The article "From Presence Towards Consciousness" by Maria V. Sanchez-Vives and Mel Slater explores the phenomenon of presence in immersive virtual environments (VEs) and its potential implications for understanding consciousness. Presence is defined as the feeling of being in a virtual world, despite knowing that it is not physically real. The authors argue that presence is a phenomenon worthy of study by neuroscientists, as it may help in understanding consciousness, particularly within a restricted domain. The article discusses the concept of telepresence, introduced by Marvin Minsky in 1980, which describes the feeling of being present in a remote location through a teleoperator system. This concept has been applied to VEs, where participants can interact with virtual environments and experience a sense of presence. The quality of the VE experience is influenced by various parameters such as visual display, head-mounted displays (HMDs), frame rate, latency, and haptics. The authors distinguish between immersion and presence, noting that immersion refers to the overall fidelity of the VE compared to physical reality, while presence is the human response to the system. Presence can be measured through questionnaires, behavioral responses, and physiological measures. Experimental studies have shown that factors such as higher frame rates, lower latency, and realistic sound can enhance presence. The article also explores the application of VEs in therapy, particularly for managing anxiety and social phobias. Studies have found that virtual environments can effectively reduce anxiety in patients with acrophobia, arachnophobia, and public speaking anxiety. Additionally, VEs have been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain distraction. Finally, the authors suggest that presence research should be integrated into neuroscience, as it shares conceptual overlaps with fields such as perception and consciousness. They propose that the phenomenon of presence can provide insights into the mechanisms of consciousness, particularly in its restricted form within a VE.The article "From Presence Towards Consciousness" by Maria V. Sanchez-Vives and Mel Slater explores the phenomenon of presence in immersive virtual environments (VEs) and its potential implications for understanding consciousness. Presence is defined as the feeling of being in a virtual world, despite knowing that it is not physically real. The authors argue that presence is a phenomenon worthy of study by neuroscientists, as it may help in understanding consciousness, particularly within a restricted domain. The article discusses the concept of telepresence, introduced by Marvin Minsky in 1980, which describes the feeling of being present in a remote location through a teleoperator system. This concept has been applied to VEs, where participants can interact with virtual environments and experience a sense of presence. The quality of the VE experience is influenced by various parameters such as visual display, head-mounted displays (HMDs), frame rate, latency, and haptics. The authors distinguish between immersion and presence, noting that immersion refers to the overall fidelity of the VE compared to physical reality, while presence is the human response to the system. Presence can be measured through questionnaires, behavioral responses, and physiological measures. Experimental studies have shown that factors such as higher frame rates, lower latency, and realistic sound can enhance presence. The article also explores the application of VEs in therapy, particularly for managing anxiety and social phobias. Studies have found that virtual environments can effectively reduce anxiety in patients with acrophobia, arachnophobia, and public speaking anxiety. Additionally, VEs have been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain distraction. Finally, the authors suggest that presence research should be integrated into neuroscience, as it shares conceptual overlaps with fields such as perception and consciousness. They propose that the phenomenon of presence can provide insights into the mechanisms of consciousness, particularly in its restricted form within a VE.