Seite - 140 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

140 • Cyborg Mind imaginary) horrors. These soldiers are sometimes deeply disturbed and find it difficult to adjust afterwards. In the same way, a person may be deeply upset when awaking from a nightmare in which the setting seemed very real. But the opposite experience may also be true when an increasing number of soldiers live out the experience of war as if it were a virtual reality computer game. For example, through the use of drones, the seriousness and the horror of what is really happening may be taken away. In this case, reality may seem to become just a game. One instance where this may have been encouraged was in the 2002 computer game America’s Army. This was available as a free download pro- vided by the U.S. Army in order to encourage young Americans to become new recruits. It enabled them to virtually explore Army life, including battle actions in which they killed the enemy. In the game, of course, the fighting and killing were only virtual, but the aim was to encourage would-be soldiers to do the same in reality with the U.S. Army. A further example of the risk of mixing virtual with real reality was reflected in the 2013 film Ender’s Game directed by the South African Gavin Hood. In the film, young boys were trained in simulated war games with unforeseen consequences when the imaginary suddenly became reality. In summary, a person seeking to escape reality with his or her imagina- tion in cyberspace may end up in an easier or more fulfilled reality, but some caution is necessary when losing touch with reality. As with any adventure or experimentation, there may be risks where tools are used that are not fully understood or controlled, giving rise to dangerous unforeseen situations. The manner in which the imaginary world is increasingly becoming simi- lar to the real world may also create new challenges for some. Moreover, care should be taken when persons pretend that the real world is an imaginary world or the reverse. Few would deny the need for some leisure and rest; however, when the ‘unreal’ becomes just as real as the ‘real’ for a particular person, this may be cause for concern. Maybe virtual reality should be clearly delineated? Yet, once again, it is often difficult to separate reality from the imaginary in children and this does not generally result in any untoward or negative effects. Changing Mood Good health, it has been suggested, leads to happiness, but disorders can lead to sorrow. Given this, each of the basic emotional states (happiness, sadness, anger, fear and disgust) could be associated with consistent, identifiable and discernible patterns of brain activation.164 This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.