Paranoid thoughts, arising from an exaggerated or unfounded distrust of others, regularly affect one in three people in the UK, but are particularly problematic in psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia. A team from the Institute of Psychiatry has developed a virtual reality system (see below) to investigate the processes behind this kind of thinking, and to develop treatments for it.

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In a Wellcome Trust-funded pilot study, the group pioneered the use of virtual reality – already shown to help people to overcome phobias – to develop an understanding of paranoid thoughts. Now, one of the original researchers, Dr Daniel Freeman, has been awarded a Research Career Development Fellowship to continue this work.

Paranoia arises from abnormalities in social cognition – understanding how people interact with one another and interpreting interpersonal behaviour in particular social situations. People with paranoid thinking patterns interpret social signals abnormally – believing that everyone on a bus is looking at them, for example.

As well as undertaking various studies exploring these aberrant ways of thinking, Dr Freeman is also using the virtual reality system to assess patients' responses and behaviour in a fully immersive but totally controlled environment. For example, it will be possible to compare the responses of patients with those of non-clinical individuals in the general population, to identify behaviours characteristic of paranoid thinking.

It is hoped that in the future, this system could be adapted to become part of cognitive behavioural therapy, a form of psychotherapy.

Virtual reality underground tube environment, QuickTime high res [12.2MB]

Virtual reality underground tube environment, QuickTime low res [9MB]

Image: An image from a virtual reality underground tube environment used in studying paranoid and suspicious thinking; Angus Antley, Computer Scientist, UCL

External links

• Freeman D et al. The psychology of persecutory ideation II: a virtual reality experimental study. J Nerv Ment Dis 2005;193(5):309–15.
• Freeman D et al. Acting on persecutory delusions: the importance of safety seeking. Behav Res Ther 2007;45(1):89–99 [Epub ahead of print].
• Freeman D et al. Psychological investigation of the structure of paranoia in a non-clinical population. Br J Psychiatry 2005;186:427–35.
• Freeman D. et al. Can virtual reality be used to investigate persecutory ideation? J Nerv Ment Dis 2003;191(8):509–514.
• Freeman D. Suspicious minds: the psychology of persecutory delusions. Clin Psychol Rev [in press].
• The group has also produced a self-help book, Overcoming Paranoid and Suspicious Thoughts.