Once the subjects' brains were already fooled, the experience would change their PoVs, making it appear as if they were looking down at their own bodies from above. The researchers would then drop balls on the virtual representations of the volunteers while they were looking down from above, activating the vibrators on only half of them.

Based on the subjects' answers to a post-experiment questionnaire, those who received vibrations still felt connected to their bodies. However, those who didn't felt disconnected and said the experience reduced their fear of dying. The scientists still have to conduct further experiments to see if it truly can help those with severe thanatophobia. For now, you can find the whole paper on PLOS One, part of which reads: