Researchers use 'Virtual Iraq' simulation to study post-traumatic stress disorder

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers are using a virtual reality simulation called "Virtual Iraq" to better understand how symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develop. In their ongoing research trial, participating Iraq War and Gulf War veterans with and without PTSD are shown a brief, 3-D virtual-reality simulation of an urban combat scenario. They wear a headset, through which they hear, see, and -- using a keypad -- "move" through a "virtual world" in which images change in a natural way along with head and body movement.