This in from MTV News producer Michelle Rabinowitz:

A couple of years ago, (former) MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago and I got to try out this really cool virtual-reality video game some scientists were using to treat veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). (You can see Gideon checking out the game’s graphics in the clip above.) Our own Stephen Totilo even wrote a killer article about it.

So, when about a dozen people emailed me the recent New Yorker feature on the same topic, I’ve been more than happy to redirect them back to our original coverage. Yo, New Yorker, we call first!!

Anyway, the set-up is a mod of “Full Spectrum Warrior,” and boy was it nerve-wracking. I almost peed my pants a couple of times — and we were using the incomplete setup of just a controller and the virtual-reality helmet! The full set-up includes a rumble mat and odor machine with authentic Iraq War scents such as “body odor” and “burning.” Um, good times!

You have to respect the men and women who can handle this in the real world…