(alternatively: How do the Lyoko Warriors feel emotion in Lyoko?)
This topic concerns exactly how the Lyoko Warriors feel emotion while in the computerized environment of Lyoko. They are not in their real bodies in Lyoko, but in their Lyoko forms; therefore, they could plausibly lack bodily organs that they would require on Earth. Therefore, how could they simulate and/or experience emotion without adrenal glands and Earthlike stimuli? (they lack a sense of touch on Lyoko, and there evidently is no warmth nor cold) Additionally, if they have only sight and hearing on Lyoko, how can they (especially Yumi) move with such complexity and coordination? (on Earth, proprioception---the sense of relative position of neighboring parts of the body, and the vestibular system, which functions in balance.) In other words---if someone told one of them to close their eyes and touch their nose while in Lyoko, (a typical question used to test proprioreception) would they fail?
The previous Let's Talk Tech topics were more about how they got in Lyoko; this topic is what happens to them transferred to Lyoko and how they perceive Lyoko.
Will probably involve the Singer-Schachter, Cannon-Bard, and James-Lange theories of emotion, as explored in Psychology courses, and possibly others.
Specific questions:
If emotion arises from cognitive analysis of physiological stimuli, how can the Lyoko Warriors feel emotion on Lyoko if they lack organs and thus the physiology that they have on Earth?
How can they remember events that happen on Lyoko? (it is not like their brains are squished inside channels of silicon chips.)
Are their personalities substantially different on Lyoko? (in other words, does Ulrich feel more confident in "spandex hero mode" than he would on Earth?)
Once outside of the scanners, do they become consciously aware of stimuli that they lacked (a sense of touch, warmth and cold, etc.) on Lyoko?
How can Lyoko even be perceived? (It's total immersion in a world in which their bodies and means of processing stimuli and producing reactions are completely different.)
Does it hurt to be devirtualized?
Do sensations from Lyoko "spill over" in Earth? (for example, in Lyoko, Odd has a tail, can move his tail, and often swishes his tail. Does he ever experience "phantom limb syndrome" on Earth when he feels he has a tail when the limb is not present?
Do instincts from Lyoko "spill over" on Earth? (for example, if someone approximated the appearance of one of XANA's monsters on Earth--such as an insectoid potato robot to approximate a Kankrelat---and then radio-controlled it to move towards Ulrich, would he instinctively reach for his katanas to slice the apparent Kankrelat apart?)
How can they adapt so quickly to moving on Lyoko, and moving gracefully and swiftly at that? (Babies take months to learn how to walk; why would working with a new body, and new hardware to control that body and experience and process stimuli, not be overwhelming or take months to learn?)