The Cube gently introduces small, manageable gaps between what the brain expects and what actually happens — what neuroscience calls prediction error. These subtle surprises activate the Default Mode Network (DMN), the system involved in self-reflection, emotional memory, and meaning-making.

By safely challenging the brain’s predictive models, The Cube invites new awareness without overwhelm — allowing old narratives and emotional patterns to be re-examined from a place of curiosity rather than defense. This controlled dance with uncertainty builds resilience, deepens self-awareness, and fosters a more adaptive relationship with mistakes, change, and growth.

The Cube creates a dynamic social field where participants learn to move — and think — together in real time. Each interaction introduces gentle unpredictability, prompting the brain to update its expectations about others’ intentions, emotions, and behaviors.

This process strengthens the systems behind social cognition and theory of mind — our ability to imagine another’s perspective and respond with empathy.
As participants adapt to shifting interpersonal cues, predictive processing supports flexible reasoning and deeper connection, helping people sense others more intuitively and respond with greater emotional clarity.

The Cube leverages augmented reality to create immersive social scenarios where players can safely explore complex interactions. Because the brain treats imagined and real experiences similarly, practicing social dynamics within The Cube translates directly to real-life interactions.

By acting out unpredictable scenarios, participants engage their predictive processing systems, refining their ability to read social cues, adjust to new perspectives, and navigate moral reasoning. This active rehearsal strengthens empathy and social cognition, allowing individuals to integrate these skills seamlessly into everyday life.

The Cube trains the brain to move fluidly between peripheral and central vision, engaging both hemispheres and cultivating adaptive attention.
Peripheral vision expands spatial awareness and emotional context — the wide lens that helps us sense the whole field. Central vision sharpens focus and precision, allowing for intentional, goal-directed action.

By alternating between these modes, The Cube helps participants practice shifting between external engagement and inner reflection. This balance between wide perception and focused attention supports cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and a deeper integration of movement, awareness, and intention.

The Cube uses free association to help restore meaning to the world we see and feel — a crucial step in releasing trauma loops and dissolving dissociation. When trauma disrupts perception, familiar objects and experiences can lose their emotional resonance, creating a sense of distance or numbness.

Through guided play and interaction — with art, color, nature, or abstract forms — participants are invited to notice what arises and connect freely with thoughts and sensations. This process reactivates the brain’s predictive networks, allowing new associations to form and old ones to update safely.

Over time, meaning returns to perception. The world feels vivid again, connected, and personal. In this way, The Cube helps reestablish identity and emotional engagement — turning awareness back into belonging.

Click Here for the Lay Person’s Explanation of The Cube.

Supporting Research