The Virtual Embodiment Lab was recently featured in the Cornell Chronicle for its publication, “The Effects of Companionship From Strangers and Companions on Pain Thresholds in Immersive Virtual Reality: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” The study, led by VEL Lab Manager Isabelle McLeod Daphnis and anchored by VEL Director Professor Andrea Stevenson Won, explores how social interaction in VR can influence pain perception.

Co-authors include Mehrnaz Sabet, M.S. ’23, doctoral student in Information Science; Angel Hsing-Chi Hwang, Ph.D. ’23, assistant professor of Communication at the University of Southern California; Hal Rives ’21, current medical student at Temple University; Qinyue Yu ’23; and Ke Wu ’23.

Read the full article on the Cornell Chronicle: “Pain tolerance increases during social interaction in VR.”