250-The Neuro-Immune Axis of Virtual Infection Threat

Paper Talk · Nov 21, 2025 · 15m

The article details an experiment demonstrating that the brain anticipates virtual infection threats, triggering a measurable immune response before actual physical contact with a pathogen occurs. Researchers used virtual reality (VR) to expose participants to avatars displaying signs of infection, measuring neural activity through EEG and fMRI, and monitoring changes in innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The results show that the peripersonal space (PPS) system and the salience network detect these potential threats, leading to ILC activation similar to that caused by a flu vaccine. This…