Front Psychiatry
March 1, 2023
Karl Kristjan Kaup, Madis Vasser, Kadi Tulver et al.
22 citations
An open-label feasibility study tested whether a virtual reality simulation designed to replicate aspects of the psychedelic experience could be used as a therapeutic tool. Participants reported that the VR experience produced subjective effects resembling those of psychedelics, including altered perception and a sense of oceanic boundlessness. The findings suggest that VR-based psychedelic replications are feasible and acceptable, and may offer a scalable, non-pharmacological approach for mental health interventions. The study did not assess clinical outcomes, but participants showed reduced negative affect after the session. The authors indicate that further controlled research is needed to determine therapeutic efficacy.
November 26, 2021
Kadi Tulver, Karl Kristjan Kaup, Ruben Laukkonen et al.
16 citations
preprint
Insight, the sudden understanding of a solution or idea, is not only central to creative problem-solving but also plays a key role in psychotherapy, meditation, the emergence of delusions in schizophrenia, and the therapeutic effects of psychedelics. This integrative review draws on literature from multiple fields to examine the event of insight, its prerequisites, and its consequences. It highlights commonalities and differences across these domains, aiming to bridge gaps between disparate research traditions and inspire interdisciplinary efforts to understand this core cognitive process.
July 5, 2022
Kristjan Kaup, Madis Vasser, Kadi Tulver et al.
7 citations
preprint
A 2-day virtual reality intervention called Psyrreal, designed to mimic the phenomenological components of psychedelic experiences, combined with psychological support, led to significant decreases in depressive symptoms at a 2-week follow-up in ten participants with mild-to-moderate depression. The intervention also appeared to promote insight and alterations in the sense of self in some people, based on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. These preliminary results suggest potential for VR experiences in treating depressive symptoms and warrant further research.
Frontiers in psychiatry
January 1, 2023
Karl Kristjan Kaup, Madis Vasser, Kadi Tulver et al.
3 citations
correction
No Summary
May 28, 2023
Timo Siimon, Kadi Tulver, Kristjan Kaup et al.
2 citations
preprint
A psychedelic virtual reality environment, which replicates visual content experienced under the influence of psychedelics, helped people stuck on a real-life creative problem reach new insights more effectively than a control VR environment. The thematic analysis indicated that the psychedelic VR supported several aspects of creative insight, likely by relaxing the person's fixed assumptions about their problem. The results are encouraging but need to be tested in larger studies.
Philosophical Psychology
January 1, 2026
Juensung J. Kim, Kadi Tulver, Jaan Aru et al.
1 citation
Mystical-type experiences and insight problem solving both belong to a family of "realization experiences" where information suddenly becomes experienced as real or true. Both can be modeled using behavioral entropy and graph theory. When novel information conflicts with prior representations, the mind destabilizes its representational network, entering a state of altered salience and enhanced associations. After restructuring sensitive to environmental cues, the agent forms new beliefs or revises its entire framework. The phenomenology depends on the size and content of the updated network and environmental affordances. This shared vocabulary aims to facilitate discussion across these phenomena.
February 12, 2024
Kadi Tulver, Kristjan Kaup, Jaan Aru
preprint
A new framework proposes that diverse mental breakthroughs—from everyday problem-solving insights to profound personal transformations—share common mechanisms of representational change. The model identifies three core components—tension, altered salience, and enhanced flexibility—as prerequisites for cognitive restructuring, interacting in an iterative cycle that influences insight emergence. The intensity and impact of an 'aha-moment' depend on how central the conflict is within one's conceptual landscape and the degree to which existing mental models are challenged. Drawing on psychotherapy, contemplative science, and psychedelic research, this theoretical account aims to unify explanations of insight phenomena across disciplines.