By Dr. Liji Thomas, MD Reviewed by Lauren Hardaker Jul 31 2025 In a new experiment, scientists used virtual reality to show that the brain can sense virtual infection to trigger the body’s immune system, before the first microbe ever makes contact. Study:  Neural anticipation of virtual infection triggers an immune response . Image credit: SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com The immune system detects and responds to the presence of a pathogen to eliminate or counteract its toxic effects. However, the