Assessment of emotional reactivity produced by exposure to virtual environments in patients with eating disorders

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of virtual environments representing situations that are emotionally significant to subjects with eating disorders (ED). These environments may be applied with both evaluative and therapeutic aims and in simulation procedures to carry out a range of experimental studies. This paper is part of a wider research project analyzing the influence of the situation to which subjects are exposed on their performance on body image estimation tasks. Thirty female patients with eating disorders were exposed to six virtual environments: a living-room (neutral situation), a kitchen with highcalorie food, a kitchen with low-calorie food, a restaurant with high-calorie food, a restaurant with low-calorie food, and a swimming-pool. After exposure to each environment the STAI-S (a measurement of state anxiety) and the CDB (a measurement of depression) were administered to all subjects. The results show that virtual reality instruments are particularly useful for simulating everyday situations that may provoke emotional reactions such as anxiety and depression, in patients with ED. Virtual environments in which subjects are obliged to ingest high-calorie food provoke the highest levels of state anxiety and depression

Cue-elicited anxiety and craving for food using virtual reality scenarios

Cue exposure therapy has been reported to be an effective intervention for reducing binge eating behavior in patients with eating disorders and obesity. However, in vivo food exposure conducted in the therapist's office presents logistical problems and lacks ecological validity. This study proposes the use of virtual reality technology as an alternative to in vivo exposure, and assesses the ability of different virtual environments to elicit anxiety and craving for food in a non-clinical sample. The results show that exposure to virtual environments provokes changes in reported craving for food. High-calorie food cues are the ones that elicit the highest increases in craving

Effect of the mood produced by virtual reality exposure on body image disturbances

Previous research suggests that negative mood increases body image disturbances. The aim of this study was to examine whether the mood produced by virtual reality exposure had any influence on such disturbances. As expected, dysphoric mood increased body image disturbances in patients with eating disorders

Virtual reality exposure in patients with eating disorders: influence of symptom severity and presence

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of several modulating variables on subjective discomfort experienced by patients with eating disorders while exposed to virtual environments that were emotionally significant for them. Severity of symptoms and sense of presence were analyzed. Both variables influenced the level of subjective discomfort during the exposure to virtual environments

Motion Rail: A Virtual Reality Level Crossing Training Application

This paper presents the development and usability testing of a Virtual Reality (VR) based system named 'Motion Rail' for training children on railway crossing safety. The children are to use a VR head mounted device and a controller to navigate the VR environment to perform a level crossing task and they will receive instant feedback on pass or failure on a display in the VR environment. Five participants consisting of two male and three females were considered for the usability test. The outcomes of the test was promising, as the children were very engaging and will like to adopt this training approach in future safety training

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

Inducción de craving por comida mediante realidad virtual no inmersiva

The binge behavior has been associated with elevated levels of food craving. Cue exposure therapy has been proposed as an effective treatment for binge behavior, facilitating the extinction of the association between the stimuli associated with binge eating and the craving response. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether exposure to food in virtual environments can produce craving levels consistent with individual differences in trait-craving and state-craving, such that they can be used in treatment programs based on cue exposure. The participants were exposed to 10 foods in four virtual environments using non immersive devices. Consistent with the predictions, individuals who had higher levels of trait-craving and state-craving showed a greater desire to eat during exposure to different virtual environments. These results are indicative of the validity of procedures based on food exposure in virtual environments to carry out interventions based on cue exposure techniquesLa terapia de exposición a señales se ha propuesto como un tratamiento eficaz para las conductas de atracón al propiciar la extinción de la asociación entre los estímulos relacionados con la ingesta compulsiva y la respuesta de craving. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar si la exposición a alimentos en entornos de realidad virtual (RV) es capaz de producir niveles de craving consistentes con diferencias individuales en craving-rasgo y craving-estado, de manera que puedan ser utilizados en programas de tratamiento basados en exposición a señales. Los participantes fueron expuestos a 10 alimentos en cuatro entornos virtuales. Las personas que presentaban mayores niveles de craving-rasgo y cravig-estado mostraron mayores deseos de comer durante la exposición a los entornos virtuales. Estos resultados constituyen un indicador de validez del uso de procedimientos basados en la exposición virtual a comida para llevar a cabo intervenciones basadas en técnicas de exposición a señales