The sun shines on an empty Iraqi street. A Blackhawk helicopter circles overhead. The aromas of spices from a market fill the air.

University of Southern California

Suddenly, insurgents hiding on a roof launch a rocket-propelled grenade. The ground shakes violently and plumes of black smoke cloud your vision.

Those images, produced when a person puts on a headset, are at the heart of Virtual Iraq, a simulation created to treat Iraq war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

By repeatedly encountering sights, sounds, smells and rumblings that evoke painful memories, experts say, veterans with the disorder can begin to reprocess traumatic events and become desensitized to them, perhaps suffering fewer side effects like insomnia, nightmares and flashbacks.

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