The Viscereality Project innovatively combines breathwork and virtual reality to induce altered states of consciousness. At its core is a bio-responsive VR application that dynamically adapts to users' breathing patterns.
This approach aims to couple interoception (internal bodily awareness) with exteroception (perception of the external world) by synchronizing immersive virtual environments with breathing techniques such as circular breathing and hyperventilation.
By blurring the boundaries between internal physiological states and external virtual contexts, the project seeks to facilitate a dissolution of the sense of self - a key characteristic of altered states.
This novel method explores how the interplay of bodily sensations and responsive digital environments can influence consciousness, potentially offering new insights into subjective experiences and opening avenues for therapeutic applications in mental health.

Scientific Ingredients in a Nutshell:

Breathwork induces altered states of consciousness similar to psychedelics [1, 2, 3].
Bioresponsive VR
​Respiratory coupling of lung-mechanics to
the contraction and expansion of virtual space.
Breathing affects the perception of quantities [4]

Learn more:
meta-awareness
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Meta-awareness​ is the experience of being aware of your awareness. During the breathwork session, you may realize that you have been deep in thought, and your focus of attention has not been ‘with’ the practice. This process of realizing the mind has wandered is an acute example of meta-awareness. When meta-awareness is high, we may feel like we are observing ourselves having a thought or becoming distracted, without getting too involved in the experience ourselves.
distraction
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Distraction happens when  attention drifts away from what you're supposed to be doing. For instance, during a breathwork session, if the mind wanders and participants are not fully engaged in the practice, their level of distraction was high. On the other hand, if they were completely immersed in the breathwork, fully connected to the experience as it unfolds, they were highly present, and the indicated distraction level would be low.
physical effort
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This dimension refers to how much physical effort you put into the breathwork practice. A high level of physical effort during a breathwork session can be likened to how much physical effort you would put into an intense exercise. During some stages of the breathwork session you may feel like the session is physically demanding, and you are putting in a lot of physical effort. Or, at other stages, you may feel that the practice is very relaxing, and does not require a great deal of physical effort.
Mental effort
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This dimension refers to the impression that our current mental state is easy or difficult to sustain. A high level of effort can be experienced as a deliberate attitude of control to maintain a state. In contrast, low levels of mental effort are required when the state can be maintained with ease, or when we decide not to exert too much effort. A quick example would be if you were doing a challenging task at work, or a demanding exam. When doing so, you may feel like you are exerting yourself mentally, and feel like your cognitive battery is being depleted as a result.

Future Plans

Multi-Person Breath-Synchronization 

Meet the Team

George Fejer
Corresponding Author

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George Fejer is a PhD candidate in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Konstanz, an affiliate of the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, and a research affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He is the lead author of the project's scientific concept and grant application, awarded by the BIAL Foundation for the implementation of this project.

Till Holzapfel
VR Developer

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Till Holzapfel, obtained a Master’s in Cognitive Science from the University of Osnabrück, and worked as a lab manager for Intangible Realities Lab of  Dr. David Glowacki.  His work is dedicated to designing immersive VR for facilitating transformative experiences that deepen our scientific understanding of consciousness.

Johannes Blum
VR Developer / Consultant

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Johannes Blum is the Head of Research and Development at the Pädagogische Hochschule Schaffhausen, with a background in psychology and digital mental health. He previously worked on the development of  Flowborne VR , a meditative breathwork experience enhanced by biofeedback, designed to promote deep relaxation through diaphragmatic breathing.

Jeroen de Mooij
VR Developer

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Over 20 years of experience with multimedia in visual and interactive form. Started as 2D flash developer, changed path to 3D motion graphics and combining it all now by making realtime interactive visual media. As a freelancer I like to experiment with new software, sensors and technologies.
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Julius Schuster, a certified breathwork instructor and doctoral candidate in Nutritional Sciences with a Master’s in Neurobiology, consults on this project, contributing expertise in breathwork for well-being. He prepared a guided session featuring an audio guide, music, and breathing instructions.

The QRI HEART workshop held in Tepoztlán in 2024 provided valuable developer feedback and inspiration, as well as a creative space that facilitated the aesthetic development of the project. Andrés Gómez Emilsson provided the coupling kernel  paradigm upon which the oscillatory dynamics are based

Symmetric Vision (www.symmetric-vision.xyz/) provided invaluable advice contributing to the particle textures.

Taru Hirvonen (taru-u.github.io/apps/symmetry/) provided invaluable guidance on integrating spatio-temporal oscillation dynamics into particles, enabling them to move in response to lung dynamics while maintaining spatial relationships and interactions with one another.


​David Lobser (dlobser.com/) provided support in graphical optimization of geometric textures.

Scientific Advisory

Bigna Lenggenhager
Cognitive Neuropsychologist | Co-Principal Investigator

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Bigna Lenggenhager has several years of experience, having worked as a professor at the Universities of Zurich and Konstanz, with her research focusing on body-swap illusions and the plasticity of the bodily self. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at EPFL in Lausanne and undertook postdoctoral research in Rome and Bern before becoming a junior group leader at the University Hospital Zurich. Her research centered on multisensory integration, the bodily self, and embodied cognition in both health and pathology. She extensively applied virtual and augmented reality techniques, integrating them with psychological and neuroscientific methods.

Michael Gaebler
Cognitive and Brain Scientist

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Michael Gaebler is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (Department of Neurology) and leads the Mind-Body-Emotion Group, which is based both in Leipzig and at the Max Planck Dahlem Campus of Cognition in Berlin. His research explores the relationship between mental processes—such as thoughts and emotions—and brain-body interactions, with a particular focus on brain-heart dynamics in both health and pathology. The group employs psychophysiological and neuroimaging techniques, conducting studies in classical laboratory settings as well as in real-world and naturalistic environments, including immersive virtual reality.

Oliver Deussen
Professor for Visual Computing | Principal Investigator

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Oliver Deussen is a professor of Visual Computing at the University of Konstanz and a speaker of the Excellence Cluster, the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior. His research focuses on modeling and rendering complex systems, non-photorealistic rendering, and information visualization. He has contributed to key areas such as geometry processing and image-based modeling.

Project funded by

Bial Foundation

Participating Institutions
References:

​[1] Bahi, C., Irrmischer, M., Franken, K. et al. Effects of conscious connected breathing on cortical brain activity, mood and state of consciousness in healthy adults. Curr Psychol 43, 10578–10589 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05119-6
[2]  Lewis-Healey, E., Tagliazucchi, E., Canales-Johnson, A., & Bekinschtein, T. A. (2024). Breathwork-induced psychedelic experiences modulate neural dynamics. Cerebral Cortex, 34(8), bhae347.
[3] Havenith, M., Leidenberger, M., Brasanac, J., Corvacho, M., Figueiredo, I. C., Schwarz, L., ... & Jungaberle, A. (2024). Decreased CO2 saturation during circular breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness.
[4] Belli, F., Felisatti, A., & Fischer, M. H. (2021). “BreaThink”: breathing affects production and perception of quantities. Experimental Brain Research, 239(8), 2489-2499.