Going beyond body exposure therapy. Presenting an innovative Virtual Reality and Eye-Tracking body-related attentional bias task

The present study provides preliminary findings of an innovative body-related attentional bias modification task (ABMT) using Virtual Reality (VR) and Eye-tracking (ET) technologies. Analyses were carried out on a sample composed of college women (n = 35) who were divided into groups of those with high body dissatisfaction (n = 16) and those with low body dissatisfaction (n = 19). All participants were exposed to an immersive virtual environment in which they were embodied in a virtual body that resembled the measurements of their real body. Subjects performed the body-related attentional bias modification task for 20 minutes. Eating Disorder (ED) symptomatology disturbances and body-related attentional bias (AB) were measured before and after a single session of the VR ABMT. Results showed a significant (p<.05) reduction of fear of gaining weight after the intervention among women with high body dissatisfaction. Our results indicated promising evidence in favor of using this ABMT, particularly among women with high body dissatisfaction. In addition, the current research provides a new application of VR and ET technologies that might open a wide range of possibilities for designing and developing new body-related interventions among patients with EDs and women with body image disturbances

Modification of Body-Related Attentional Bias through Virtual Reality and Eye-Tracking in Healthy Participants: Implications for Anorexia Nervosa Treatments

Cognitive biases have a significant impact on the etiology and treatment of eating disorders (EDs). These biases, including selective attentional bias (AB) to disliked body parts, may reinforce concerns about body shape, fear of gaining weight and body image disturbances and may contribute to dietary restriction and restraint. Decreasing AB could reduce core symptoms in anorexia nervosa (AN). This study represents a preliminary exploration aiming to assess whether AB towards weightrelated (WR) and non-weight-related (NW) body parts could be reduced through an AB modification task in a virtual reality (VR) environment in healthy participants. A total of 54 female participants, aged 22.98 ± 1.89, were recruited. The task consisted of directing the participants’ attention towards all body parts equally in a VR setting. Eye-tracking (ET) measurements (complete fixation time [CFT] and number of fixations [NF]) were made before and after the task. The results showed a significant reduction of the AB in the two groups with an initial AB towards WR body parts or towards NW body parts. Participants showed a tendency to more balanced (non-biased) attention after the intervention. This study provides evidence of the usefulness of AB modification tasks in a non-clinical sample