Anxiety Partially Mediates Cybersickness Symptoms in Immersive Virtual Reality Environments

The use of virtual reality (VR) in psychological treatment is expected to increase. Cybersickness (CS) is a negative side effect of VR exposure and is associated with treatment dropout. This study aimed to investigate the following: (a) if gender differences in CS can be replicated, (b) if differences in anxiety and CS symptoms between patients and controls can be replicated, and (c) whether the relationship between exposure to VR and CS symptoms is mediated by anxiety. A sample (N = 170) of participants with different levels of psychosis liability was exposed to VR environments. CS and anxiety were assessed with self-report measures before and after the VR experiment. This study replicated gender differences in CS symptoms, most of which were present before exposure to VR. It also replicated findings that a significant correlation between anxiety and CS can be found in healthy individuals, but not in patients. In a VR environment, anxiety partially mediated CS symptoms, specifically nausea and disorientation. A partial explanation for the differences found between patients and controls may lie in a ceiling effect for the symptoms of CS. A second explanation may be the partial overlap between CS symptoms and physiological anxiety responses. CS symptoms reported at baseline cannot be explained by exposure to VR, but are related to anxiety. Caution is required when interpreting studies on both CS and anxiety, until the specificity in measurements has been improved. Since anxiety mediated the CS symptoms, CS is expected to decline during treatment together with the reduction of anxiety

Opis paradygmatu wirtualnej rzeczywistości i możliwości jej zastosowania w psychiatrii

Cel: Wirtualna rzeczywistość (virtual reality – VR) to technologia, która od ponad 25 lat wykorzystywana jest w psychiatrii do badań nad różnymi zaburzeniami psychicznymi, z uwzględnieniem zaburzeń psychotycznych. Autorzy przedstawiają cele i założenia zastosowania VR, najważniejsze zagadnienia teoretyczne, kluczowe pojęcia, charakterystykę technologii, wirtualne środowiska i zachodzące w nich interakcje społeczne, aspekty etyczne, bezpieczeństwo i działania niepożądane związane z wirtualną rzeczywistością. Poglądy: Autorzy omawiają podstawowe pojęcia, kluczowe dla opisu środowiska VR i jego wpływu na użytkowników. Zwracają szczególną uwagę na aspekty etyczne związane z badaniami nad użyciem tej technologii. Opisują pewne swoistości wirtualnych środowisk, wpływ ich jakości na odbiorcę i warunki, które muszą zostać spełnione, aby skutecznie na niego oddziaływały. Analizują prace badawcze dotyczące bezpieczeństwa VR dla zdrowych osób i pacjentów psychiatrycznych oraz przedstawiają możliwe działania niepożądane. Omawiają techniki ucieleśnienia z awatarem, charakterystykę interakcji społecznych w świecie wirtualnym i możliwości prowadzenia badań z wykorzystaniem tego środowiska. Wnioski: Wirtualna rzeczywistość wydaje się stosunkowo bezpieczną metodą, niewywołującą zbyt wielu krótkoterminowych działań niepożądanych, jednak aspekty etyczne związane z długofalowymi zagrożeniami wymagają dalszych badań. Umożliwia to prowadzenie ekologicznie ważnych badań przy zachowaniu wysokiego poziomu standaryzacji. Odwzorowanie prostych interakcji społecznych jest stosunkowo wierne, nawet przy wykorzystaniu niefotorealistycznych wirtualnych środowisk. Możliwość uzyskania iluzji ucieleśnienia z ciałem wirtualnego awatara otwiera nowe perspektywy badawcze.Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) is a relatively new technology that has been used in psychiatric research on various types of mental disorders, including psychotic disorders, for over 25 years. The authors of this article present the aims and assumptions of virtual reality use, its most important theoretical concepts, key concepts, technology characteristics, as well as virtual environments, social interactions that occur within them, ethical aspects, safety issues and adverse effects related to VR. Views: The authors discuss basic concepts of the VR environment and its impact on the users. They remain sensitive to ethical aspects related to research that use this technology. They describe certain specificities of virtual environments, the impact of their quality on the recipients and the conditions that have to be met in order to have an effective impact on them. They analyse research on the safety of VR for healthy individuals and psychiatric patients and present possible side effects. They discuss virtual embodiment techniques, the characteristics of social interactions in the virtual world and the possibilities of conducting research with the use of this environment. Conclusions: Virtual reality is a relatively safe method, not causing many undesirable effects. However, ethical aspects related to long-term threats require further research. It enables ecologically valid research to be conducted while maintaining a high level of standardization. The mapping of simple social interactions is relatively accurate, even with the use of non-photorealistic virtual environments. The possibility of creating virtual embodiment illusions opens new research perspectives. Key words: virtual reality, paradigm description, presence

Immersive Virtual Reality for the Management of Pain in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Immersive virtual reality (VR) can provide a high level of engagement and distraction analgesia to address pain. However, community-based applications of this technology for older adults have not been studied. The objective of this study was to examine the applicability and effectiveness of an immersive VR intervention for pain, depression, and quality of life (QOL) in older adults. This pretest–posttest, mixed-methods design included senior center members (n = 12) with pain that interfered with daily functioning. The outcomes included the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) depression scale, World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHO QOL-BREF), and open-ended questions. The VR intervention (15- to 45-min sessions, 12 sessions over 6 weeks) was well accepted with no dropouts. There was a significant decrease in pain (p =.002, d = −1.54) with no effect on depression and QOL. There were no adverse effects, and positive perceptions of VR were reported. The 6-week immersive VR intervention was applicable and effective in reducing pain intensity for community-dwelling older adults

UTILIZING VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER IN COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTERS

Anxiety is a leading mental health concern among college students. A growing number of students are presenting with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is one of the most common anxiety disorders. As demands for treatment of this disorder increase, counseling centers are also facing limited funding for providing such services. The result is that there is a need to provide more cost effective, and empirically supported approaches to treatment. Therefore, implementing a program that will allow students to utilize already accessible technology to teach themselves how to combat anxiety is merited. Virtual reality therapy (VRT), is one such technology and it has been found to be an effective treatment for GAD and a wide variety of other mental health disorders. VRT has not been implemented in a college counseling center for treatment of GAD to this author’s awareness. Therefore, a proposal for utilizing a VRT in college counseling centers for the treatment of GAD in college students is warranted to address the noted increasing needs for services. The origins, assessment, and treatment of GAD are outlined in this project. A brief overview of VRT efficacy and nature therapy is also reviewed. A novel, 11 session, proposed protocol for utilizing VRT in the treatment of GAD in college counseling centers is also detailed

Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality in Counseling: Distinctions, Evidence, and Research Considerations

Technology is experiencing a growing presence in counseling and mental health, attracting attention from counselors, researchers, and the general public. This growth has the potential to change counseling practice, counselor education, and how users access mental health services. In this article we provide definitions of and distinctions between three common technologies that are used in the counseling field—Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. We also provide examples of the use of each technology, ethical implications, research support, and recommendations for future research

Cue-exposure software for the treatment of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder

Background: Cue-exposure therapy (CET) has proven its effi cacy in treating patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder who are resistant to standard treatment. Furthermore, incorporating virtual reality (VR) technology is increasingly considered a valid exposure method that may help to increase the effi cacy of standard treatments in a variety of eating disorders. Although immersive displays improve the benefi cial effects, expensive technology is not always necessary. Method: We aimed to assess whether exposure to food related virtual environments could decrease food craving in a non-clinical sample. In addition, we specifi cally compared the effects of two VR systems (one non-immersive and one immersive) during CET. We therefore applied a one-session CET to 113 undergraduate students. Results: Decreased food craving was found during exposure to both VR environments compared with pre-treatment levels, supporting the effi cacy of VR-CET in reducing food craving. We found no signifi cant differences in craving between immersive and non-immersive systems. Conclusions: Low-cost non-immersive systems applied through 3D laptops can improve the accessibility of this technique. By reducing the costs and improving the usability, VR-CET on 3D laptops may become a viable option that can be readily applied in a greater range of clinical contexts

You’re Making Me Sick: A Systematic Review of How Virtual Reality Research Considers Gender & Cybersickness

© {Owner/Author | ACM} 2021. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445701.While multiple studies suggest that female-identified participants are more likely to experience cybersickness in virtual reality (VR), our systematic review of 71 eligible VR publications (59 studies and 12 surveys) pertaining to gender and cybersickness reveals a number of confounding factors in study design (e.g., a variety of technical specifications, tasks, content), a lack of demographic data, and a bias in participant recruitment. Our review shows an ongoing need within VR research to more consistently include and report on women’s experiences in VR to better understand the gendered possibility of cybersickness. Based on the gaps identified in our systematic review, we contribute study design recommendations for future work, arguing that gender considerations are necessary at every stage of VR study design, even when the study is not ‘about’ gender.Funder 1, NSERC Discovery Grant 2016-04422 || Funder 2, NSERC Discovery Accelerator Grant 492970-2016 || Funder 3, NSERC CREATE Saskatchewan-Waterloo Games User Research (SWaGUR) Grant 479724-2016 || Funder 4, Ontario Early Researcher Award ER15-11-18

Phobia Exposure Therapy Using Virtual and Augmented Reality: A Systematic Review

A specific phobia is a common anxiety-related disorder that can be treated efficiently using different therapies including exposure therapy or cognitive therapy. One of the most famous methods to treat a specific phobia is exposure therapy. Exposure therapy involves exposing the target patient to the anxiety source or its context without the intention to cause any danger. One promising track of research lies in VR exposure therapy (VRET) and/or AR exposure therapy (ARET), where gradual exposure to a negative stimulus is used to reduce anxiety. In order to review existing works in this field, a systematic search was completed using the following databases: PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. All studies that present VRET and/or ARET solutions were selected. By reviewing the article, each author then applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and 18 articles were selected. This systematic review aims to investigate the previous studies that used either VR and/or AR to treat any type of specific phobia in the last five years. The results demonstrated a positive outcome of virtual reality exposure treatment in the treatment of most phobias. In contrast, some of these treatments did not work for a few specific phobias in which the standard procedures were more effective. Besides, the study will also discuss the best of both technologies to treat a specific phobia. Furthermore, this review will present the limitations and future enhancements in this field