[MUSIC]. VR has recently made some headline because it helped some paralyzed patients regain some motor control and physical sensation. Basically those patients were asked to visualize moving their legs and they learnt to use their brains signals as a form of input to control their avatar in VR. So they would be working hard on imagining that they were moving their legs while seeing their legs actually move in VR. This then tricked the brain into thinking they had the ability to move their body which reengaged some spinal cord nerves. The brain signal used here is called EEG, electroencephalography. I was once a participant in a study where EEG was used and I had to imagine using my legs. It was actually quite hard work and I remember that I had to try very hard to stay focused. We don't really spend a lot of time in our everyday life imagining moving our legs. So it was a bit weird and quite boring. So I can imagine that having the interactive video feedback in VR could really have played an important role in motivation and focus. There are other ways to use VR in physical rehabilitation. Most of them follow the same principle, which is not the use of VR can really make the rehabilitation task less boring, less painful and a bit more fun. We can utilize the 3D tracking ability of the VR controllers to help motor rehabilitation as well. So for example patients could be playing ping-pong in VR. Another benefit of using VR is that we can quite easily control the level of difficulties in the task. So, maybe when I first started playing ping-pong I could have a massive bat and the ball could be animated to go very slowly. So it's very easy to hit a ball and I won't be frustrated. Later when I get the hang of it I can go up a level so I can have a slightly smaller bat, and the ball could move slightly quicker. So this way I can progress in steps, and be in full control of my own rehabilitation which can be easily done in VR. VR has also been used in the area of psychotherapy. Noticeably in the treatment of Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, and Acrophobia the fear of heights. The idea behind this is that by putting someone to the situation they are afraid of but in a risk free and controlled environment. They can actually gradually learn how to deal with their fear and cope with the situation. The same idea has also been applied to treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. Where soldiers who have witnessed traumatic events in war, try to revisit the place in VR, but this time, without the traumatic event. Gradually and repetitively they retrain their brain not to overreact. Psychotherapy in VR was actually my PhD topic. It was the very reason why I started VR research in 2005. In particular, I was interested in therapy for social phobia. In my thesis, I looked at using the art to create a pleasant social encounter, where participants could learn how to deal with their social anxiety and regain confidence in their social interactions. [MUSIC]