Addicts Put Inside Virtual 'Heroin Cave' in Study to Help Them Kick the Habit Researchers are looking to see if making their way through a simulated house party crammed with stimuli aimed at evoking cravings for the drug will help better equip those who suffer from addiction to do so in the real world.

By Reuters

This story originally appeared on Reuters

Meta

Addicts in a new study at the University of Houston will strap on virtual reality headsets and navigate a "heroin cave" to help them try and kick their addictions.

Researchers are looking to see if making their way through a simulated house party crammed with stimuli aimed at evoking cravings for the drug will help better equip those who suffer from addiction to do so in the real world.

The heroin environments, a house party where the drug is snorted and one where it is injected, took nearly a year to complete to ensure realism, its creators said.

The study from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work uses an eight-camera infrared system that projects life-sized 3-D avatars and environments with which participants can interact in a virtual reality chamber known as the "heroin cave."

Details from an open pizza box on the back patio to cash tossed on a table next to a cigarette lighter are meant to augment sensations and trigger a heroin craving.

"In traditional therapy we role-play with the patient but the context is all wrong," said Patrick Bordnick, an associate dean of research and one of the study leaders.

"They know they're in a therapist's office and the drug isn't there. We need to put patients in realistic virtual reality environments and make them feel they are there with the drug, and the temptation, to get a clearer picture and improve interventions," Bordnick said.

Data from Bordnick's past virtual reality studies on other types of addiction such as cigarettes have shown that participants report a higher level of confidence to resist temptation in the real world after learning coping skills in virtual environments.

"We want to know if decreasing craving in a lab modifies heroin use in the real world," Bordnick said.

(Reporting by Amanda Orr; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions

Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

From Hollywood to Harvest — How Zooey Deschanel is on a Mission to Make Fresh Produce More Accessible

Along with her business partner and ex-husband, serial entrepreneur Jacob Pechenik, Deschanel founded Lettuce Grow. This hydroponic vertical garden system allows you to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers at home.

Social Media

AI Is Transforming the Workplace — Including Social Media Marketing. Here's How Businesses Can Actually Use It.

Artificial intelligence is transforming social media management for small and medium-sized businesses, helping them enhance scalability, improve cost efficiency and build stronger customer relationships.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.