the aid of skin conductors, heart rate monitors and a questionnaire afterwards.’
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At the entrance to their special lab, Van Elk explains why they are doing this research. Previous clinical studies have shown that some psychedelics such as MDMA and ketamine, if dosed and carefully supervised, may help in therapies for major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. This is due to the consciousness-altering substances that enable users to temporarily perceive themselves and their surroundings differently and step outside old patterns of thought. But much research is still needed and there are risks to using drugs, says Van Elk. So it is not a good idea for people with mental health problems to experiment with this themselves. ‘We are investigating whether a virtual trip also momentarily shakes participants free. That can offer valuable insights for new treatment methods.’
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Why did the psychologists choose Lowlands as a testing ground? ‘The festival attracts a wide mix of people, a considerable number of whom already have experience with psychedelics’, says Van Elk. The participants first answer questions about their personality and how sensitive they are to suggestions. They are also asked about the hours of sleep they have had and any alcohol and drugs they might have consumed. They also do a breath test. ‘For the research it’s interesting if both sober people and participants under the influence or with previous experience of psychedelics take part. But we don’t let people who are too far gone participate.’ During the first day a surprising participant pops up: Rector Hester Bijl also volunteers as a test subject.
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After a few hours it is clear that the participants respond differently to the experiment. Some enjoy the VR trip and the odd one becomes restless but many say it actually calms them down. And some participants don’t experience much at all. Like Jan, who already has psychedelics experience. ‘It didn’t do much for me but it’s great to be able to contribute to scientific research’, he says. ‘The different reactions are providing valuable information about who is susceptible to this’, says Van Elk. ‘This Lowlands research is only the beginning of a big study into the effects of a VR trip’, says Marschall. This autumn the team will be conducting research in the much quieter conditions of the lab at the university.
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Other researchers from Leiden also took part in Lowlands Science 2023 Professor of Vitality David van Bodegom was one of the researchers in the Leyden Academy lab on Vitality and Ageing, mathematician and science communication expert Ionica Smeets explained how to translate complex material for a wider audience and developmental psychologist Eveline Crone spoke about her research into adolescents.